Category: Mason Speaks

Student Responses to the VP Debate Video

Connect2Mason was on scene at the Mason Votes Vice Presidential Debate Watch Party October 11, 2012. Here is what students had to say about the debate and Presidential race so far.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPlnvhJJ7Ns&list=UU1TuP1898FOdPrvng_HGDCA[/youtube]

sl_debate_01 — Charlie Neibergall / AP
Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin shake hands before the vice presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky., on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012.
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2012/10/12/watching-the-vice-presidential-debate-with-the-sound-off/#ixzz29VdoUEyL

Social Issues in the 2012 Election

With a struggling economy and unrest in the Middle East, discussion of social issues has taken a back seat in this election cycle. That is, until this week’s Vice Presidential debate, when moderator Martha Raddatz asked the Candidates to explain their views on abortion and the role that their religious practices have played in this opinion.

As Catholic men, both Vice President Biden and Congressman Ryan expressed the personal belief that life begins at conception; the sole difference being that Biden does not want to force his personal, religious ideology on the American public, while Ryan does. At one point Ryan attempted to pass his view off as not exclusively the product of religion, but stemming from “science and reason.” His evidence being an anecdote about seeing an ultrasound of his oldest child who was shaped as a bean; yet seemed to have forgotten to mention any actual “science” or “reason.”

The Congressman then held himself to a double standard, explaining that if he were to be elected Vice President, he would infringe on the constitutionally afforded right to freedom of religion, while simultaneously accusing the Obama administration of doing just that. He explained that a Romney/ Ryan White House would hold an anti-choice position (except in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother), while condemning the Affordable Care Act for “assaulting” religious institutions, without of course, any specifics. However, Biden was able to make it perfectly clear that this was a complete falsehood, and that no religious enterprise is forced to “refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide.”

Ryan then went on to explain that, “unelected judges should not make this decision,” referring to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe V. Wade, that laws prohibiting abortion violate the Constitution’s Due Process Clause. Ryan seems to have also forgotten that the Supreme Court did not create the Constitution and that its role is not to serve as lawmakers, but rather ensure that all government action abides by this document through “science and reason,” not religious ideology.

While no one can deny that the economy and national security are of the utmost importance in November’s election, we must not forget that social justice is also at stake.

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Biden Unhinged, Ryan Composed in VP Clash

I want to give the sitting Vice President his due. He is a powerful man and he deserves respect. I just thought he knew how to give respect as well as he gets it.

For a full 90 minutes in Danville, Kentucky, Joe Biden’s conduct was childish, rude, and did not live up to the high office he holds. It has me questioning everything from Biden’s sanity to his sobriety. The general sense even from some in the media was that Joe was some iteration of a cranky old man carping at a younger adversary. He interrupted Paul Ryan 82 times, regularly laughed during Ryan’s answers, and maintained a condescending attitude throughout the debate. If President Obama showed his disdain for the GOP ticket by shrinking and being meager, Vice President Biden showed it by lashing out and acting like a fool.

Substantively, the topics varied between domestic and foreign policy. Moderator Martha Raddatz began with Libya and moved to Afghanistan and to Syria. Ryan defended his running mate’s early response on the embassy attacks last month by saying, “”It’s never too early to speak out for our values,” to which Biden literally called “malarkey.” After Ryan attacked the administration for sending mixed signals to Iran, Biden quipped, “This is a bunch of stuff,” an Irish saying, Biden explained.

On the domestic side, things got pretty heated when Biden finally invoked Mitt Romney’s infamous 47% comment and his wealth. Ryan responded with a personal story about Romney, a fact about his vast charitable giving, and what turned out to be the zinger of the night: “With respect to that quote, I think the Vice President very well knows that sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way.”

On entitlement reform, Biden attacked Ryan’s budget plan as well as defended Obamacare. In a heated exchange and after many interruptions by Biden, Ryan quipped, “Mr. Vice President, I know you’re under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground, but I think people would be better served if we don’t keep interrupting each other.” The substance almost didn’t seem to matter because the fighting was so rough and the clash of facts so stark that it’s really up to the fact checkers to decide.

It seemed Joe Biden’s job was to do the opposite of Obama. He was supposed to take it to Paul Ryan and get the left flank energized about the Democratic ticket. If that was his objective, he may have succeeded to a degree. But where I believe the Obama team miscalculated was that this display of Biden’s wild side may very well turn off the very independents they will need to win the election.

As I said in my preview, VP debates are very inconsequential in the grand scheme. Neither candidate did their side too much damage. Thus the debate can be considered a draw by most non-partisan thinkers. Now the stage is set for round two from the top of the ticket. That clash will mean a lot more than Biden belligerence at this debate.

