Both an idealist and a Democrat
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This is one of several guest columns that were submitted in response to this question: How do you identify yourself politically (liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, independent, something else or none of the above) and what does that mean to you? By Ellen Wedum I confess I used to be rather apathetic about politics. I only voted in presidential elections and was barely aware of who my congressional representative was, let alone my state representative. As a graduate student at the University of Oregon I did campaign for Eugene McCarthy in the Oregon presidential primary in 1968 — which he won! He had a rally at UO, and I carried a sign that read “Welcome to Eugene, McCarthy!” Then in 1980 I campaigned for John Anderson, and was appalled when Reagan won (especially when he went on to triple our national debt). Continue Reading