Fighting the good fight

Cal's own Michael Davidson runs for the National College Republicans chair

By Andrew R Quinio
From the March 2005 Print Edition

From behind the enemy lines of UC Berkeley emerges a top contender for chairmanship of the National College Republicans. Michael Davidson, a graduate of Cal and chairman of the California College Republicans is campaigning to be the National College Republican chairman. The Patriot had a chance to interview Davidson, one of its former contributing writers and a rising Republican star.

Davidson is running against Paul Gourley, former South Dakota College Republicans chairman and treasurer of the National College Republicans. On what sets him apart from his opponent, Davidson said, “We’ve always been about big ideas, thinking outside the box, and working hard. Paul is a decent guy, but he has been on the inside for many years and has not been a change agent.”

Davidson hopes to foster positive change for renewal, and bring about active membership among all College Republicans. He highlights his Berkeley background as evidence of his strong conviction and leadership: “South Dakota is no California. I have been fighting in the ‘belly of the beast’ at Berkeley. Our vision is just what the organization needs.”

When asked about the youth vote, and its affinity for the Democratic Party, Davidson expressed his confidence in a well-organized, grass-roots plan that will attract young people. “We will build a solid foundation on which the organization cannot rest but work upon,” he said. “We will focus on constantly improving and constantly working. We will do what Republicans do best, which is build at the local level; holding colleges to account and providing resources to chapters. College Republicans are already much more organized than Democrats … [college students] only hear one side of the story. With an organized body, we will even things out.”

Davidson hopes to combat the MTV medium that the Democrats have in their arsenal through individual assertions of Republican principles. “Every time you hold a liberal professor accountable, you bring attention to your message, which is positive,” he said. “At the end of the day it is this organization that becomes your medium.”

As for the idea that the Democratic Party is the party of compassion, Davidson sees it as a myth and busts it wide open. “What is more compassionate than giving people freedom? That is what the Republican Party is all about,” he said. “We want to help others help themselves. Great leaders inspire confidence within people.”

The California CR chairman will never forget what Berkeley has taught him or how it has shaped him as a strong Republican leader. “I am battle-tested and approved because of fighting for conservative principles at Berkeley. I believe what the party believes in and I will fight for it. It was challenging; Berkeley made you think on your toes,” Davidson said, attributing many of his qualities to the support of the College Republicans chapter at Cal. “Berkeley College Republicans did everything from community service to grass-roots campaigning, he said. “It is a model for what other College Republican clubs should be.”

For Davidson, the most contentious time at Berkeley was after the attacks of September 11. “People were brutal,” he explained. “We were mourning the deaths of thousands of Americans and the first thing that these people do is condemn your leadership and condemn your values. That was probably the most challenging time.”

Regarding his term as California College Republicans chairman, Davidson gives credit to the team that helped him. “I was very blessed with one of the best teams in the country,” he said. “That’s why we were able to accomplish so much in California.”

Davidson added that, during his tenure as chairman, many things were accomplished but not yet completed. “There are still things that I would want to do, not differently, but more of: register more members and charter more clubs,” he said. “I wish I could spend more time doing that and meet more people.”

After graduating from UC Berkeley, Davidson became the director of the Performance Institute’s California Government Accountability Council, a free-market, government-reform think tank. At the institute, Davidson helped Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and State Senator Tom McClintock develop and publicize reforms to help bring California back. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Davidson served as a Youth Coalitions Chairman on President Bush’s California Campaign Steering Committee.

Currently, he is endorsed by the College Republicans of Iowa, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Washington. During a radio interview with KABC’s Al Rantel, Davidson was endorsed live by Michael Reagan, pundit and son of President Ronald Reagan, and by Ann Coulter, the infamous conservative columnist and author.

“The national party is blessed with leaders like President Bush, Karl Rove, and Ken Mehlman. The College Republican National Committee and America’s next generation need their own leadership. That leader should be Michael Davidson,” remarked Reagan.

Coulter added, “He’s fought for conservative principles on America’s most liberal campus, of course I endorse him! Without a doubt, he’s well prepared to take the fight to college campuses across America. It’s the new McCarthyism, and we have to expose the left for what they are.”

After reflecting on the magnitude of such endorsements, Davidson commented, “I’m truly honored by their support. Michael and his father have always been heroes of mine — especially as conservatives from California. And after years leading the Republican charge at Berkeley, I share with Ms. Coulter the talent of ‘how to talk to a liberal.’”

Should this graduate of one of the most liberal colleges in the country rise to a high-ranking position in the Republican Party, it would surely leave an outstanding impression. “People will say that the Republican movement for the next generation is alive and well,” Davidson said. “We may have a majority everywhere else, but we do not have a majority on our college campuses. Stay active, keep recruiting, keep fighting. My obligation is to empower. We have an obligation to our principles to keep fighting.”

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