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Despite, or perhaps because of, their November election defeat, the UCF College Republicans has gained momentum.
While being out of power in Washington may be hurting the Republican Party nationally, the UCF chapter of College Republicans said it sees it as further motivation to spread its ideas and recruit new members.
“I think there’s always more energy on the opposition side because you’re hungry, you’re out of power, and I think that’s going to definitely assist us in our comeback,” said Justin York, chairman of UCF College Republicans.
York cited the openings of new College Republicans chapters at both Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Rollins College in the midst of an election defeat as evidence of such energy. He said he believes the UCF chapter is one of the top in the state.
Juxtaposing the Republican post-election fervor is the UCF College Democrats feeling of complacency.
“It’s not the same kind of excitement as it was during the election,” said Ali Paradis, president of the UCF College Democrats.
With such a tremendous effort during the presidential election on the part of the Democrats, the post-election slump was almost expected, Paradis said.
Ariel Dansky, director of development of the UCF College Democrats, enjoyed the new influx of members during the election, which peaked at more than 300, but knew it wouldn’t last.
“We expected to lose members, absolutely,” Dansky said. “In election years, politics is on everyone’s minds.”
Martin Dupuis, an associate professor of political science and assistant dean of the Burnett Honors College, said he sees the Republican Party going through a growing period after the election, and was not surprised by the Democrats’ situation.
“After the election, there may be sort of this let down, like after final exams,” Dupuis said. “There’s a drop off of interest in politics, which is natural.”
The UCF College Democrats have 82 dues-paying members, while the UCF College Republicans have 96.
“The thing I was most surprised about, immediately after the election, was how many people we had still,” York said. “After the election, we were worried we’d have a massive drop off in attendance, and in our very first meeting in January, we had about 62 people there, it was remarkable.”
Paradis sees the shift as typical.
“It’s easier to be a critic,” Paradis said. “People like to complain.”
Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor of political science, said the loss is a chance for the Republicans to gain members, at least as long as President Barack Obama keeps governing from the left.
“Republicans look at this as an opportunity to get back to their conservative principles and roots, remake the party, and make a come back,” Jewett said.
Jewett compared the situation to that of Rush Limbaugh’s increased talk show ratings during President Bill Clinton’s years in office.
“There’s nothing like having the opponent in office to rally the troops,” Jewett said.
A similar motivation could even be seen as the very reason for Obama’s victory, Jewett said. Such a strong dislike for President George W. Bush was enough to get many students to join the Obama campaign who, otherwise, might not have been politically active.
Harold Hedrick, executive director of the UCF College Republicans, said he views the defeat as an opportunity to re-examine the Internet and media, hoping to better reach their target market: the American people.
“Losing gives us better inspiration, more of a drive to do better, to bring about new ideas, to better reach out to new people,” Hedrick said.
But even without the underdog drive, UCF College Democrats are by no means dead. Aside from their tent outside the Student Union almost every day, they can also be found around campus trying to put an end to gerrymandering or working with the 2010 campaign.
“We’re definitely still politically active, absolutely,” Dansky said.
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