Meehan to become chancellor of UMass Lowell

So it looks like Congressman Meehan is leaving Congress to become the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. His nomination still needs to be approved by UMass' board of trustees but all signs point to that happening. So what does everyone think of this decision, and who do you think/want to win the seat in the special election? This list is of people that have already said they are running and is from boston.com.


Democrats:
Niki Tsongas, wife of the late US senator Paul Tsongas; state Representative Barry R. Finegold of Andover; Eileen Donoghue, the former Lowell mayor and current city councilor; state Representative James B. Eldridge of Acton; and Stephen Kerrigan, a former aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy and to Attorney General Thomas Reilly

Republicans:
Michael Sullivan, mayor of Lawrence; Charles McCarthy, Meehan's 2002 challenger; and Donna Cuomo, a former state representative from North Andover.


tm.

Power Rankings

The National Journal has set up a ranking system [similar to espn's power rankings] for the candidates. This gives a short description of why they are in the ranking they are in, if they have moved up or down and fundraising projections for each candidate. These, just like sports power rankings are updated weekly - here are the links

Democrats

Republicans

t.mills

Racism 101

The College Republicans at NYU have created a "fun" game to attract interest to their club. They are putting on a "game" today on their campus called find the Illegal Immigrant. The organizers have been upset they are being called racists and said if anyone that opposes them wants an “intelligent debate" they can talk to them at their rally. When you are asking narrow minded rich college students to run around and find the "illegal immigrant" what do you expect, minority groups speaking out about how great your organization is? NYU college republicans knew what they were doing, they knew this would not facilitate an intelligent debate about anything - it was a ploy to get on TV (see bottom). I hope you guys don't spend too much of your dad's money on the snacks.
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"Find the Illegal Immigrant"

There will be one individual with a nametag that reads 'illegal immigrant'. This person has volunteered to do so and is not actually an illegal immigrant. On Thursday people will be signing up to be 'INS' and the
first person that signed up and finds the "illegal" will get a prize. At the table there will be information and handouts on the subject matter to inform others on the problems that ILLEGAL immigration causes.

Name: Find the Illegal Immigrant
Host: NYU College Republicans
Type: Causes - Rally
Date: Thursday, February 22, 2007
Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Location: South side of Silver

Statement put out by the college republicans about event:

we, as CR’s, are free to hold politically incorrect events while at the same time making a point. Not all things politics need to be serious.

What is serious, is how quickly we’ve been able to garner so much attention and controversy, and so mission accomplished. Thanks guys.

(This message will probably piss you crazy wall-posters off more, which I do find funny)

We have more wall posts than people definitely attending this event. The people with no lives giving life-story testimonials to this event wall as if we, the real CR’s, actually give a shit what these people think should consider that we’re doing this regardless, but we appreciate how pissed off you guys get at a joke with which you dont agree.

btw, just another example how small minded people fear other people’s ideas and try to stifle it by attempting to cover it up/silence with their own rhetoric.

GO CR’S.
-Rick (The Captain)

I think the biggest problem that student groups face, is coming up with creative activities to host. So, I thought I will share with you my favorite activities that the Democrats of Clark University have come up wit. Maybe my colleagues from other chapters can do the same?

1. The Bill Clinton Scrabble Tournament - Politics can be a bit too much at times, which is why we have had an annual Scrabble Tournament named after our favorite orator. It's a fun, easy and succesful event which is now in its third year running.

2. Bringing Politicians Door to Door - In the past, State Senators and even a U.S. Congressman has joined us in our get out the vote efforts on campus. It is great, because college students are more likely to be up later then the general population. Contact your local congressman, state senator, State Rep, City Councilor, etc... and let them know about bringing them to campus.

I wanted to post more.. however, I have a meeting in a few minutes. Another time!

[Monthly] Regional Meeting

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great break and are ready to get going on this semester. I wanted to remind everyone (at least from the eastern MA region) that we will be getting back into having monthly meetings. If you came to any of the meetings last semester you know the drill, but hopefully this semester will be joined by more chapters. At this meeting we will be discussing our plans for the up-coming semester and what we should be adding to our plans. This is something that I would like to do every month to keep the chapters informed - it worked well last semester. As of now we do not have a date for the February meeting, but we will let everyone know as soon as we do.

I hope to see everyone in February,

Tom Mills
Eastern MA Liaison
thomasemills@gmail.com

Bayh - Presidential Caucuses

Evan Bayh, the Senator from Indiana, has apparently just pulled out from the presidential race. It's a shame too, he was my preliminary choice for POTUS.

This is as good a reason as any to remind chapters:
a) They should not endorse any candidate until he/she wins the Democratic primary.
b) Chapters should form candidate groups within their own groups. Groups like Clark University Students for Kendra Salvador or College of the Holy Cross students for Tom Vilsack should meet directly after a chapter meetings. This keeps people coming to meetings and informed about all of the candidates. I know from personal experience in 2004, that there can be some discontent among people who think their chapter is biased for one candidate or another.
This is a good way to keep people happy.
David Glick
Clark University '07
Central MA Liason

Fantasy Congress is here

If you're anything like me, you have played Fantasy Baseball, Football and Basketball. It's a great way for you to get bragging rights from your friends and have a lot of fun. I am also a huge polito junkie. So when I read an article in the NYTimes about a website that compiles statistics concerning members of Congress I was ecstatic. (check out that article at my own blog) Now, I have setup a league for all Massachusetts College Democrats.

Go explore Fantasy Congress.com; College Democrats from across the nation can compete against each other.

Want to join our league?
It is easy.
1. Register with Fantasy Congress.com
2. Join the Massachusetts College Democrats League
- You can join the league by clicking here
- Or by searching for the Massachuetts College Democrats League
3. Draft your team immediately. You can always change how is on your starting lineup.
4. The league will become activated this January when the new congress comes into session.

Feel free to sign up as many people that can fit under the 100 person cap.

David Glick
Clark University '07
Central Ma Liason, MA College Dem's