IRVINE : Vote Yields Political Upside-Down Cake

The results of the latest county election are in: The Democrats won, the Libertarians came in second and the Republicans were dead last.

In Orange County, the GOP usually reigns victorious, but these results didn’t count.

About 200 Irvine High School students got a chance Thursday to hear firsthand how Republicans differ from Democrats, to find out what the Peace and Freedom Party believes in--besides peace and freedom--and to vote on how they felt about the parties’ platforms.

Members of the high school’s Activists for Political Awareness club invited representatives of major political parties to share their views with 17- and 18-year-old students. The goal was to expose students to the politics of each party and encourage the 18-year-olds to register in time for the June primary, club co-president Rita Ravindra said.

The club kept the speakers’ political parties secret to force students to rely solely on stated political positions, “so students don’t vote Republican just because of the name,” said Rita, who intends to register as a Democrat when she turns 18 in January.

Invited to the Thursday forum were the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, American Independent and Peace and Freedom parties. Representatives of each were asked to state their party’s view on abortion, the environment, defense, the economy and capital punishment.

After the presentations, students were asked to vote on which speaker was closest to their political views. The winner was the Democratic Party, favored by 79 of the 216 students who cast ballots, or 36.6%. The Libertarian Party was a close second with 69, or 31.9% of the vote.

The Republicans came in fifth with 12 votes, or 5.6%

“I think it reflects our school opinion, and obviously the Democrats are the winners,” Rita said. “Since I’m a Democrat, I’m biased. But I will have to say that our school chose the right person.”

Part of the reason the Republicans polled so badly, Rita said, may have been the messenger rather than the message. Seasoned politicians represented the other four parties, but the GOP was represented by L. David Mendoza, 22, a Cal State Fullerton student and president of the campus’ Conservative College Republicans club. Mendoza glossed over the five political topics and spent much of his time blasting congressional Democrats.

Speaking for the other parties were Richard Boddie, a Libertarian running for U.S. Senate and a former candidate for his party’s presidential nomination; Art Jacques, chairman of the county American Independent Party; Jack Rios, chairman of the county Peace and Freedom Party, and James Toledano, Democratic candidate for the 70th Assembly District.

The Peace and Freedom’s socialist platform attracted 11.1% of the vote, placing it third. In fourth place, with 10.6%, was the American Independent Party.

Rita said she was surprised that fringe beliefs--such as the Libertarian idea of abolishing all or most government and the Peace and Freedom message of creating a decentralized, socialist government--attracted so many students.

Bringing the candidates together for students was a good idea, said Jennifer Lee, 17, a junior who attended the forum with her English class. Of all the speakers, she thought Toledano’s views were the best.

“My parents are Republicans, but I guess I lean toward the Democrats,” she said.