Category Archives: Rick Santorum

YDA Statement on the Primaries in Maryland, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.

Posted by rsnyder on April 4, 2012 Comments Off

“As the Republican Presidential Primary Circus continues, the American people are becoming less than amused by the politics and policies that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are advocating,” said YDA President Rod Snyder. “Facts are stubborn, and the facts of the politics and policies of the Republican frontrunners are that they are aimed at disenfranchising young Americans, women, minorities, and entire regions of our nation, while empowering very few. This is not the legacy of the America we have inherited or the legacy we should want to pass on to future generations.”

“Maryland, as a solid blue state, missed much of the excitement of the Republican primary and had a relatively quiet Primary Election Day as the Romney/Santorum battle was barely felt here with the candidates focusing their efforts elsewhere in the country”, said Young Democrats of Maryland President Erin Schurmann.  “We were happy to once again vote for President Obama and reaffirm our support for our friend, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. This fall, we’ll be defending the DREAM Act and marriage equality, as well.  Maryland produced the most per-capita volunteer hours for President Obama and Democrats around the country in 2008.  We’re determined to beat that number in 2012 and fight to keep our country in the hands of leaders who fight for better health care, a fair economy, a cleaner environment, and civil rights for all of its citizens.”

“The people of Wisconsin, Maryland, and Washington, DC know that the minority that have come to vote this evening are effectively doing so with one hand tied behind their back,” said YDA Executive Vice President Colmon Elridge. “Republican voters increasingly understand and their lack of enthusiasm are proof that their presidential candidates are not prepared to lead our nation and young voters especially understand that the Republicans have no vision to guide our nation into the future. These candidates want to play president.  Barack Obama is President and has earned the opportunity to lead our nation for another four years.”

For more information on the Young Democrats of Maryland, please visit www.ydmaryland.org and more for information on the Young Democrats of America, please visit www.YDA.org.

YDA Statement on the Michigan and Arizona Primaries

Posted by ndecenzo on February 29, 2012 Comments Off

With Mitt Romney having been declared the winner in both the Michigan and Arizona primaries, the Young Democrats of America continue to highlight the reality that Republican primary voters have once again selected as their standard bearer a candidate who has articulated no vision for the future of our nation and who continues to be out of step with the millions of young people who will go to the polls this November to vote 0n the future of America.

“Mitt Romney continues to show that arrogance and not vision is the right strategy to win the  Republican nomination”, said YDA Executive Vice President Colmon Elridge. “With arrogance, no vision for America, and worse, no belief in the young people of this nation and the spirit that defines our people and our work ethic, Mitt Romney may lead his party, but he is no leader for the American people or for our generation.”

“Mitt Romney’s win in Arizona shows just how much he’s caved in to the extreme right-wing of his party”, said Andres Cano, President of the Young Democrats of Arizona. “With the help of divisive politicians like Governor Jan Brewer and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, tonight validates that Mr. Romney has surrounded himself with extremists rather than focus on America’s mainstream voters. Young people in Arizona are taking notice, and if the last election was any example of our power, flip-flopper Mitt Romney won’t stand a chance here.”

“While Mr. Romney spent the week alienating the auto industry, immigrants rights groups and all women”, said YDA Executive Director Emily Sussman, “President Obama found a way to keep $40 a week in the pockets of young Americans by signing the Payroll Tax Cut Extension. The President is leading a nation, Mr. Romney is trying, rather unconvincingly, to lead a segment of his party.”

The Young Democrats of America, the largest partisan, youth-led political organization in the nation, will continue to work  to educate young people on how President Obama and the Democratic Party have fought for a vision of an American built to last, and contrast it with the lack of vision and leadership that has come to define both the leading Republican presidental candidates, and the GOP as a whole.

New Hampshire Young Dems offer analysis of Tuesday’s primary results

Posted by rsnyder on January 12, 2012 Comments Off

The following analysis of the 2012 New Hampshire primary is from New Hampshire Young Democrats Vice President Doug Lindner:

The combined number of young people voting for all the Republicans in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Primary just barely exceeded the number of young people who voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 New Hampshire Primary—when he lost to Hillary Clinton.  Obama received more votes overall when he came in second four years ago than Romney did coming in first this year.

That’s because what happened yesterday was not a victory for Mitt Romney; it was a defeat for the Republican field.

Romney took our state for granted because he consistently polled first, while polling behind a succession of other Republicans in Iowa and South Carolina.  In fact, he only had one campaign office here—unheard of!  But that doesn’t mean Romney has strong support in the Granite State.  It just reflects the weakness of his rivals.

For the third competitive cycle in a row, the social conservative in the race has gotten major momentum from the Iowa Republican Caucus, only to be decisively rejected in the New Hampshire Republican Primary.  After winning the 2000 Iowa Caucus, George W. Bush lost the New Hampshire Primary by double digits.  Five days after winning the 2008 Iowa Caucus, Mike Huckabee came in third in New Hampshire, with a mere 11% of the vote.  The winner that year, John McCain, more than tripled Huckabee’s vote in the Granite State.

This year, Rick Santorum won (at least in perception) the Iowa Caucus, and a week later, he came in fifth, with 9.4% of the New Hampshire Primary vote.  He got zero delegates.  Even Newt Gingrich—a candidate who is said to have stayed in the race after Iowa solely to help Santorum attack Romney in debates—narrowly beat Santorum here.

The fact is that, like young people nationwide, New Hampshire voters are not looking for a socially conservative President.  Culture warriors should not expect to win primaries in a place where gay marriage is popular and the Democratic Governor who signed it into law was re-elected in the Republican wave of 2010.

This is not to say that New Hampshire Republicans are a generally moderate bunch.  Many times since Republicans retook the (huge, part-time) legislature in 2010, our state has repeatedly made national news for their embarrassing statements and proposals. (Search recent news for “Magna Carta” to see what I mean).  But conservative voters here care about taxes and spending (and yes, guns), not gays and school prayer.

Look at who came second and third on Tuesday: Ron Paul, a small government crusader, and Jon Huntsman, a moderate on social issues who understands foreign policy, believes the science on global warming (at least half the time), and served in the Obama administration.  Romney, Paul, and Huntsman were the only candidates who got more than 10% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary.  But of course, Ron Paul is out of step with his party on many issues, and Jon Huntsman worked for Obama, so each has a ceiling on potential Republican support.

The biggest loser in Tuesday’s primary was culture warrior Rick Perry.  America’s longest serving Governor, once by far the national front-runner, got less than 1%.  He barely beat Buddy Roemer, who has been shut out of every debate.  Perry lost so badly he got fewer votes statewide than did Gingrich in Manchester alone—and Gingrich came in fourth, with less than 10%!

This failure of the Republican field has implications beyond New Hampshire, with our four electoral votes, and beyond the Northeast, where Republicans expect to lose in November: their weakness in New Hampshire is their weakness in the millennial generation.