No meeting this week; have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Tonight we’ll be debating with the College Republicans on the issue of poverty. The debate will be moderated by the Roosevelt Institute, and our very own Nick Solari will be the speaker. Come out and show your fellow YDs some support!

Tonight, Wednesday Nov. 15

SLC 350

6:30 pm

*** please note the change in time and place! ***

Overall, an awesome, awesome night for Democrats nationwide.

It’s been 12 years in the making now, but the Democrats finally took the House. Gaining 27 (!!!) seats in one night, the Democrats now have a 229 - 196 majority over the Republicans in the house. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stands to be the first female Speaker in history.

The Senate is still up for grabs, although all signs point to a Democratic majority there, too. Currently, the Democrats hold 48 seats to the Republican 49. If Virginia swings our way, which seems likely, Democrats will equal the number of Republican senators. Throw in the two Independents - Joe Liberman and Bernie Sanders (an avid Socialist from Vermont) - and the Democrats are in good shape.

Good riddance, Rumsfeld.

Results in Georgia were not what we had hoped. Taylor and Martin fell short in their bid for Governor and Lt. Governor, respectively, and Gail Buckner was unable to secure the Secretary of State’s office.

On the local level, Doug McKillip (D-115) carried every precinct and finished with over 50% of the vote, winning outright and avoiding a runoff with one of the other candidates. McKillip will now be the State Representative for the majority of the Athens-Clarke County area. Congrats to all the Young Democrats and everyone who worked on Doug’s campaign.

Unfortunately, news wasn’t so good elsewhere. State Senator hopeful Jane Kidd (D-46) was unable to win in an overwhelmingly Republican district. That, well, sucks.

I might be a bit of a rookie to the whole political process, but hats off to the Kidd campaign and fellow Young Democrats for what was, in my estimation, a fantastic campaign. These guys and girls were out there literally every day phone banking and canvassing, even into the wee hours of the morning. They contacted more households and knocked on more doors than I thought was humanly possible. To everyone who worked on that campaign: hold your heads high. You did an amazing job.

We’ll discuss all this and more at tonight’s meeting. Doug McKillip will be there to thank everyone for their support. 6:00 in room 350 of the SLC. Be there!

As election day inches closer, we’re going to do everything we can to help get Democrats into office. This weekend, we will be canvassing for Jane Kidd. Plan to meet at the Democratic HQ off Baxter St. a little before 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. The canvass will be from 2:00 - 5:00.

Since you guys want to have more social events, later that night we’ll be going over to Wyn’s house for a little fun. That starts around 8:00 p.m. and will end around midnight. Please come!

We’ll talk about both events more at the meeting this week. If you need any more information, email me at nrsolari@uga.edu and I’ll be able to help you out.

If you’re not a fan of phone banking or canvassing, the perfect time for you to help will be from 2 - 4 p.m. this Sunday at the Jane Kidd HQ. They’ll be working away at the 4,000 letters they have to send out, so you’ll be addressing envelopes, stuffing them, and sealing. If you have any questions, e-mail me at aberash at uga.edu.
Come out and help!

Tonight’s meeting will be a free-for-all - we’re discussiong news and writing letters to the editor to support Doug McKillip.

Bring your thoughts about what’s going on in the world lately, and we’ll talk about it!

The upcoming Dash for Darfur 5K Run/Walk to be held SUN. OCT. 22nd at 8am. This Hillel/Amnesty organized project seeks to raise both awareness among the campus and greater Athens communities about the ongoing genocide in Sudan, as well as funds for Darfur relief.

A multi-faith humanistic, liberal ‘gathering’ will follow the race. A rally of sorts, student leaders, clergy, and JANE KIDD (!!) will offer words and readings calling for an end to genocide in Sudan.

This is a great chance to get a crowd out for a great cause and to support Jane in her appearance before students and community members alike! It’ll be outside the Coliseum by the Olympic monument. The gathering will take place at 9am.

Additional information is available at http://www.uga.edu/amnesty

Jane Kidd’s campaign will be canvassing from 1 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. this Sunday if you want to help!

This is big because a reporter from the Athens Banner-Herald will be there shadowing Jane, so they’d like a big turnout.

Head up to the headquarters if you have an extra couple of hours (and bring friends!).

Lt. Governor Mark Taylor will be hosting a tailgate this Saturday for the Georgia game against Tennessee. The tailgate will take place all day outside of the Main Library on North Campus.

There will be refreshments and, of course, fellow Democrats … does it get any better? I submit that it does not.

The Lt. Governor will be at the tailgate from 3 - 5 p.m., but we need people to help pass out stickers all day! E-mail Payton at paytonb@uga.edu if you want to help!

This Saturday is our big canvass for Jane Kidd. We want it to be HUGE!

I know this weekend is a busy one - going home, other events, etc. But we need y’all there! So come, take three hours out of the day and help get a great Democrat elected. And bring friends!

Here are the details:

When: 9:30 - 12:30 PM, Saturday September 30
Where: Jane Kidd Headquarters (494 Baxter Street, across from Brumby, before Gumby’s)
How: We’ll meet at the HQ, go over how to canvass, then head out from there.

** If you need a ride, please let us know - email me at aberash at uga dot edu. It’s no problem to pick you up, we just need to know! **

We’ll have Chick-fil-a biscuits, Jane Kidd t-shirts, and it’ll be great. Come out and help!