Rough time for Republicans

With seemingly the entire political world supporting the "GObama" era for hope and change, it would be assumed that it is harder than ever to be a Republican. In today's political culture, the UAlbany College Republicans know what they're up against.

College Republican President James Novak and Vice President Brandon Asch lead the group, comprised mainly of people who want to make friends through their similar political beliefs. Novak, Asch and the College Republicans promote the ideas and principles of the Republican Party. One of the group's Web sites lists those principles as: low taxes, a marketplace free from government intervention, fiscal responsibility by keeping jobs available and inflation under control, and a strong national defense.

While members' opinions vary on the difficulty of living in the "GObama" age, they can all agree that there is a love affair with Barack Obama, said Michael Ventre. Novak said recruitment numbers are higher than they've ever been, due to an unusually large freshmen class membership but being the political rivals to what is perceived to be the correct side has been a challenge to the group.

"It actually is pretty hard, considering everyone is obsessed with the guy," said Erica Taylor, the group's secretary, about Obama. "I don't care about Michelle Obama, I don't care about what she's wearing, I don't care about his NCAA picks, or their dog. I obviously respect him as our president, but apparently my disagreement with him makes me a bad person."

Life as a College Republican on the UAlbany campus isn't easy, some members say.

"Being a Republican in this age is very difficult. Arguing the losing side according to society can be very discouraging," said Matthew Wimpelberg, who acts as a consultant to the other officers of the group.

Patrick Lorman adds, "people will look at you funny. I don't think we're the most hated group on campus, but I'm sure we aren't the most well liked, either."

Many consider Republicans to be prejudiced moral dictators who hate change and the poor.

UAlbany's College Republicans tend to be more socially liberal than many would think, said Novak on the standings of his group members on many key issues.

"I'd like people to know that we do not, in fact, eat children. We are not evil in any sort of way. We are simply a group of people who believe in free market and business. There seems to be a stigma that Republicans are evil people who only care for business. That simply is not true," Ventre said.

In a poll of all College Republican members, for example, 80 percent of them would not be opposed to supporting a candidate that would legalize gay marriage. There is evenly split on the subject of the legalization of marijuana. They also disagree with the notion that the Republican Party needs to move toward the center politically.

"We are very balanced and accepting," Wimpelberg said of the College Republicans' variety of stances on hot-button issues.

Taylor adds, "believe it or not we aren't just a bunch of bonus babies or red neck southerners. Most of us disapprove of Bush."

But don't think that just because they are socially liberal that they aren't going to stick to their political guns.

The group is hard-headed in its beliefs, which serves as one of its strengths. "I feel that my principles are correct and hopefully people will see that," said Ventre, one of the many freshmen that comprise the majority of the organization.

The CR's, as they call themselves, get chances to display their principles in a number of debates over the course of the year.

Their most recent debate was against the UAlbany College Democrats over Obama's American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, or the stimulus bill, which the College Republicans are staunchly against.

They also get to exercise their political activism by campaigning for local Republican political candidates. This year they campaigned for Sandy Treadwell, who was defeated by now-U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2008 race for New York's 20th Congressional District. They also campaigned for Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R-Schenectady), who lost to Democrat Scott Murphy in the race to fill Gillibrand's seat in Congress when she left to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. In addition, the group fundraised for Assemblyman George Amedore (R-Rotterdam).

Taylor, Lorman, and Wimpelberg said they all consider these campaigns their most rewarding CR experiences to date because they were able to see how a political campaign worked and that aiding these campaigns helped them to become more involved in the political process.

But despite the rewards that have gone along with their activism, more blows to the Republican community have only led to hostility from some group members. This can be seen in the video of the group's debate against the Democrats. There were moments during the debate where Asch was unable to control his temper and Novak got involved despite not being part of the heated debate.

Some group members feel as though Obama gets more credit than he deserves. "I feel like Barack Obama is so overrated, I can't even stand it," Taylor said.

Some feel as though Obama doesn't deserve much credit at all. Asch goes as far as to call him "a fad that will inevitably come to a close," and that "once people realize he's going to bankrupt the nation, they'll stop acting like he's the second coming."

While they may not be huge fans of the current president, the College Republicans have no problem pointing out the flaws with their own party. The main problem that some group members have is the way the Republican Party handled the recent presidential election.

"[John McCain] was a terrible candidate," Asch said of the runner-up in the race. He is even more critical of his vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, saying that "if [the Republican Party] managed to pick Palin, they have lost any and all chances to reign back the intellectual wing of the party."

With the exception of Ventre, who said he hopes to run for Congress in New York's 19th Congressional District when he is 25 years old, not many of the College Republicans have future political aspirations

"I'm not nearly charming, articulate, or likable enough to make it in politics," said Taylor on why she does not aspire to a political position down the road.

Wimpelberg agrees, saying "I don't have any aspirations at this point, but who knows about the future."