By Heather Gjerde
The Daily Cardinal
The UW-Madison College Republicans held their kick-off meeting Tuesday night in Grainger Hall, featuring state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, and congressional candidate Dave Magnum.
When not offering words of encouragement to the College Republicans, Suder and Magnum briefly discussed the re-election of Republicans at both statewide and national levels. They both gave opinions regarding the influence of Republican authority on the UW System.
Magnum encouraged looking beyond political viewpoints and focusing on individual candidates in the upcoming elections.
""They want people to be elected to government not to be part of a club, or to live some privileged lifestyle, but that really want to do the people's work,"" Magnum said, in reference to the voters of his district.
Magnum is running on a national level, though he feels strongly about localizing his position.
""Right now, at some of our smaller UW campuses, we could look at consolidating some of those campuses to be more efficient. So that would trickle down to the students in the form of lower tuition,"" Magnum said.
The College Republicans also discussed the governor's election. Suder denounced governor decisions in reference to university policies.
""We absolutely have to get rid of this governor because we have to get rid of this Board of Regents,"" Suder said. ""People like Kevin Barrett should not be teaching at this university, period.""
""Could you imagine if Gov. Doyle got reelected and we lost the state Senate?"" Suder said. ""I can't imagine the types of policies that would be enacted in this state. If you think Kevin Barrett is an embarrassment, just imagine what could happen on this campus or others.""
The Green Team is a UW-Madison student organization in support of U.S. Rep Mark Green, R-Green Bay's for governor.
Green Team spokesperson and UW-Madison sophomore Sol Grosskopf said, ""Once we get a Republican governor to side with us, we will be able to see some major changes done."" Grosskopf said he felt current problems in Wisconsin are the result of a split government.
""I think a Republican-run state Assembly will inject some common sense and, frankly, some openness in the UW System when it comes to paying the taxpayer dollars,"" Suder said.
