After visiting Iowa State University on Sunday, Obama will be headed on a two-day college tour through Iowa. Here's a schedule of his events:
As Obama embarks on this tour, it's helpful to remember something: Campus progressive groups, including the College Democrats, have long made it a
priority to register students to vote and encourage them to get involved in city and state politics where they attend school.
This week, Hillary Clinton argued that Iowa college students, those who live and study in Iowa and have lived there for years, have always been able to
participate, but come originally from out of state, shouldn't participate in the Iowa caucuses. If Clinton had her way:
At Grinnell College, 87% of students would be disenfranchised.
At the University of Iowa in Iowa City, 36% or 10,800 students would be disenfranchised.
At Iowa State University in Ames, 30% or 7,800 students would be disenfanchised.
All in all, 21,000 students who live and study in Iowa, according to Senator Clinton, should not be allowed to caucus.
Undeterred by Hillary's Rovian attempts to suppress the vote in Iowa, Obama said over the weekend to students at a rally:
Don’t let people tell you that you can’t participate. You are an Iowa student; you can be an Iowa caucus-goer, and I want you to prove them wrong when they say you’re not gonna show up.
And of course, Hillary is doing the same thing she is attacking Obama about. Even Hillary's hard-core student supporters will be dismayed by her move.
The Obama campaign contends that it’s doing nothing unusual — that Iowa college students have long caucused near their colleges.
And a separate Register news article quoted Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro as saying of the Obama instructions: “I think it's playing
within the rules.”
A Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign official said: “We are not courting out-of-staters. The Iowa caucus ought to be for Iowans.”
In fact, Clinton is counting on the support of some out-of-state students attending Iowa universities. Sarah Sunderman of Iowa State University, who
was announced in a news release as a leader of the “Hill Yea” Students Leaders for Hillary, told the Des Moines Register in October that “she will drive
back early from her home in Minnesota to take part in the Jan. 3 caucuses.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7125.htmlBoth the Politico and the Chicago Sun-Times are highlighting an older report about the Clinton campaign's efforts to bring out-of-state students back
to Iowa to caucus. The co-president of Students for Hillary at the University of Iowa is an Illinois native:
And as reported earlier this year, the Clinton campaign was trying to organize students in a way we think is perfectly acceptable but obviously hypocritical considering her attack today.]But her student volunteers are working on contingency plans. Nikki Dziuban, a 19-year-old sophomore
from the Chicago suburbs, is co-president of Students for Hillary at the University of Iowa. She says the original caucus date of Jan. 14
would boost student turnout because out-of-state students like her would be “more inclined to come back if it’s just a couple days earlier
than if it’s right in the middle of break.” (Spring semester there begins Jan. 22.)
As a reminder, the Clinton campaign was the only campaign to aggressively recruit non-Iowans to the JJ as the below information evidences...
Clinton Campaign Recruits from Out of State for Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner: Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which is either ahead or tied
in the polls in Iowa (depending on whom you ask), has begun recruiting supporters from other Midwestern states to help build up their crowd.
In an email obtained last night, Clinton’s Political Director for the Midwest, Sean Johnson, asks out-of-staters to come to Iowa for a “day of
action ; ,” which will include a canvass during the day and — perhaps more importantly — a chance to waive signs and look good on camera
at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner.
Link 1:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/12/sweet_column_obamas_controvers.htmlLink 2:
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=CD24A2C2-3048-5C12-00957B40A6837A9ELink 3:
http://cmondisplay.com/2007/11/03/clinton-campaign-recruits-from-out-of-state-for-iowa-jefferson-jackson-dinner For more information, I suggest zulchzulu's very informative thread: "Hillary Clinton's campaign displays obvious hypocrisy about Iowa student caucus rules"
Link:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3787609&mesg_id=3787609Meanwhile, The American Prospect's Ezra Klein, sees this as an example of sudden panic on the Clinton side:
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