[blwall1416]

No, right in Goldsboro. Impressive list though. Don't forget Pikeville, Patetown, Rosewood, and Nahunta.

Ha.....mom graduated from Rosewood. She grew up by Cogdell Pond right off of HWY 70.

I played many softball tournaments in Nahunta. Quite the experience to play a game out there while the smells from the sausage factory drift over the fields.

My uncle, retired Air Force, & his family have lived for years in Pikeville.

[thepostman]

Half of the kids who voted just saw the "R" and checked it off without knowing anything else.

I have not read much of this thread..but that is the case for the majority of voters..they see and R or a D and they vote whatever one of those they think they are...most of the time they have no idea what either party really stands for...so yeah I am sure you are completely right Jon..actually I KNOW you are...but its the way the whole country is...sad, but true

[BJWilliams]

As an LU alum I will admit personally that for the first couple elections I simply voted "R" without looking into it much but really in the last couple Ive been able to do more research into candidates and vote more my conscience and who is in line with that (Im a Libertarian now for the record)

[bigsmooth]

For anyone who complains that thousands of people voted for Obama just because he was black to say it's ok for people to vote for someone just because they're a Republican is completely hypocritical.

Are you really equating skin color with political philosophy? When you vote for a Republican, you generally know what he believes and how he will govern. When you vote for the black guy, you have no indication what-so-ever what he believes or how he will govern.

please explain this LUconn...,maybe im just tired because i have been in a meeting all day, but indulge me please.

[bigsmooth]

there are plenty of LU Students who vote R because they are an R, and have no idea about the issues. i am a registered republican, but have voted for a democrat because i felt they were the better choice. i am glad they students exercised their right to vote, just be informed is all im saying.

[LUconn]

For anyone who complains that thousands of people voted for Obama just because he was black to say it's ok for people to vote for someone just because they're a Republican is completely hypocritical.

Are you really equating skin color with political philosophy? When you vote for a Republican, you generally know what he believes and how he will govern. When you vote for the black guy, you have no indication what-so-ever what he believes or how he will govern.

please explain this LUconn...,maybe im just tired because i have been in a meeting all day, but indulge me please.

not that black people are wild and unpredictable, I can kind of see how someone could take it that way. Just that their skin color doesn't tell us anything about their politics. It's just their skin color. But obviously their party affiliation would. Or should anyway.

[matshark]

Half of the kids who voted just saw the "R" and checked it off without knowing anything else.

I completely disagree. There were plenty of LU students that didn't vote that could've. Those that did vote certainly made the effort to have their vote counted. After the issue that the champion put together, there's no way someone couldn't know the issues, and know them well. Shannon and Scott were BOTH at liberty and made a push to get LU voters. Shannon, her daughter and several volunteers were at the Heritage polls to try and sway voters. This was not some mindless mass of uninformed voters. If anything, these were the best informed voters in town because of the emphasis that was made on them. They made their choice along with 18,000 other people, and in the end it was 208 votes enough to get the 'W' for Garrett.

[Schfourteenteen]

+1

[ATrain]

Half of the kids who voted just saw the "R" and checked it off without knowing anything else.

I completely disagree. There were plenty of LU students that didn't vote that could've. Those that did vote certainly made the effort to have their vote counted. After the issue that the champion put together, there's no way someone couldn't know the issues, and know them well. Shannon and Scott were BOTH at liberty and made a push to get LU voters. Shannon, her daughter and several volunteers were at the Heritage polls to try and sway voters. This was not some mindless mass of uninformed voters. If anything, these were the best informed voters in town because of the emphasis that was made on them. They made their choice along with 18,000 other people, and in the end it was 208 votes enough to get the 'W' for Garrett.

Yep, there were plenty of opportunities for LU kids who voted to learn about the issues, I don't think they were just going in blindly voting Republican.

