Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown ’74 was caught on tape Monday dancing to Jay-Z’s “On to the Next One” at a campaign rally for President Barack Obama in the bellwether state of Ohio.
The rally, which was one of the president’s last stops before he headed home to Chicago for Election Day, took place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and featured warm-up acts by both Jay-Z and veteran Obama celebrity Bruce Springsteen.
The crowd certainly appears fired up by Jay-Z’s tunes, but “On to the Next One” was an interesting pick for a campaign message urging Obama’s reelection.
Brown, who is running for reelection in a tight race against Republican Josh Mandel, took a moment Monday to relax in the crowd of Obama supporters and get his groove on. Grinning from ear to ear, Brown can be seen moving his extended right arm in rhythm to the music. This man knows how to bob, that’s for sure.
Honestly, who knew Sherrod Brown went so hard? Actually, I did — because the Ohio senator once told me I had nice hair.
On Election Day, New Haven voters are stepping up and taking an active part in this historic day.
As of Monday night, voter registration in New Haven had reached a record-breaking 71,371, marking the first time in years that there have been more than 70,000 active voters in the Elm City, according to a press release sent out Monday by the Democratic Town Committee.
New Haven is not the only city in Connecticut to boast such high numbers. The entire state displayed a huge increase in the number of voters, adding 200,000 registered voters since the beginning of the year.
In September, New Haven counted only 62, 931 voters.
With the Connecticut Senate race drawing to a close, U.S. Representative Chris Murphy (D) and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Linda McMahon (R) are both looking to fill retiring Senator Joe Lieberman’s ’64 LAW ’67 seat.
Here’s a look at some of the endorsements for each candidate as Connecticut prepares for Election Day:
For Chris Murphy:
The New York Times: “He [Murphy] was a strong voice for ending the war in Iraq and worked diligently on the committee that helped draft the health care reforms. He also helps run a bipartisan group in the House, the Center Aisle Caucus, that tries to find common ground between the two parties.”
The Hartford Courant: “For his greater grasp of federal issues, The Courant endorses U.S. Rep. Christopher S. Murphy for U.S. Senate.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC: “[Murphy] can help defend the values of freedom and privacy shared by Connecticut’s women and families.”
Alliance for Retired Americans: “Chris Murphy holds very different views on Social Security and we need him in the Senate to protect this and other key programs.”
Other supporters include: Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, MoveOn.org Political Action, The Weston Democratic Town Committee, The League of Conservation Voters and the Connecticut AFL-CIO.
For Linda McMahon:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce:: “We believe that your election to the U.S. Senate will help produce sustained economic growth, help create more jobs, and get our country back on track.”
“Restore America’s Legacy” PAC:: “[McMahon] has gone far and beyond her opponent in explaining her beliefs and views as well as extensively detailing her proposals for creating jobs, balancing the budget, improving health care, ensuring our national security, and a number of other issues.”
Jimmy LaSalvia, director of GOProud: “Linda McMahon not only has the private sector experience, she has also proposed a plan that will help grow the economy, create jobs, and end our disastrous dependence on foreign oil.”
Other supporters include: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, National Committeewoman Pat Longo, National Committeeman John Frey, Former Ambassador Tom Foley
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several months, you know that tomorrow, Nov. 6, is Election Day. What you may not know, however, is that all U.S. Shake Shack locations are giving out coupons for a free cup or cone of custard to customers who fill out a “Pledge to Vote” card TODAY.
It’s almost Election Day, and everybody is trying to tell you how to vote. From newspapers to celebrities, academic scholars to fictional characters, and yes, even the occasional porn star, the News has you covered.
Here’s some of highlights from the 2012 endorsement rundown:
For Barack Obama
The New York Times: “President Obama has shown a firm commitment to using government to help foster growth.”
The New Yorker: “The President has achieved a run of ambitious legislative, social, and foreign-policy successes that relieved a large measure of the human suffering and national shame inflicted by the Bush Administration. Obama has renewed the honor of the office he holds.”
