Tuesday, November 10, 1998
Bruins show bipartisan Democratic support
ELECTIONS: Republicans unable to target issues important to
voters
By Christina Gorospe and
Nick Williams
Daily Bruin Contributors
Now that Tuesday’s elections are over, students and faculty say
the positive outcome for Democrats can be attributed to voters
crossing party lines in response to a misguided Republican
campaign.
While Democrats focused their campaign on specific issues,
voters from all parties say Republican leadership relied too
heavily on associating the Democratic Party with the presidential
impeachment hearings.
This lack of focus by the Republicans caused some of them to
cast their ballots for Democrats.
"Lungren is a little over my head," said Kyle Brooks, a
first-year physiological science student and a registered
Republican.
Charlie Knudtson, a third-year American literature and culture
student and a registered independent, also voted Democratic.
"Republicans are stuck on moralistic tangents," Knudtson
said.
Even some voters who do not claim Democratic party affiliation
are content with the outcome of the election.
"I’m happy about the election of Davis and Boxer; we need more
progressive leaders," Knudtson said.
Martin Chippas, Bruin Republicans chairman, attributes the
Republican losses in California – including that of gubernatorial
candidate Dan Lungren – to "poor campaigning and not focusing on
the issues."
"The candidates never found any issues that resonated with
anyone," Chippas said.
This election marks the first mid-term election in which the
president’s party gained seats since 1934.
The Democratic gains prompted the resignation of House of
Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich. After saying Republicans
have a lack of confidence in House leadership, Gingrich stepped
down last week. This move was seen as a direct response to the gain
of Democratic seats in Congress.
Students said they believe the presidential impeachment issue
also influenced voter turnout and the results of the election.
In the wake of Kenneth Starr’s investigation on President
Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky, the Republican
leadership in Congress have begun impeachment proceedings stemming
from perjury charges.
"The Republicans were overconfident that the Clinton issue would
play out in their favor," said Steven Reed, a first-year undeclared
student. "They stayed at home, assured of their victory."
Jeff Loew, a first-year undeclared student, said he believed
Democratic candidates got more votes because of the American
public’s annoyance with the Republicans’ insistence on highlighting
the Lewinsky affair.
"We are just disgusted with the Republican impeachment inquiry,"
said Loew.
"The Republicans were emphasizing something that the public was
apparently not interested in," said Joel Aberbach, professor of
political science.
Aberbach said that Americans are fascinated with the Lewinsky
issue, but the affair was not something that would sway votes.
The increase in Democratic Congressional seats was not enough to
get a majority in either house, but both parties believe the GOP
has suffered a significant loss.
"It limits our ability to control the agenda nationally," said
Steve Davey, a first-year political science student and member of
the Republican party.
"The most important part is that the Democrats were able to
seize the center," Aberbach said.
Aberbach said that the Democrats used a strategy of moderation,
a technique used successfully by Clinton in the 1996 elections.
Some Democrats said that they believe the results of the
elections indicate that Americans are moving away from a more
conservative point of view.
"The country is going toward a more liberal stance," said
Roseanne Rusiecki, a second-year biology student.
"It is a big step in the right direction," said Magali Garcia, a
fourth-year English student. "We have had too many conservatives in
office."
Republicans said they are disappointed but motivated by the
election results.
"We lost pretty largely," said Davey. "But we learned from this
race … and we need to take those lessons and work our butts
off."
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