Oh Matt,

My post was not an attack on neither you nor any of the College Republicans... the purpose of the post was to get your attention (it seems I have). I have asked you "respectfully" to consider an additional, less formal debate on more than one occasion ... the response I got is that more than one debate is too much; I disagree and so made it clear in my post.

It would be quite apparent to anyone who attended last semesters debate, that the USD Democrats are most polite and quite capable of using "appropriate rhetoric.” If I remember correctly it was the Republican side of the stage that threw out a few quick jokes, political one liners, during the debate last February…  if the republican groups want to make snide jokes about our party during a debate, let's have a debate that is set up so we can defend ourselves.

We aren’t asking the College Republicans to get in a “screaming match” we just want to have a debate about what actually matters: what voting for either John McCain or Barack Obama means. We don’t want to get in front of students and make jokes or insult any of the candidates… we do want to make sure people know what voting for either ticket means. I want students to know that by voting for Barack Obama they will be voting for a candidate with strong opinions on, and structured plans for, education, health care, foreign policy, energy etc. I am sure that the Republicans want students voting for McCain because of his positions as well. What I mean is that, it should have been obvious that a debate “about candidates” would be a debate on the candidate’s position on the “issues.”

What the PSL has set up as a debate for the dems and repubs in the past had nothing to do with campaigns or candidates, rather the debate was set up to inform students on the general positions of the two parties. The PSL debates are a wonderful way to inform students about general positions, but during this incredibly important election, we want to discuss more than a few general positions… we want to make sure students know what each candidate is about!

As far as the facebook reference… I mean no offense. BUT if you are willing to make a statement about a candidate on your facebook profile, you must have enough opinions about him to be able to have a respectful debate. I hope you don’t have demeaning pictures posted with nothing to back up the claims they make… you must think Obama’s foreign policy stances are weak, or his education plan is lacking… or something, right? Well… that’s what we want to talk about.

If you want to call it fight… okay, lets fight! We are smart, articulate, and informed people… we can fight and keep it respectful. Students like to see both parties debate about candidates, because in reality that’s what is going to matter: who they vote for this November.

SO… matt… lets take a look at some of the rhetoric in your post and see how “insulting” it is compared the language I used:

 you say “In their latest post, the USD Democrats whined”

you say “Look through the silly hyperbole and ad hominem”

you say “Emily Van Gerpen launched an ad hominem attack”

and theres more… but that’s a good enough idea…

Now:

I say: This year's presidential campaign has been hugely popular among younger voters... something that matters quite a lot to the College Democrats and College Republicans.

I say: the College Republicans think more than one is "overkill." (Your direct opinion… )

I say: Certainly the College Republicans have members with much to say in support of Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. ( I stress your groups dedication to your candidates… so insulting)

I say: We hope the College Republicans will consider the idea of an additional, less formal debate.  ( that seems like I respectfully asked…) 

With that said, I do hope the College Republicans will consider having more than one debate. A secondary and "less formal" debate that will still have rules would be a great way to continue our efforts to work together this year to encourage political activism.

Emily