Here at Dartmouth, Democrats hope Kerry can take President George W. Bush to task for the economy and foreign policy. Kerry gives them a lot of one-liners to work with, railing against tax cuts and “Benedict Arnold” CEOs. Students love this kind of talk: helping the little guy, slaying the big giant. But Kerry and his student supporters seem to have slept through too many Econ 101 lectures. Corporate tax cuts and outsourcing mean lower costs and more jobs. That’s good for everyone, not just the suits. The unemployment rate is the same as in 1995, Clinton’s second term. Kerry wasn’t calling for “regime change” then. Speaking of regime change, foreign policy will be a minefield for the candidate, as well. With Kerry’s poor voting record on useful military programs, the Massachusetts senator won’t fare too well in a referendum on global affairs.
Since Kerry can’t win on foreign policy and economics, he’ll try to hit voters where it hurts, playing up the social issues liberals claim to care so much about. If he uses enough buzzwords like “social justice” and “unequal rights,” voters could think the Republican president opposes the free and open society they want.
But campus conservatives aren’t going to let the Democrats define the president like that. If Kerry wants to wage a culture war in this election, we’ll use a phrase he’s sarcastically appropriated: “Bring it on.” Sound economic logic and strong foreign policy may be our bread and butter, but on social issues, we’re not softies. Since we matriculated, my conservative classmates and I have been arguing with activists of all colors–red, green, and pinko. This weekend, Dartmouth will host ’60s radical Bill Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist from the Weather Underground movement whose pipe bombs for peace activities landed him on the FBI’s most-wanted list. Sponsored by Dartmouth’s Government Department and several student groups, the event planners ask, “What would push you to violence?” This is the kind of nonsense college conservatives have to go up against on a daily basis. A Massachusetts liberal will be a piece of cake.
Of course, Kerry’s culture war is already taking off on this campus. After President Bush came out in favor of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, liberal students lambasted Bush as a closed-minded Cro-Magnon. They don’t care that Bush’s words and Bill Clinton’s Defense of Marriage Act are nearly identical. Kerry, meanwhile, is coy with the voters–he’s against gay marriage. I guess he forgot that he and only 13 other senators voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
What’s more, Kerry’s views hardly even matter. As far as social issues go, this election is all about judicial nominations. Kerry can play nice and talk about inclusiveness. But the liberal, activist judges he favors are “enlightening” America one ruling at a time. Say what you will about Bush’s proposed marriage amendment, at least state legislators will dictate its success. Voters hold legislators accountable. The Democrats know that many hot-button social issues like gay marriage won’t pass muster with American voters or legislators looking to keep their seats. Fiats in the courtroom, however, make the unwanted institutions into law. Unfortunately, you can’t vote the Ninth Circuit Court off the bench.
That’s why campus conservatives are willing to stand up to Kerry on all the issues, cultural included. Sure, many college Republicans have reservations about the pro-life and anti gay-marriage leanings of our party. But we all agree that if America is ready for, say, gay marriage it should be decided by our votes and representatives–not the bang of a gavel. John Kerry may claim to know mainstream America but what he really wants is a subservient country ruled over by the activist courts. That doesn’t sounds like a free and open society to me.
