NewU Letter to the Editor: New U Honest, Not Biased

Following up on this previous post:

Link to article

New U Honest, Not Biased

I wasn’t surprised when I picked up last week’s New U and read the letter titled “New U Reveals Left-Wing Bias” (Nov. 13). The letter is simply smear tactics from a party that has already proven itself disastrous for America. There are several problems with the accusations of the New U’s liberal leanings, and here they are:

1. The College Republicans knew about the Get Out the Vote rally up to five days in advance. They were even sent invites. Yet, like other times when they were invited to attend bipartisan talks, the College Republicans failed to even respond to the RSVPs, leaving us in somewhat of a quandary as to where they stood on the issues.

2. The College Republicans, after hearing of Cindy Sheehan’s imminent arrival, did not propose a joint rally, but instead opted to plan a protest. They assumed the rally to be one for progressives (it was co-sponsored by the Progressive Democrats of America). Had they contacted the Young Democrats of UC Irvine before the rally and asked to co-sponsor and have a booth at the event, we would have cordially agreed. However, when we arrived, they had signs reading “Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Democrat,” “How many more soldiers will you dishonor, Cindy?” and the like. Therefore, by being hostile from the get-go, the College Republicans waived any rights to Limbaugh-like claims concerning the rally’s legitimacy as a GOTV event.

3. The New U represented the side of the College Republicans accurately, giving the president, Brock Hill, eight lines of quotes, whereas the Young Democrats received zero. Steve Young urged bipartisanship as a means of mending a broken America, and allowing the College Republicans a quote illustrated their side of the issue. The letter-writer also falsely assumed the event to be sponsored solely by the Young Democrats. The Young Democrats conjured up some 60 supporters throughout the hour (I can name them all if I have to). PDA and Democracy for America gathered the rest, and this is where the middle-aged audience came from. As one can see, there were many groups at the rally, and the article gave time to each, allowing the College Republicans more than enough space to voice their opinions.

The New U represented the rally with accuracy and integrity. So the question still remains: Will the Republican Party, after the election results, continue to disenfranchise their base? Or will they, with integrity, run on platforms that will benefit America, rather than running groups of concerned and passionate individuals such as the Young Democrats (and the American people) into the ground?

David Lorango
Co-president
Young Democrats of UC Irvine