NEWS
Baldwin speaks at Witte
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by Douglas Schuette
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
During a visit with students at Witte Hall Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., answered questions from students and emphasized the importance of the student vote in the November election.
Baldwin acknowledged the significance of students voting since she began her political career, citing her victory in the Democrat primary for the 2nd Congressional District eight years ago and each election since that initial victory.
Part of the reason she won, Baldwin said, was because her opponents didn't take the student vote seriously.
Baldwin's political career began when she was a student. During her first semester in the University of Wisconsin Law School, Baldwin ran for a spot on the Dane County Board.
As part of her mission as a member of the board, Baldwin said she had to try to persuade her older colleagues about the importance of the student vote.
"I think there was this image among my colleagues that [students] weren't really citizens of Dane County; they were just transient, sort of coming through," she added.
Addressing some of the issues most pertinent in the upcoming election, Baldwin cited issues ranging from health care to the war in Iraq.
"Given the combination of the tax cuts, the debt that our nation is in, and the priority of funding the war and funding the military … [support for] health care and education are deteriorating in terms of federal dollars," she said. "And that's not a recipe for the future."
When questioned about her own policy on health care, Baldwin stressed the importance of bipartisan efforts. In a government so divided, she said, one party can't push something through without the agreement of the other party.
Baldwin added she has high hopes for the legislation she is currently pursuing.
"What's creative about my approach is that instead of [passing health-care reform] at the first instance on a national basis, this bill allows the states to start trying out some of the ideas that have been drafted into bills but never passed," she said.
According to Baldwin, the hope is that one state will stumble upon the solution that will work for everyone.
However, Mike Hahn — chair of Students for Dave Magnum, Baldwin's Republican challenger in the November election — said Baldwin has done little for student constituents during her four terms in Congress.
"Baldwin has talked about the importance of the student vote, but she hasn't done that much for us," Hahn said. "[Magnum] is really going to get in there and get things done for us for after we graduate."
Hahn said Magnum wants to prevent tuition from increasing in order to make college accessible to all qualified people, not just people rich enough to afford it.
According to Hahn, Magnum has made three appearances on campus since beginning his campaign and plans to make at least two more, including a 90-minute question and answer session and another debate.
The second debate on the UW campus between Baldwin and Magnum is set for Oct. 15 in Memorial Union at 6 p.m.
