Recent Rutgers graduate Gil Landau of Elizabeth was a field coordinator in Iowa for Hillary Clinton’s campaign and is interning in her Washington campaign office.
January 31, 2008
A wave of young voters is cresting in New Jersey, where primary votes will be cast in the Feb. 5 “Super Tuesday” contest. Three of those voters — young Jews who are strongly backing different candidates — cited various concerns troubling much of America, including the economy, immigration, healthcare, the Iraq War, and the environment.
Focus on health care
Gil Landau of Elizabeth, who graduated Rutgers University in December, interned for Sen. Hillary Clinton his last semester and served as a field coordinator in Iowa leading up to the caucuses. He is interning again for the Clinton campaign in Washington.
Landau said he became interested in the race after reading an op-ed piece criticizing Clinton.
“I really do like all the Democratic candidates, but I thought about it hard, and I really do like her the most,” he said. “Her policies make sense. You can see she really understands and knows how to create policies and make changes. I thought about it and came to the conclusion she was the best suited for what’s going to be a really difficult job.”
Landau, who observes Shabbat and describes himself as “observant,” is also assisting Josh Kram, the Clinton campaign’s director of Jewish outreach. Landau said he has seen an “unsettling trend” among observant Jews in support of the Republican Party “because of a perceived notion that Republicans are better for Israel, which I strongly disagree with.”
“But among the observant Jews, I know there is strong support for Hillary,” said Landau, who is particularly drawn to Clinton’s healthcare policies.
“In college you get healthcare from the college, but it’s fairly shoddy,” said Landau. “Quite frankly, I think it’s a shame that not every American has health insurance.”
Not only would providing universal coverage make the healthcare system run efficiently, he said, it would also cut down on costs because more illnesses would be treated before they required expensive emergency room visits.
“One of the wonderful things about Hillary’s healthcare plan is it acknowledges that some like their healthcare plans and that’s fine,” said Landau. “One of the worries about universal health care is that people will be forced to give up coverage they like. But that’s not true. If they like their plan they can keep it.”
Rutgers, or bust
Naomi Michaelis of West Orange, a sophomore political science and history major at Rutgers, is a state coordinator of Students for Barack Obama.
Naomi Michaelis of West Orange, a sophomore political science and history major at Rutgers, is a state coordinator of Students for Barack Obama.
Michaelis said she started paying attention to the Illinois senator after seeing him speak at the 2004 Democratic convention. She has been especially attracted to his extensive outreach to young voters.
Students are frequently a group “glossed over” by candidates, she said.
“They too often talk to our parents, but not to us, “said Michaelis. “We’re often ignored. A lot of pundits complain about young people not coming out to vote but a lot of young people feel, ‘Why should I? No one cares what I have to say.’”
She agrees with many of Obama’s policies, particularly his plan to make it easier to afford college through tax credits.
“I went to Rutgers because my parents basically said to me, ‘Either you go to Rutgers or you take out a loan,’” said Michaelis. “I couldn’t afford to take out a $20,000 loan…. Most students light up when I tell them Barack Obama wants to make it easier for you to go to college.”
She additionally is attracted to Obama’s emphasis on volunteering and giving back to the community.
Michaelis, who is kept busy with a constant stream of e-mails and phone calls to get the word out at campuses, also travels whenever possible setting up chapters and enlisting students. She helped stage such events as South Carolina primary watch parties at Rutgers, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Seton Hall University.
“If there’s a student I haven’t tapped it’s because I don’t know about them,” said Michaelis.
Who’s electable?
Like many Republicans across the country, Rutgers senior Nina Sherman is having trouble settling on one candidate.
Nina Sherman, who recently finished her term as Rutgers Hillel president, is undecided on which Republican candidate she will vote for in the Feb. 5 primary on Super Tuesday.
“As a New Yorker, I loved [Rudy] Giuliani when he was mayor,” said Sherman, a Manhattanite majoring in history and criminal justice who is active in the campus Young Republicans. “He was considered the savior. I know him as the guy who knocked down crime.” The NY primary is being held the same day as New Jersey’s.
However, Sherman, who recently completed a term as Rutgers Hillel president, fears that Giuliani isn’t “electable.”
“I have a hard time seeing Giuliani give an address,” she said. John McCain “looks great on paper, but when he gets up to speak, I don’t hear the president.”
“I think [Mike] Huckabee is going to surprise us,” said Sherman, who said she is attracted to Huckabee’s positions on immigration. “When I look at the safety of America I look at Huckabee. He wants to build a [border] fence to secure America. He wants to put a camera system up.”
While she is concerned about the religious beliefs of Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister with strong appeal to Evangelicals, it has not deterred her interest.
“Everybody is talking about health care and it’s something I tend to agree more on with Huckabee, who wants to give more control to people to have healthcare options rather than the socialist ideas the Democratic Party seems to have,” she said.