Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party John Walsh spoke at the Tufts Democrats weekly meeting Tuesday night, encouraging politically minded students to use their passion to make a difference in the upcoming 2012 elections.
"We desperately need you, and I don't just mean in the future," he said. "I mean now through November."
In particular, Walsh focused on urging more women to run for office. He explained that women and men are elected at about the same rate but women are less likely to run because they are more likely to question their own qualifications.
"Women are significantly underrepresented in the ranks of elected officials," Walsh said. "Women are overwhelmingly more likely to think, ‘I don't know if I'm ready.'"
By running for office, Walsh said, women encourage other women to run as well.
During the hour−long talk, Walsh, who served as campaign manager for Governor Deval Patrick (D−Mass.) in his successful 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial run, also shared personal stories about life on the campaign trail.
He recalled the first time he met Patrick, who showed up at a St. Patrick's Day event without a green tie and told "the stupidest joke ever."
"It was embarrassing," he said.
After having coffee with Patrick, however, Walsh said he felt there was something different about the candidate. The two shared the idea of running a campaign based on grassroots issues, but Walsh did not think Patrick had a good chance of winning.
"I'm definitely not telling my wife I did that, because she's going to kill me," Walsh said he thought while driving home from the meeting. He said that after that meeting, Patrick asked Walsh to be his campaign manager.
Approximately 30 students were in attendance at the meeting. Walsh said he saw his passion for and fascination with politics — two keys to his success in the field — in the students gathered in Eaton.
"You're weird, just like me," he said. "Most people engage in politics because they're pissed off about something."
Walsh expressed admiration for the students gathered to hear him speak, praising their commitment to weekly meetings and active support of candidates such as Elizabeth Warren.
"That regular activity is a really important part," he said. "Your commitment to canvassing, to the person−to−person, face−to−face kind of politics, is impressive."
He also asked about the students' future political endeavors.
"I want to make a personal pitch for more of you to run for office," he said.
Walsh encouraged the students to work hard to make a difference in elections about which they are passionate, which he said they could do without sacrificing their classwork or social life.
"I expect you guys will be critically important in the Medford campaign," he said. "You don't have to give up your life to do this."
Walsh emphasized that the most effective tactic for getting Democratic candidates elected in Massachusetts is to get registered Democrats to come to the polls on Election Day. He explained that while in some cities, like Lexington, an overwhelming majority of Democrats vote in every election, that is not the case in Medford. Walsh said Democrats need to take action and support their party when it really counts.
"They're wearing the team jersey," he said. "They're not showing up on game day."
Samuel Kelly, a freshman member of Tufts Democrats who attended the talk, said he thought this advice could be useful to the group this year as they try to expand their campaigning beyond what he sees as a mostly liberal Tufts campus and out into local urban areas.
"I think he has given us a good framework for stuff we can really focus on," he said.
Kelly said he also appreciated the close, casual style of the meeting, whose attendees he identified as almost all Tufts Democrats members. This informal format led to some more candid discussion of politicians Walsh has not supported over the years, including disappointment over the elections of Senator Scott Brown (R−Mass., LA ‘81) and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Walsh was personally invited to Tufts by sophomore Taylor Barnard, who serves as president of Tufts Democrats and knows Walsh from being on the executive board of the College Democrats of Massachusetts.
Walsh, who Barnard introduced as "one of the most knowledgeable politicos in the Commonwealth," encouraged other students at the meeting to keep in touch with him if they had further questions about getting into politics.
"I'm very easy to find," he said. "I'd love to talk with you individually."