The Yale Daily News: “We are a collection of once avid, now apathetic supporters of Barack Obama, but we remain dedicated to the policies he still represents. Ideas inspire us, and unlike the politicians who preach them, ideas do not easily fall victim to our cynicism.”
Oprah Winfrey: “I think this is beyond and above politics. It feels like something new.”
Martin Sheen, actor (who played President Bartlet on “The West Wing”): “Mr. Romney really showed his ass there, and how stupid he is and arrogant.”
Liz Lemon, fictional character from “30 Rock”: “What America needs is four more years of the stuff Obama’s been doing.”
Kristina Rose, porn star: “Obama, just because he is hotter. They all lie. It’s like what is the point? I vote based on looks.”
Other supporters include: President Bill Clinton LAW ‘73, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, among others.
For Mitt Romney
The Columbus Dispatch: “After nearly four years of economic stagnation, massive unemployment, record-setting debt and government intrusions into the economy that have paralyzed the private sector, the United States needs a new direction.”
The Des Moines Register: “The former governor and business executive has a strong record of achievement in both the private and the public sectors. He was an accomplished governor in a liberal state. He founded and ran a successful business that turned around failing companies. He successfully managed the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.”
Clint Eastwood: “And at that time Gov. Romney was running for Governor and I kept seeing him appear on television all the time and I said ‘God this guy, he’s too handsome to be Governor, but he does look like he could be president.”
Montgomery Burns, fictional character from The Simpsons: “Mitt is once again a Mormon mensch.”
Jenna Jameson, porn star: “When you’re rich, you want a Republican in office.”
Other supporters include: President George H.W. Bush ’48, President George W. Bush ’68, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Senator John McCain, Reverend Jerry Falwell, Sylvester Stallone, among others.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton LAW ’73 is headed to Connecticut this Sunday to campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Chris Murphy, who is in a tight race against Republican nominee Linda McMahon for Joe Lieberman’s ’64 LAW ’67 open Senate seat.
Clinton, who gave a widely-praised speech at the Democratic National Convention, has been traveling across the country for the past few months in an effort to help Democratic candidates fighting in tight races. His upcoming appearance in Waterbury, Conn. on Sunday indicates concerns that the open Connecticut Senate seat will fall into Republican hands.
Clinton is just the latest in a series of high-profile political stand-ins designed to give each candidate an edge in the race.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R), who gave the keynote address at this year’s Republican National Convention, campaigned for McMahon in Stamford, Waterbury and Glastonbury, Conn. on Monday.
Two recent polls, published by Quinnipiac University and Rasmussen Reports, both gave Murphy a 6-percentage-point lead over McMahon, just slightly above each poll’s margin of error.
Senate Democratic candidate Chris Murphy has continued to maintain his lead over Republican nominee Linda McMahon, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll published Wednesday.
The new poll gives Murphy a 6-point lead, with 49 percent of the vote compared to McMahon’s 43. Seven percent of the electorate remain undecided, the poll stated. The poll surveyed 1,412 likely voters and has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.
Murphy’s advantage is bolstered by his widespread support among women, where he holds a 14 point advantage. Fifty-two percent of female voters polled said they would support Murphy while 38 percent said they would vote for McMahon.
“As we hit the final stretch of the campaign, Linda McMahon is beginning to fade, as she did in her 2010 run against Richard Blumenthal,” said Douglas Schwartz, the director of the Quinnipiac University poll, in the press release. “Has she hit her ceiling? She took 43 percent of the vote in 2010, losing by 12 points to Blumenthal. Two weeks before the election, she is back at 43 percent.”
But the race is still fluid. Eleven percent of Murphy supporters and 14 percent of McMahon supporters say they may change their minds before Election Day.
With an exciting weekend of Partisan Pong behind them, Yale’s campus politicos have started looking forward. Many politically active Yalies have pushed for last-minute voter registration efforts as the deadline to register to vote in Connecticut — Oct. 30 — approaches.
