College Democrats Meet With Senator Leahy

Author: Raam Wong

The Vergennes Opera House was filled to capacity on Saturday afternoon with Addison County citizens and 10 members of the Middlebury College Democrats during a reception for Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy.

College Democrats President Ben LaBolt '03, who worked with the Addison County Democratic Committee to organize and promote the fundraising event, saw the event as an effective way of gaining momentum for local campaigns for the upcoming election season.

"Since our organization is primarily interested in helping local campaigns and candidates, working on small venue fundraising events is one of the most important ways we can participate in the political process," LaBolt said.

Several of the fundraiser attendees were surprised to see so many students from the College, yet LaBolt credits the high turnout to the Senator's appeal. "Meeting Senator Leahy, probably the single greatest contemporary protector of Americans' civil liberties, was certainly an exciting draw," he said.

This theme was reiterated during Leahy's speech in which he spoke of Bush's war on terrorism. "Vermonters have been through tough times before. We know, we will protect our nation, but we must also protect our constitution," Leahy said.

Additionally, the Senator expressed his unwillingness to simply "rubber-stamp" all of President Bush's judicial nominations, especially the controversial nomination of Charles Pickering for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The College Democrats say they look forward to additional meetings with state and federal leaders in the future, including a reception with former Secretary of Labor and Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Robert Reich in Montpelier on Thursday.