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Common Cause Student Fellow Opening

POSITION AVAILABLE: Student Fellow
LOCATIONS: VA
REPORTS TO: Youth Outreach Coordinator

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Common Cause is seeking campus fellows with excellent organizing, outreach, communication and programming skills to assist in the implementation of our “Greater Cause” fellowship program in several states. Fellows will support Common Cause by working on campus to organize youth educational events and engage students in nonpartisan election activities. Fellows will also have the opportunity to assist with current Common Cause issue campaigns including but not limited to the issue areas of corporate accountability, money and politics, government accountability and election reform.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Assist in developing a campus outreach plan for your specific campus, help design and implement recruitment tactics to build a volunteer base on campus, serve as a liaison from your specific campus to Common Cause, execute a set number of “frappe n’ raps” in your community (informal coffee shop style discussion series), find creative ways to share policy information with peers, open and maintain communication between campus administration, organizations, faculty and Common Cause, and recruit volunteers for the national polling place participation program.

QUALIFICATIONS: Experience with organizing especially among Millennials; Basic writing skills; Any student in good standing is eligible and all majors are welcome. Fellows will receive a stipend. Course credit may be available depending on administrative rules and restrictions. Working knowledge of social media tools including Facebook and Twitter.

TO APPLY: Please submit resume, cover letter to Director of Human Resources at [email protected] & [email protected], and include VA STUDENT FELLOW in the subject line; or fax to 202.355.7546. No phone calls please. Applicants are encouraged to respond as soon as possible. For more information, please visit: www.commoncause.org.

Election Officers Needed for Fairfax County – Pays $100

Be an Election Day Officer in Fairfax County

Long lines at the polls. Confused voters with no one to help answer their questions. People leaving the polls without casting a ballot.

These scenes could be common in Virginia if an urgent need for election officers (also known as poll workers) is not met. Fairfax County is 500 election officers short, and the last training opportunity for election officers is Tuesday.

General Registrar Quinn has reached out to Common Cause and our coalition partners with strong warnings that the election officer shortfall is at a crisis stage. Let’s make it easy for all Virginians to vote on November 6.

To be an election officer, you must be a registered Virginia voter who does not work directly for an elected office holder.

Election officers can work a half or full day, and are paid about $100 for the day. You don’t need to be a resident of Fairfax County to sign up. If you can work, you can apply by calling: (703) 324-4735. More info at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/working.htm

Application: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/training/eoapprev2012.pdf

If you have any questions, please contact Common Cause’s VA Election Protection Volunteer Coordinator, Michael Lore at [email protected].

Election 2012: Discourse & Electoral Processes

Paul Ryan’s Debate Moment

Joe Biden has been in Washington three times longer than Paul Ryan. Joe Biden is currently the second most powerful man on the planet. The one thing they have in common is that they’ll be on the same stage debating tonight in Danville, Kentucky.

Ryan’s mission should not be a passive one. Everyone knows Joe Biden can gaffe at any moment, but Ryan should do what he does best: defend and explain conservative principles. He should use those same skills to guard Mitt Romney’s agenda against Biden’s attacks.

VP’s are usually the attack dogs and Ryan is an expert at the minutia of policy. I’m fairly certain that Joe Biden is not. Ryan can use that expertise to run intellectual circles around Biden. On economic stats or debt stats Ryan can simply and calmly explain the folly of the past four years and use math as his greatest ally.

Ryan can also use arithmetic as a defense of the Romney record and agenda. If Biden attacks him on his entitlement reform plans, take America through the math. Show that if these programs aren’t reformed, no one will receive benefits. If Biden falsely alleges (again) that Romney’s tax plan is a $5 trillion boondoggle, then Ryan should pick the partisan analysis apart and show it’s false. At every turn, Biden should face the stats and the math.

I’ve heard many iterations of this debate but the best analogy I can come up with is it’s a battle between the wiz-kid and the crazy uncle. Ryan can’t compete with Biden’s folksiness and he shouldn’t try. He needs to be the super-smart nerd. Biden can use catchphrases and rhetorically throw barbs, but Ryan should simply and calmly overwhelm the Vice President with numbers.

If I’m Ryan, I don’t worry that the debate might become boring. That’s fine. VP debates aren’t known for their big impact. All he has to do is show he deserves a spot on that stage. By the end of the debate, people should be saying that Paul Ryan is a sharp man with a good grasp of the facts. Everything beyond that is icing on the cake.

Professors Alan Schroeder and Warren Decker examined the debating styles of President Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney, who were to meet the following evening for the first of three debates. White House correspondent Laura Meckler discussed the candidates’ preparation for the debates. Professor John Sides talked about the relevance of presidential debates. C-SPAN archival video from past presidential debates was shown.

Professor Schroeder participated by video link from Boston and Ms. Meckler and Professor Sides from the C-SPAN newsroom.