RSS 2.0 FeedOctober 28, 2010, Merrick Life
Campaign forum at Hofstra
Howard Dean addresses the audience at Hofstra University.
The most important election in America last year was the county executive campaign in Nassau County, not the Republican takeovers in the New Jersey and Virginia governors’ races, declared former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean at a bipartisan election 2010 forum held at Hofstra University last month.
Dr. Dean commented that in Nassau, “a Democratic rock star,” then-County Executive Thomas Suozzi, “was upset [defeated] by someone no one ever heard of,” then-county Legislator Edward Mangano.
The pre-election event was sponsored by the Hofstra Cultural Center, directed by Natalie Datlof of Merrick.
Dr. Dean said that two bellwether Congressional contests to watch are the re-election bids of Democratic U.S. Representatives Tim Bishop of Eastern Long Island and John Hall of Westchester County. Dr. Dean predicted both Democrats will win November 2. He said the two elections will help predict the national election results early on Election Night.
Regarding the recent defeat of Republican Representative Mike Castle in a U.S. Senate primary election in Delaware by Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell, Dr. Dean said Mr. Castle is a “great representative and [former] governor. People are so angry that they don’t care what the facts are.”
But he predicted that the Democrats will hold both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in the November elections. “The Democrats have great candidates, and we have more money” than the Republicans, he added.
He said a recent poll showed that “people can’t stand the Democrats. They hate the Republicans more!”
Dr. Dean, a former Vermont governor and candidate in the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries, said “the American public is a tough boss. We want everything but we don’t want to pay.”
Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins, who was political director of the Reagan White House, said "the Tea Party could be a problem for the Republicans or a plus. Most Tea Party members are good, honest people. We need to make room for them in our party."
He said "the Tea Party is a grassroots movement. If the Republican Party is going to listen to them, they'll keep involved in future elections." He predicted that 3-6 Tea Party candidates will be elected to the U.S. Senate in November.
Dr. Dean declared, "I approve of much of what the Tea Party is doing, but don't agree with all of their politics. The Tea Party is citizens taking back the right to have some say over what their government does."
Republican Rollins said "older voters are very concerned about this election, and will turn out" to vote. "Older people get many [government] benefits," Mr. Rollins noted. "Younger voters don't, and are concerned about big government debts they had nothing to do with." He said "people are not sure [President] Obama is a leader."
A student asked how to get involved in politics. Dr. Dean said the last time he spoke at Hofstra, another student asked that question, and he advised him to volunteer in campaigns. Governor Dean reported that he recently saw the former student working as a paid staffer in Congressman Hall's re-election campaign.
Speaking to the many Hofstra students in the audience, Dr. Dean said, "Your generation is inclusive" and accepting of people of different racial, religious, ethnic or other groups. Young people are intolerant of "race baiting" or other political attacks on groups because that is "threatening their friends," he said. "This country will look like California in 40 years. There will be no [racial or ethnic] majority."
Dr. Dean noted that polls say more than 80 percent of the people think that the economy is the number-one issue.
He concluded that "We do live in an extraordinary country. We're all talking about problems up here [the panel of political experts on the dais in the Hofstra Student Center]. In the grand sceme of things, this country is moving in the right direction."
