December 17, 2004

Local Democrats move beyond 2004 election

SJSU professor reflects on positive aspects

By Tom Harney
Special to the Times

“There is hope for the Democratic Party. This is not the end of the world. There will be another election,” reassured Professor Terry Christensen, a popular San Jose State University political science professor.

SJSU political science professor Terry Christensen assures local Democrats at The Villages that there’s hope for the Democrats and that there will be another election.

He included these encouraging words in his remarks before the members and guests of the Evergreen Democratic Club at The Villages as they gathered at the Vineyard Center on Dec. 7.

Christensen went on to say, “The good that came out of this election is the number of volunteers and the amount of money that came from small contributions. I have never seen such enthusiasm in volunteering to work for the election of a presidential candidate.

“The fact is that we made John Kerry competitive,” he continued. “We made John Kerry competitive with a wartime president with unlimited money. He came close. He almost won. He received 49 percent of the vote, more votes than any other presidential candidate in history—except for George W. Bush.”

Christensen added, “I think John Kerry was a very smart guy, but he might have been a little too smart. A little too smart to get it down to an ‘It’s the economy, Stupid’ kind of message. I don’t think the Democratic Party had a clear message except that ‘John Kerry is not George W. Bush,’ which almost worked, but wasn’t enough.”

After the meeting, when asked how he likes presenting at The Villages, Christensen answered, “Well, these are smart people, who are political and have a lot of knowledge. I could talk to them about the realigning elections of the 20th century and they could relate to them. It’s part of their history. And, it’s always more fun to talk to a group of people who are activists, are politically engaged, are concerned about the future and want to hear what you have to say.”

Club President Bob Applebaum was encouraged with the meeting and said afterwards, “Professor Christensen is always a delight to have for a speaker at our meetings. He keeps us better informed. He’s very generous with his time in his presentation and with his answering questions afterwards.”

In addition, Applebaum said, “We collected $400 at the meeting to provide holiday gifts for the children of families at the InnVision shelters. Others who want to add to our contribution to InnVision can phone me at (408) 238-5811.”

The next meeting of the Evergreen Democratic Club will be held Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Foothill Center in The Villages. Refreshments will be served. Please phone Club President Bob Applebaum at (408) 238-5811 if you would like to attend.