In conjunction with the Yale College Republicans, the Yale College Democrats has spearheaded several voter registration events in recent days, two of which were held in Sudler Hall and the Calhoun Buttery this week. They were designated “study breaks” and offered food to encourage students to attend.
Their efforts, in conjunction with those of activist group Students Unite Now, have encouraged several hundred students to vote this semester, according to group organizers.
Nailah Harper-Malveaux ’16, who has registered voters during canvasses sponsored by the Yale College Democrats, said she thinks it’s important for people to be active and involved in the political process.
Though the last day to register to vote by mail was today, students can still register in person at the New Haven Registrar of Voters, located at 200 Orange St., until Oct. 30. Students can also vote at the New Haven Public Library on Nov. 6.
President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney faced off in their third and final debate Monday night in Boca Raton, Fla.
Though the two candidates ostensibly debated issues of foreign policy, both sides spent considerable time highlighting domestic differences — chiefly on the economy — in their last moments of prime-time television.
Afterward, student leaders on campus involved in politics and international affairs shared their thoughts on each side’s performance:
Liang Yu ’14, Vice President of the Yale International Students Organization
I was surprised that the debate devoted a disproportionate amount of time to terrorism in the Middle East. Topics such as climate change, the emergence of China as a superpower, Mexico, Canada, the Eurozone and the rest of the world as just as important, if not more. How is this truly a debate on “foreign” policy?
Diana Enriquez ’13, President of MEChA
The debate ended up being half focused on domestic policy and half back and forth about the Middle East. In both cases, the candidates made an effort to connect our national security and presence in the world to strong domestic policies, perhaps as a way to avoid longer foreign policy discussions. Romney could speak pretty smoothly about his business background or some of his domestic concerns, but as soon as he needed to discuss American policy toward the Middle East or other regions of the world, it was much harder to follow his reasoning. Obama came across and confident and able to justify U.S. foreign policy over his current term. I do wish the candidates had spent more time on BRIC, but I genuinely enjoyed this debate.
Azad Amanat ’14, President of Iranian Students at Yale
I enjoyed hearing Romney say that Syria was Iran’s only route to the sea, which is so wrong its hilarious. As a whole it’s pretty disappointing to see how low American political discourse goes with regards to foreign policy. Specifically, talk about Iran was filled with major holes. As much as I am against the Iranian regime, there was very little talk of how crushing American-led sanctions are on the Iranian people. While I’m not necessarily opposed to sanctioning the Iranian government, the widespread affect of such sanctions and the human implications are easily forgotten. Thankfully, the possibility of war seems farther and farther away. Yet very rarely is the human damages of such a strike considered, or the suffering of those people remembered. Sure, we might hear a few empty words here and there about the “Green revolution” (which I think most people don’t consider to be a revolution) but as a whole, we too often forget how misguided and destructive American foreign policy in Iran (and the Middle East as a whole) has been. Far too easily.
Katie Naples-Mitchell ’13, President of Amnesty International
From a human rights perspective, both candidates were disappointing in tonight’s debate. Governor Romney wholeheartedly supported the increased use of drones which has been a cornerstone of President Obama’s approach to combating terrorism; neither candidate talked about the civilian deaths that have been associated with drone strikes nor their violations of international law. Governor Romney was the only candidate to mention human rights nominally, but he immediately extrapolated to “freedom” and “elections,” an extremely limited and insufficient construction of what it means to champion human rights and uphold human dignity.
Neither candidate gave sufficient specifics about how to transition out of Afghanistan, although President Obama assured us it should happen “in a responsible” way. President Obama’s comments on Syria were cautious but insufficiently specific, and Governor Romney simply regurgitated a version of the same basic policy approach to Syria, except one more stringently focused on arming the resistance movement. Syria is being ravaged, and human rights are being aggressively trampled via indiscriminate air attacks from an unfettered army, but perhaps the focus should be on disarmament of the army and ending arms trade deals via a strong Arms Trade Treaty, which both candidates neglected to mention. Overall the candidates’ foreign policy positions were unsettling in their similar disregard for human rights.
