During Discovery Days (Mon-Wed before school starts) we will be having an Ice Cream Social where you can meet politically left-thinking people while eating all the ice cream and toppings you want! The social is on Tuesday at 8pm in the GSA Lounge (second floor of the MultiCultural Center).  This is where all of our meetings will be for the year.

We will also be tabling outside the UCen for all of Welcome Week so stop by and say ‘Hi!’

Our first official meeting will be during the first full week of school (also Tuesday at 8 in the GSA Lounge).  We will be discussing the club as well as the upcoming Fall election.  There might even be a special guest speaker!  We have a HUGE election coming up very fast which includes voting in the next Governor Jerry Brown, the legalization of pot, and stopping the abolishment of the environmental standards that put California at the forefront of the movement.

Aside from being politically active, Campus Dems is also a social club.  We have huge parties every quarter and many smaller events where you can get to know new people.  If you like talking about politics, this is definitely the place you want to be!  We also go on a few major trips together across California, including meeting campus democrats from other colleges and going to the California State Democratic Convention where everyone from Nancy Pelosi to Bill Clinton make appearances (in 2007 all the democratic candidates for president showed up, including now-Sec of State Hillary Clinton and now-President Barack Obama).

Please feel free contact one of the officers or friend us on Facebook.  We are all very friendly and would love to hear from you!

If you think we’re the club for you, we could use your help during move-in weekend to register new freshmen in their hall meetings.  Contact us for more information!

Elections for 2010-2011 officers will take place this Tuesday, May 25, at 8 PM at our usual meeting place.  Qualifications for voting are as follows:

• You must have attended at least two meetings.
• You must have attended one outside event.  (Parties do not count.  Sorry.)

Elections are now closed to new candidates.  Congratulations to those running unopposed, and best of luck to those whose fate will be decided this Tuesday!

NY TIMES

NY TIMES: President Obama’s response

That’s right–Jerry Brown is gonna be governor AGAIN.  And we are psyched.

With a budget crisis that is affecting all levels of government programs, most notoriously education, and an incredible amount of partisanship that is keeping the state from making ANY progress at all, we need a governor with the experience necessary to get the job done without falling prey to divisiveness or the status quo.  As Brown’s campaign puts it: “An insider’s knowledge; an outsider’s mind.”

This should be the largest event at a university campus by a gubernatorial candidate this year, and Campus Democrats is extremely proud to be ones presenting it.  If successful, it will kick off a string of campaign stops at colleges and universities across our state–what better way to show the students of California who’s really going to stand up for them?  This was a last-minute event, so we need everyone’s help getting the word out!

12 PM, April 26th, Lagoon Lawn @ UCSB.

NY TIMES

• People earning up to 133% of the Federal Poverty line will be eligible for medicaid, insuring an estimated 16 million people.
• 24 million people who do not get health insurance through their workplaces should be able to buy into private insurance. This is based on a system of tax credits and state-based exchanges.
• Starting in 2014 individuals will be mandated to provide proof of insurance, facing a fine of at least $750. Companies of at least 50 employees who do not provide adequate coverage will also face significant fines. (These numbers will change with reconciliation)
• Cuts $120 billion over next 10 years from Medicare Advantage.
• Parents may keep their children on their health insurance plan until they are 26 years old.
• In six months, all new private insurance plans will have to cover the full cost of preventive care, including annual physicals and children’s immunizations.
• Insurers will no longer be able to require prior approval for trips to emergency rooms or gynecologists.
• Children with medical conditions will no longer be denied coverage.
• Insurers will be barred from imposing lifetime limits on benefits and from dropping people when they file a claim.
• Will provide a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs for the low-income elderly.
• Tax credits will be available for families earning up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level to ensure that the cost of their health care premiums does not exceed 9.5 percent of their income
• Imposes a 40 percent excise tax on many generous employer provided insurance plans, Union members do not have a broad exemption.
• Imposes a 3.8 percent tax on investment income for high earning families.
• “Combined with the Senate bill, the package would increase the overall cost of expanding insurance coverage to $940 billion over the next decade. But the two measures combined would also lower budget deficits by $143 billion by 2019.” [CBO and Washington Post]

Of course changes can still happen and implementation always has uncertainty. There are many aspects of this bill that can’t be summarized, try to find out for yourself if you can

I saw a group of dedicated individuals with sincere beliefs and a common passion. They’ve put on a successful event last week with their guest speaker, they’ve have a small and committed group of members, and they’ve created a place where conservative students can meet together.

Now there are good reasons why I am a Democrat, but those are for other posts. What I was reminded of tonight were all the reasons I loved AP Government at Great Oak High School. Disagreement, debate, and honest discourse are the foundations of a strong democracy. What I worry is that these things are starting to disappear, especially with the how bitterly gridlocked our country seems to be right now. What I know is though is that the things which unite young Republicans and young Democrats are very real. Though we differ greatly in our beliefs, we are both passionate political enthusiasts who sometimes feel as if we are surrounded by apathy. Many of us have political ambitions, we love discussing politics, and we want to make our country a better place. We should be rivals, but not enemies. I don’t want to live in a world without opposition because at the end of the day we are stronger as a nation when we have a vibrant and competitive democratic system.

So congratulations to the newly elected officers of College Republicans. It is my hope that over the course of the next quarter we can work together to bring political awareness to our campus through spirited debate and honest intellectual discourse.

-Ryan Hirschler is the Vice President of Campus Democrats at UC Santa Barbara

What you can do

We need to increase the pressure on the College Republicans to stand up for free speech and allow for UCSB students to ask unfiltered questions to Karl Rove. Our goal is to get 500 signatures before the the event tonight, we need you to send this link to 10 of your friends and get them to sign the petition too: http://bit.ly/rovepetition

If you have tickets to tonight’s event and are interested in opposing Karl Rove in a non-disruptive manner, SB Anti-War is planning to walk out of the event when Rove speaks. Check out their Facebook group here.

Send the petition to 10 friends today!