Tennessee Federation of College Democrats

Tennessee Federation of College Democrats Endorse Tim Barnes

The Tennessee Federation of College Democrats has proudly announced their support for Tim Barnes for 22^nd District State Senator in the Democratic State Senatorial Primary, to be held on August 7, 2008. The seat is currently held by Senator Rosalind Kurita.

In 2007, Senator Kurita voted to remove Tennessee’s most senior statesman, John Wilder (D-Somerville) for Lt. Governor in favor of Republican Ron Ramsey. For this controversial move, she was rewarded with a leadership position in the Republican controlled chamber. This vote led to the stalemate that exists in the Tennessee State Senate today, as well as the hold up of several important pieces of legislation including issues of Lottery Scholarship GPA and Judicial Selection.

Tim Barnes is a graduate of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas and The University of Arkansas Law School in Little Rock. Tim has been practicing law for 23 years and continues to maintain his office in historic downtown Clarksville. He, his wife Linda, and their three children Patrick, Molly and Fergus are members of the First Presbyterian Church in Clarksville. Tim is also a member of the American Red Cross Board in Montgomery County.

Tennessee Federation of College Democrats President Leah Kirk states, “Tim Barnes is someone who will represent the students and young people well. He isn’t afraid to stand up for change and gives us hope for the future, our future.”

Kirk said this was “a difficult decision”; initially the TFCD said that they would not be making any endorsements in partisan primary races. However, it became clear that the active membership of the organization supported Barnes because of his stances on the issues and his eagerness to do the work of and to be the representative of the citizens of the 22nd Senatorial district.

The actions of Sen. Rosalind Kurita also played a pivotal role in the decision for the TFCDs endorsement. “College Students across the state are tired of the degrading acts of Senator Kurita to the Democratic party’s values and ideals in Tennessee,” Kirk said. “We are standing up for our issues. We need someone in the State Senate willing to vote with and for Legislators who care about minimum wage, HOPE Scholarship funding, as well as funding to allow more Tennesseans the opportunity to attend college,” Kirk continued.

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College Democrats of America National Convention 2008

Nashville, Tenn-The College Democrats of America (CDA) will hold their national convention in Denver, Colorado on Friday, August 22 through Sunday, August 24. Events will include the election of CDA officers, watch parties, youth panels and planning for victory in 2008 with the Democratic National Convention to follow. The CDA will continue to host events through the DNC which concludes on Thursday, August 28.

“With the youth vote surging this year, we are expecting a very large attendance at the annual College Democrats of America Convention,” CDA President Lauren Wolfe said.  

Attendees are encouraged to register as soon as possible and stay through the national convention. Housing will be provided by the University of Denver in conjunction with the DNC and is available on a first come, first serve basis. More information on housing will available soon.

The registration fee is $65 and is open until Thursday July 22. On-site registration cost $105 and will be available on Friday August 22 only.

Registration is available on the CDA Webcite:

http://partybuilder.collegedems.com/page/s/cda08
 

About the TFCD:
The Tennessee Federation of College Democrats is a group designated to unite, lead and coordinate chapters of the College Democrats of America on college and university campuses throughout Tennessee. The TFCD currently is made up of 28 chapters across the state, representing more than 2,300 members.

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Democrats Are Keeping Their Promises to Students

College Democrats of America president Lauren Wolfe has a nicely written opinion piece on The Huffington Post explaining what congressional Democrats have been accomplishing for students.

Read it here.

DREAM act

In the US today, there are students who have lived practically their entire lives in this country, they’ve gone to high school here and they’ve worked hard to achieve, and yet they cannot go to college.

These are students who were brought to the US as children, and who, because of their lack of citizenship, are unable to realize their dreams of higher education. 65,000 of these students graduate from high school each year and are unable to work legally, or attend college.

This is wrong for America, and it’s wrong for our communities:

1. Education (at any level) is a universal right.
2. Not helping students’ attend college results in much greater costs to the state and contributes to an uneducated workforce

The “DREAM Act” and “American Dream Act” provide an opportunity for U.S.-raised students to earn U.S. citizenship. The “DREAM Act” would allow certain immigrant students to adjust their status to that of a legal permanent resident on a conditional basis for six years based on the following requirements:

• Age. Immigrant students must have entered the U.S. before age 16.

• Academic requirement. Students must have been accepted for admission into a two or four-year institution of higher education or have earned a high school diploma or a general educational development (GED) certificate at the time of application for relief. or served in the U.S. armed forces for at least 2 years.

• Long-term U.S. residence. Students must reside in the U.S. when the law is enacted. In addition, those eligible must have lived in the U.S. for at least five years preceding the date of enactment of the Act.

• Good moral character. Immigrant students must demonstrate good moral character, a defined term in immigration law. In general, students must have no criminal record.

The DREAM act isn’t just important to immigrant students, it is important for all of us.

Bush’s Healthcare Veto

from Thursday, October 4th’s Washington Post:

President Bush yesterday vetoed a $35 billion expansion of a popular children’s health insurance program, a move that left him as politically isolated as he has ever been and had even Republican allies questioning his hard-line strategy.

Bush advisers said they remain hopeful that they can secure an extension of the 10-year-old program with a lower price tag, saying they want to open negotiations soon.