Mario Kranjac ’15, Executive Director of the Yale College Republicans
It appears that President Obama only sounds tough when he talks to candidates. Tonight, Mitt Romney ripped President Obama’s foreign policy and exposed it for what it is: a record of apologizing for America’s past and current greatness. Romney made it clear that America needs to restore its leadership position in the world, especially now that the Obama administration finds itself idling while mass murder continues in Syria, Iran becomes closer to developing a nuclear weapon, and the Muslim Brotherhood governs over Egypt.
Nicole Hobbs ’14, Elections Coordinator for the Yale College Democrats
As President Obama made clear during the debate, our Commander-in-Chief needs to be able to present a consistent foreign policy vision. President Obama has done so over the past four years, while Governor Romney has not been able to articulate a consistent foreign policy vision throughout the course of his campaign. Finally, President Obama correctly stressed that for America to be a leader among the nations of the world, we must also make sure our domestic house is in order.
Alexander Crutchfield ’15, Floor Leader of the Right for the Yale Political Union
Tonight, although largely uneventful, did bring up some important distinctions. First, Obama was unable to answer his comments to Vladimir Putin about “having more flexibility” after the election. This is a troubling sign especially considering Russia’s recent actions regarding Syria. Secondly, Romney scored a large win when he attacked Obama’s comment about previous American policy being too forceful in the past. Romney rightly pointed out that policies of freedom are never forceful. Finally, it was unfortunate that neither candidate was able to discuss Syria in an intelligent manner. Obama’s comment that the Friends of Syria organization was sufficient to deal with the Syria’s problems and Romney’s comment that terrorism in Syria was not a current problem were both misplaced. Although foreign policy is not the center of this election, I would have appreciated a more profound debate.
Nicholas Eckenwiler ‘14, Vice Chair of the Liberal Party
Obama continued his aggression from the second debate, and Romney ended up on the receiving end of a few more discursive punches than he gave out. But overall, I found the debate fairly vacuous — the political disagreements, though presented forcefully, were not stark.
I am, by most people’s standards, a radical leftist, and neither candidate echoed anything resembling my views, though Obama came noticeably closer than Romney. (Read: please, somebody talk about poor people, or — given that this is a foreign policy debate — imperialism. These are important issues.)
After New Haven officials left out one question for absentee ballots to be used in the upcoming election, Elm City officials have started efforts to reprint and re-mail the ballots, according to the New Haven Register.
The missing question concerned a recent referendum — proposed by the Peace Commission and approved June 4 by the Board of Aldermen — that asked Congress to “reduce military spending; transfer funds to convert to civilian production; create jobs to rebuild our infrastructure [and] meet pressing human needs.” The cost of the reprinting efforts is still unknown.
The modified ballots were sent out Oct. 19, two weeks after the initial ballots had been mailed. Reprinting began when a Peace Commission representative called the city offices to check on the referendum, a move that prompted administrators to notice it had not been included in the ballots, said Sally Brown, the city’s assistant clerk.
When asked whether the initial omission would affect the outcome, New Haven Alderman Doug Hausladen told the Register that he believed the “most progressive legislation has started at the ground level and swelled.”
The first batch of revised ballots has already been mailed.
Democrat Chris Murphy has pulled decisively ahead of Republican Linda McMahon in the ongoing U.S. Senate race, according to the latest poll conducted by the University of Connecticut and the Hartford Courant.
The poll surveyed more than 500 likely Connecticut voters, 44 percent of whom said they would support Murphy and 38 percent of whom said they supported McMahon.
The six-point margin falls outside of the poll’s four-point margin of error.
Part of Murphy’s growing advantage can be linked to his increasing body of support among women. Fifty percent of women in the poll said they would support Murphy, while 32 percent said they would support McMahon.
Still, 17 percent of the polled electorate remains undecided, leaving room for large swings in either direction during the last few weeks of the race.
