Posted by DEAN SKIP RUTHERFORD – This semester Clinton School students Sarah Argue, (who came up with the idea), Lindsey Clark, Tim Giattina, Jose Guzzardi, Sara Himelfarb, Sanford Johnson, Geoff Kearney, J.D. Lowery, James Mitchell, Russ Swearingen and Jay Thompson are participating in the “Political Animals Caucus” which meets weekly in the River Market, only a few blocks from the Clinton School. The three students who are not based in Little Rock (Jose, James and Jay) connect on a regular basis via email. Often spirited email discussions last several hours.
The “Political Animals Caucus” name comes from the Political Animals Club, a non-partisan group established in Little Rock 25 years ago to discuss politics. The Political Animals Club is still thriving.
Throughout the semester, Politial Animal Caucus members have analyzed the Presidential campaign and looked at the contested U.S. Senate races. They’ve debated off shore drilling; the selections of Joe Biden and Sarah Palin; the Arkansas lottery and watched and rated the debates.
The Caucus will meet again on election day (Tuesday, November 4) with everyone offering her/his final Electoral College predictions. On Monday, November 3, Sanford and Russ will join Clinton School students from the class of 2010: Sarah Clark, Ashley Davis and Nicholas Hall on an election eve panel as part of the Clinton School’s public program series.