Unemployment, gas prices and President Obama's disapproval ratings
are high, but Democratic caucus-goers expressed optimism on Sunday in looking
ahead to November's elections.
With no major challengers, Obama was virtually assured of winning the
presidential preference vote, the results of which will be released next
month. Caucuses focused instead on local party business and appeals for
support from candidates in down-ballot races including for Congress, the Maine
Legislature and local posts.
"I think it's so important to bring back both the (Maine) House and
Senate into Democratic hands so we can focus on things that really matter to
Mainers," Rep. Sharon Treat said in Hallowell, where about 15 voters caucused.
Being in the minority, Democrats are spending their energy to stop "the
absolute worst" of the Republicans' proposals, Treat said, including more
extreme cuts in MaineCare and the erosion of protections for workers and the
environment.
Caucus-goers said they are motivated to bring change to Augusta.
Joe Kane, 57, said he has been a registered Democrat since he was 18, but
Augusta's caucus on Sunday was the first one he had attended.
"The governor's got us Democrats really fired up this year," Kane said.
Eleanor Gay, a 62-year-old ed tech at the Capital Area Technical Center,
said that working to elect Democrats to the Maine Legislature was her main
reason for attending the caucus at Cony High School, where about 40 voters
participated.
While the Democrats aren't perfect, Gay said, "It seems more than ever
that the Republicans are the party of business and power."
She said she wants to see policymakers start infrastructure projects to
put people to work.
Treat cited the recent election of Sen. Chris Johnson, D-Somerville, as a
reason for optimism. Johnson won a seat long held by Republicans, in a race in
which he was heavily outspent.
Treat warned, however, that Democrats will have to work hard to raise
money, recruit good candidates and turn out the vote.
"Don't think everybody out there doesn't like the governor," she said.
"He has a lot of supporters. And we need to work very hard and not take
anything for granted."
Caucus-goers said Obama's re-election campaign won't be easy, but they
think he'll win. Many said the drawn-out and contentious race for the
Republican nomination will help the president.
"As long as the Republicans enjoy fighting one another, it makes us look
a lot stronger and ready to unite behind Obama," said David Rand, a
31-year-old Hannaford employee who caucused in Augusta.
Jane Moore, 62, a Riverview Psychiatric Center employee and veterinary
technician student from Hallowell, said Obama has accomplished more than he
often receives credit for. She likes the health insurance reform law Obama
signed.
"The agenda that he's pushing is economics, and the Republicans are
getting bogged down in some social issues that don't really belong in the
political arena," Moore said.
