Political organizations regroup post election

Although the American political system seemingly hit its climax in the 2016 election, work continues for large and small-scale organizations for the upcoming showdowns in 2018 and 2020.
Hood College is no exception to this statement. Three months after the Nov. 8 election, both College Democrats and College Republicans are in full swing once more, working to recruit new members and campaign for their various causes.
Neither the Republicans’ victory nor the Democrats’ loss have slowed down the groups or demoralized them. Both have long-term plans for the semester and the year – Democrats are attempting to work alongside the gun control lobby, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, while Republicans discussed hosting a panel on veterans’ experiences and bringing in speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos.
Sam Kebede, the president of College Democrats and a junior at Hood, said that his organization’s plans had to be adjusted after the election. As issues under their expected Clinton presidency vary from issues under the actual Trump presidency, they changed their overall approach accordingly.
Regarding Nov. 9, he said, “On campus, it was like someone had died. It was not a happy mood. On our first meeting post-election, people were not happy, some more than others.”
Kebede remains confident that his party will quickly recover from the temporary setback. Describing the Democratic Party as “the big tent party,” he said that they had the greatest potential to recruit people from all backgrounds, and hoped more people would get involved in politics as a result of the election.
Christopher Gardner, the president of College Republicans and a senior at Hood, said he was enthusiastic about President Donald Trump’s election and intended to keep that momentum going for his organization.
“I like the fact that he’s getting started immediately,” he said about Trump’s executive orders.
Gardner said that, like the other club members, the election of Trump felt “surreal” to him at the time. He suggested that the Bradley Effect, which states that people will hide unpopular beliefs during controversial elections, influenced polls to make Hillary Clinton appear more likely to win.
College Republicans are planning on holding a panel on veterans’ experiences out of the military, focusing on topics like education and PTSD. They also discussed finding a speaker for a campus event, with names like Steven Crowder and Ben Shapiro mentioned alongside personalities like Christina Hoff Sommers and Milo Yiannopoulos.
Despite their apparent rivalry with one another, the organizations often cooperate on events for Hood students. They intend to continue holding debates in the 2017 spring semester. Currently, the topic for the next debate will be health care, abortion, and euthanasia.
The two groups push past partisanship in order to keep Hood students informed on the issues. Their cooperative efforts include presenting speakers at a post-election discussion by Hood’s political science department.
With their leaders’ respective optimism guiding them, College Democrats and College Republicans seem poised to continue their work in spite of, or possibly because of, America’s polarized political climate.
“It’s detrimental to society not to talk about politics, since it affects everyone,” Kebede said. “Politics is a means by which to achieve a better society.”