Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse addressed a full house of Brown Democrats in List Art 110 Wednesday night. During the speech, the former Rhode Island attorney general addressed foreign and domestic issues and frequently asked the students for their help in his campaign.
Whitehouse began his speech by stressing the importance of the state's Senate race. "Brown students are very active ... I came here to ask for their help in the grassroots effort this campaign requires," he said, noting that every scenario for Democrats winning back the Senate in 2006 requires victories in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.
"I believe now something I didn't believe when I got in this race: We can take back the Senate in 2006," he said. "Don't think you'd be here if you didn't believe this was a seat we could win."
Whitehouse cited his work on ethics reform, the banking crisis and worker's compensation laws and also mentioned his role in founding the Rhode Island Quality Institute as qualifications for the seat currently held by moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee '75.
Whitehouse did not criticize his Democratic challengers, but he did call Chafee "weak" and Chafee's Republican primary challenger, Cranston Mayor Steven Laffey, "undefined." He said that Chafee voted with the Republicans 82 percent of the time and that his vote for the Medicare prescription drug bill was an example proving the senator voted with his party "when it counted."
He also attacked the Bush administration's reaction to Hurricane Katrina, drawing comparisons to its reaction to the Terri Schiavo case. He mentioned the ongoing scandals involving Republicans Jack Abramoff, Karl Rove, Bill Frist and Tom DeLay, adding, "the direction of this government is not the direction our country should be going in."
Many of the questions posed by the audience revolved around negative campaigning, something that backfired on Whitehouse during the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, when Myrth York defeated him in the primary.
"Republicans are serious about this stuff. They play politics tough," he said. "I'm going to run this campaign to win, and if George Bush is going to Swift-Boat John Kerry, I have to respect that and hit back."
In response to a question asking if he would promise to run a positive campaign during the primaries, he said, "I will run as positive a campaign as I can, but I will push back."
During the question-and-answer session he also touched on health care reform, foreign policy, campaign finance reform, education, gay marriage and the separation of church and state. The current health care system is "spectacularly wasteful," he said, but added, "We're not going to fix it across the board. It's too complicated for that. We need model locations, and Rhode Island can be one of those."
On the issue of Iraq, he said that though he thought the war was a bad idea in the first place, the most important thing is the safety of U.S. troops. By disclosing an exit strategy, he said, U.S. leaders would be compromising troops' safety.
Whitehouse was adamant in his support of gay marriage, saying that an "attempt to force an amendment into the Constitution that bans gay marriage would be one of the most loathsome things our country has done."
He also discussed the importance of the separation of church and state. "It's one of the things we bring from Rhode Island. It was kind of our idea," he said. "Faith-based initiatives are great ... but government should stay out of it. It's not our job," he said.
He also discussed the No Child Left Behind Act, calling it the "broken promise of the Bush administration." He then praised former Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., for his pivotal role in creating the Pell Grant program. Whitehouse said "everyone who is qualified and willing should be able to go on to higher education."
The crowd seemed to like what it heard.
"I hadn't really decided who I was going to volunteer for, but after hearing the speech, I am really excited for Sheldon Whitehouse," said Emily Roessel '06.
"I thought he did an awesome job. I was particularly excited that he named two female politicians as role models, and that he explained specific solutions that he had," said Carly Rush '08, referring to Whitehouse's admiration for senators Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
Whitehouse was introduced by state Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence.
The goal of the Brown Democrats is to have all the Democratic hopefuls speak so that all members can find someone they're passionate about supporting.
"Brown Democrats are about giving members opportunities to campaign," said Michaela Labriole '07, the group's president. " If (students are) living in Rhode Island for four years, they should be involved."
The Brown Democrats do not endorse a candidate before the primary, but Labriole said the group will rally behind the Democratic nominee for the general election.
