The 2nd District GOP Congressional Candidates' Forum

So as some of you may know, tonight, April 7th, was the 2nd District GOP Congressional Candidates' Forum. I was rather disappointed by the student turnout of a handful or so, but then I realized that there really wasn't that much advertisement of it other than on facebook. Oh, and we are in a relatively Democratic area, on a college campus, populated mainly by Democratic types. But you'd think they'd come out for the free pizza and soda.

Even though I'm a 1st District voter myself, my political junkie was screaming for a fix, and the call of free pizza and soda was too much to bear; I couldn't resist.

Featured tonight were Congressional hopefuls Jim Steiner (http://www.joinjim2008.com/), Jennifer Horn (http://jenniferhorn.org/), and Grant Bosse (http://bosse2008.com/). Conspicuous in his absence was State Senator Bob Clegg, who I've heard may also toss his name in the hat for the 2nd District Congressional seat.

Before the festivities could even get started, there was a fire alarm. Evidently one of the residents in Hall burnt some food, and do Heritage Commons, where the forum was being held, also had to evacuate the building. So we were all quite chilly once the festivities got to a start.

Issues raised ranged from the candidates' opinions on education, Iraq, the economy, and the War Powers Act. I'll spare you all the details, considering I took about four pages of notes in anticipation of blogging the forum. I will say that Mr. Bosse distinguished himself with his adherence to free market principles, and Mr. Steiner distinguished himself by his proposal to expand programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and extending GI Bill-like education benefits to alumni of such programs in order to make higher education more affordable.

All of the candidates stressed the need to decrease the overall size of government, as well as the need to decrease the federal tax burden on Americans. Basically, think small government Republican, and you'll get the basic picture. Check out the websites if you're interested in more detailed issue stances.

Overall it was a good time, and I would encourage you guys to check out political events on campus in the future. It just so happens that Paul Hodes will be on campus this Saturday!