On Tuesday, April 21, students, faculty and members of the community gathered in Mead Chapel to hear Middlebury College Activities Board’s (MCAB) spring speaker, veteran Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile, in her talk titled “Political Outlook: A Comprehensive Picture of What’s Going On in Washington.”
Brazile is the vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee as well as an author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She has worked on every presidential campaign from 1976 to 2000, and was the first African American woman to manage a presidential campaign when she served as Al Gore’s campaign manager in 2000.
Brazile opened her speech by presenting the audience with background information on her own life and the events that sparked her interest in politics, noting the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a turning point. Even though she was only eight years old at the time, it inspired her to get involved in her community and to use her voice to make sure that political opportunity is open to all people.
This, she explained, remains her goal. And she stressed that even though the mold was broken with the election of Barack Obama in 2008, there is more to be done. She spoke of the ills of a hyper-partisan Washington that often results in gridlock, but also said that for the first time the American people are tired of it. She claimed the U.S. is looking for new leaders and values.
Brazile spoke on the upcoming 2016 U.S. presidential election. She reflected on potential candidates for the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as those who have already announced their candidacy. The Republican primary, she predicted, will be especially interesting to watch because of the sheer number of candidates including Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. She also stressed that top-tier candidates will be those who are well-positioned in the polls, will raise a lot of money, and will be able to mobilize their bases.
On the Democratic side, Brazile spoke highly of Hillary Clinton, but also cited Joe Biden, Lincoln Chaffee, Jim Webb and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders as possible contenders for the nomination.
A large portion of Brazile’s talk centered around campaign finance reform. She expressed her opinion that we, as citizens, should demand that candidates disclose all of their donors, and that Super PACs are “destroying our democracy.”
Lauren Alper ’16, a political science major, appreciated Brazile’s focus on Citizens United.
“We are spending billions of dollars on anonymous attack ads, inhibiting politicians without the same resources to get their voices heard,” Alper said.
She added: “Brazile reminded us that this money could be going to infrastructure, education, healthcare and much more. Currently, elected politicians are usually the ones with the most money, not the ones with the best ideas or the ones who represent the people.”
Charlotte Boghossian ’16 echoed
Alper’s sentiments.
“I liked that she focused on campaign finance, as someone whose career depends on those policies,” Boghossian said.
However, the overarching theme of Brazile’s talk was not the work she has done in politics or her predictions for 2016. Rather, it was the issue of millennials’ apparent unwillingness to run for public office, or to get involved in politics at all.
“We need you,” Brazile said at numerous times throughout her speech, “If you’re a leader, we need you in public office…if you’re willing to stand up for what’s right, we need you.”
She urged those students in the audience to consider running for office, or to serve at some level in their community.
“We can finally break the mold,” Brazile said, explaining that we need new ideas and new people who are willing to sit around the table.
Brazile ended her talk with a call
to action.
She said: “So go out there and give them hell. Stir it up. Don’t be afraid to step on some toes. It’s your nation. Why you? Because there’s no one better. And why now? Because tomorrow is not
soon enough.”
There was then a question and answer segment, in which Brazile responded to student inquiries on issues ranging from key senate races in 2016 to Hurricane Katrina. In response to a question regarding Hillary Clinton’s campaign announcement video and use of social media, Brazile emphasized that Clinton had won the most votes in 2008 but did not have the most delegates.
Because of this, Brazile explained, she believes Hillary needs to be on the ground, talking to people and hearing their ideas, in this election cycle.
“She’s running the right kind of campaign,” Brazile said.