[matshark]

touching back on the Republican Victory Center... you guys might be proud to know that this year the Lynchburg Victory Center was the #1 Call Center in the COUNTRY! In fact, it hit such impressive numbers that Michael Steele couldn't believe the numbers we were putting up. (I say we because i was there making calls for the better part of 3 months)

Unbeknownst to us, the higher-ups in the state created a bracket of call centers with us and fairfax both at number 1 seeds. We met in the finals (the last week of the election). We were up through the first part of the week, and made a big effort Sat and Sun to hold serve with Fairfax who always makes a big weekend push. That resulted in us only being down 3000 calls come Monday. We won by approx 3000 calls on Monday night meaning it was a dead heat for election day. Fairfax made 9000 calls on election day. Lynchburg... 18,000! Game, Set, Phone Call, Match!

I'd say the odds are pretty darn good that the Burg will not only continue to have a paid staffer from here on out, but that the College Republican's and the rest of the local conservative political activists will continue to make a HUGE impact on races around the state and across the nation.

Be proud guys. LU did more than show up at the ballot box locally. LU made darn close to 70,000 phone calls the week of the election (if not more). Some students made over 1000 phone calls in a day - many using 2 phones at a time.

[olldflame]

While I applaud the passion for the cause which led to these efforts, I'm not so sure that 18,000 phone calls made off of a list to people who were going about their business during the course of a working day (for most of us) is anything to be particularly proud of (or an effective strategy for that matter.) I got 3 from different candidates on my cellphone while at work, and trust me, it was an annoyance at best.

[Libertine]

I don't know why anyone thinks that coldcalling is an effective tool to get out the vote. It might work on little old ladies who just want to talk to somebody about their grandchildren but not me. The candidates already take up too much time on the airwaves so why in the world would I want them or their surrogates yammering directly into my ear?

[El Scorcho]

I'm too tired to contribute a lot to this discussion, but I do want to address a couple of points I keep seeing brought up by locals:

1. I've read a lot of people talking about students only being here for 4 years while "normal" residents will live here forever. I would counter that political decisions now affect the future of LU and if you're a graduate, you should care about the well being of the school long after you've stopped attending there. Why wouldn't students want someone in office who's going to be on the side of the school they're working to obtain a degree from? It just makes good sense that you'd want to see you potential alma mater prosper. If I'm a current student I couldn't care less that I won't be living here in 4 years. I want the person in office who's going to help my degree worth more, period. Seems a lot of locals are short-sighted in that regard.

2. The overall voter turnout in Lynchburg was pathetic overall. Actually, it was average, but that's still pathetic. I've seen the 38-40% range being given in the news. You know what, Lynchburg? If you don't want LU to dictate the outcome of your local elections, then freaking show up to the polls. You can't blame LU if 60% of Lynchburg residents just don't care. That speaks more to the apathy of the town that it does anything about LU bussing kids over to vote.

I'm done now.

[Hold My Own]

I swear some people will moan just for the sake of moaning. If any of our students did a straight ticket vote then its b/c one of two things.

1. SV didnt do a good enough job getting her message to relate with the students and this is nobody's fault but her's. She was in the ROT about every day campaigning and attended about every LU event and was even in the parade.

2. They heard her message but realized that most of her agenda did not pertain to them and what they believe

In the past I'll let comments be said b/c you were generally right but this year the Dem's presence was felt 1000x more then it ever has been on campus and still nothing. I suppose at some point we'll have to start giving the students more credit for their convictions rather then blame them for being a straight ticket voter. After all it is the Dem's job prove to myself (and my open mind) why I'm supporting the wrong candidate

[matshark]

I don't know why anyone thinks that coldcalling is an effective tool to get out the vote. It might work on little old ladies who just want to talk to somebody about their grandchildren but not me. The candidates already take up too much time on the airwaves so why in the world would I want them or their surrogates yammering directly into my ear?

this wasn't cold calling. these were specifically, previously identified voters who indicated they were supportive of the republican ticket and we were calling them to make sure they had voted/remind them to vote. the numbers we had were the numbers listed by the state election board. I managed to have the pulaski chief of police at the pulaski police department on one of my calls. interesting to say the least...lol gotta love computerized calling lists : D