I read with interest and much disapproval Andrew Schmitz’s letter, “ISU Democrats should make time for debate.” With all due respect to Schmitz and the Political Science Club, I would like to say that I’m disappointed. It was in the best interest of the campaigns and the organization itself that we didn’t participate in the debate.

I find it interesting that Schmitz only used a small fraction of President Eric Marsh’s e-mail to state his opinion. Schmitz stated that Marsh replied, only saying, “We are really slammed with the election coming up.” In reality, Marsh’s entire quote was, “We are really slammed with the election coming up. A better possibility would be for you to contact the Students for Obama. They have many more active volunteers, currently.” We provided the Political Science Club with a way to have a representative from the Obama campaign.

The letter states that, “This is pathetic! In both of the previous two elections the two campus organizations debated each other. There is no reason that the ISU Democrats could not have found time this year.” The Political Science Club is not entitled to have a debate every election year. As an organization, we reserve the choice not to participate. Schmitz also fails to acknowledge that the 2008 election is different, because we have been trying to do more than just elect our candidates. As a group, we put a lot of effort and time into urging students to vote early. The ISU Republicans did not have the same level of on-campus campaigning. Therefore, they would have more time to debate.

I’m appalled that Schmitz would call for change in leadership for the group. The officers of the ISU Democrats are working tirelessly toward the most important goal: Helping elect Barack Obama to the White House and other Democratic candidates to their respective offices.

Similar to Schmitz, one important thing that I have learned about politics is that there is more than just Election Day. Politics is about a series of priorities and making choices. The ISU Democrats have set priorities, and making time for a debate that will have no effect on the outcome of the election was counterproductive.

Teresa Tompkins

Vice President

ISU Democrats