Note: Ahead of the 2020 election, the Emerald reached out to the student groups representing the two major political parties on campus. This piece was written by Ben Ehrlich, vice president of the University of Oregon College Republicans, and represents his views, not those of Emerald Media Group. The Emerald has lightly edited this piece for grammar, clarity and style. Send letters, op-eds or pieces about campus issues or our reporting to [email protected].
We’ve all had that one person in our lives suggest voting doesn’t matter. Such statements are false, though I understand where the sentiment comes from. Sometimes it’s easy to feel lost in the vast sea of American politics, as if you’re a mere little fish who’s powerless to the tide. With all the corporate political action committees dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into elections, it’s natural to ask how much your vote is really worth. I’m here to tell you that your vote is priceless and that nobody can buy an election. No amount of money is more powerful than a community that exercises their civic duty to vote. The only way we’ll ever make anyone realize this is by setting an example and voting against the tide of dark money in politics to deliver the change we need.
Today, we have a unique and historic opportunity to get behind a young, energetic candidate who will go against the tide of dark money in politics and empower us as voters.His name is Alek Skarlatos. In 2015, Skarlatos and two of his friends stopped a terrorist attack on a train to Paris. He selflessly took a stand that day and saved countless lives, and he’ll take a stand again for the people of this district in congress. Skarlatos will be beholden to no one but his constituents, as according to the Federal Elections Commission less than 2% of his funding comes from political action committees with the vast majority of his funding coming from small dollar donations fromordinary people like you and me, and he vows to fight for congressional term limits because being in congress shouldn’t be a lifelong career.
Skarlatos is running against a candidate who’s been in office for 33 years, longer than most of us students have been alive, and who takes donations from corporate PACs to fund his campaign: Peter Defazio. Defazio raises money from the PACs of corporations such as Cargill, a company that has one of the worst environmental and human rights track records of any private corporation, according to Mighty Earth. Moreover, Defazio lives on a yacht in Washington D.C. while his district suffers from high college tuition, homelessness and some of the worst forest fires in Oregon’s history.
It’s clear Defazio has lost touch with his constituents and has gotten too comfortable after being in office for 33 years. Defazio and his corporate PAC donors want to devalue your vote with their money and make sure the tide is too strong for you to swim against. Let’s remind Defazio that our votes are powerful and send a new voice to D.C. who represents our interests: Alek Skarlatos.
