The College Republican National Committee recently named the Maine College Republicans the "Best State Federation in America." The Orient sat down with its Chairman, Dan Schuberth '06 to hear about his work for the Bush campaign this semester.
Why did you have to take the semester off?
I decided to take the semester off from Bowdoin because the Chairmanship of the Maine College Republicans quickly transformed into a full-time job when I was asked to run President Bush's youth effort here in Maine.
I worked during the summer to raise the funds to hire four full-time field staffers to help coordinate our efforts on Maine's college campuses. With a team of two students from Michigan, one from New York, and one very special Colby student on my staff, on August 23, we were ready to hit the ground running just as soon as students returned to campus.
What exactly did you do for the campaign?
Most of my day to day activities focused on monitoring and supporting the efforts of my field staff as they recruited new members, registered new voters, and supplied volunteers from college campuses to Bush-Cheney offices throughout the state. We were up each morning at the crack of dawn, and didn't usually make it home before midnight?such is the glorious life of a campaign staffer!
My field team and I managed to expand our organization to 23 campuses with over 2,000 members by September. More importantly, we were able to integrate our new members into the Bush-Cheney reelection effort immediately, which provided the campaign with thousands of hours a week of volunteer work just from the College Republicans!
I was the guy who made sure that our college volunteers got where they needed to go, and that they had the pizza and beer (for the 21 crowd, of course) to keep them alive.
What was your biggest accomplishment?
Definitely our biggest accomplishment was winning Maine's youth vote for President Bush. We managed to turn out the votes from both the traditional and non-traditional student populations in Maine to make the difference this year among the 18-29 year-olds.
It's even more remarkable when you compare Maine's youth vote to that of similar states. John Kerry's margin of victory was similar in Connecticut, for example, to what it was in Maine: about 8 points. Connecticut's youth, however, followed the typical blue state trend and voted for Kerry 70 percent-29 percent! I'm just proud because regardless of how Maine voted as a state, we still did our job and delivered Maine's youth vote for Dubya.
Who were the people you dealt with, and what were they like?
Along the way, my staff and I encountered some of the most passionate people you could imagine. There were students with tattoos of President Bush drawn on their arms and copies of the Starr Report held close to their hearts who welcomed us as liberating heroes on their liberal college campuses.
There were others with "no blood for oil" wristbands and replicas of John Kerry's Purple Heart awards fastened to their bags who swore at us, ripped down our posters and banners, and even flipped over our membership tables. One need look no further than Maine's college campuses for evidence of a divided America.
Who was the most interesting person you met?
I was a huge fan of Andy Card, President Bush's Chief of Staff. I got a chance to host Secretary Card twice in one day during the campaign: first at an event in Ellsworth, and then later that day in Waterville with the Thomas College Republicans. We're hoping to host Secretary Card once again as the keynote speaker at our College Republican State Convention in April.
What was the most interesting experience?
Coordinating major surrogate visits was by far the most exciting part of the campaign. I served as the volunteer coordinator for most of our major surrogate visits this year, including the largest political rally in Maine's history, President Bush's visit to Bangor.
I also had the opportunity to coordinate both First Lady Laura Bush's visit to Lewiston and the unforgettable visit of Jenna and Barbara Bush to the College Republicans at the University of Maine-Orono and Bates. The best part was getting a chance to meet and chat with some of the political leaders that I have followed and admired for quite some time.
What did you learn about the political process?
It is intense! Political leadership can be summed up in two words: crisis management. It's the ability to rise above the bitter conflicts and individualism that run rampant in the political world, and employ a team mentality, nourished by the promise of victory.
You can't read about politics in a book and expect to be able to jump right in after graduation; you've got to spend some time in the trenches. The campaign granted me a position of leadership that I could not have attained had I remained at Bowdoin.
What does the award for the Maine College Republicans mean to you and the organization?
To me, the award is the culmination of 16 months of hard work. The Maine College Republicans has been my passion ever since I was elected chairman, and there is no higher honor than to have your organization recognized as the "Best State Federation in America."
This award belongs to College Republican leaders at Bowdoin like Alex Linhart '06, Chris Averill '06, and Gardiner Holland '06, as they sacrificed a lot to make this organization successful. Leaders like these and others working around the state will make sure that the Maine College Republicans are number one for four more years!