Bruins for Clark, the student group that supported retired Army
Gen. Wesley Clark for the Democratic primary, disbanded Wednesday
as Clark withdrew from the race, and many members of the group are
now turning toward the campaign for Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry
to continue supporting the Democratic party.
Before Wednesday, Bruins for Clark had accumulated 60 students
on its mailing list since its birth early this year. Around 20
students were present at its last bi-weekly meeting.
Matt Sanderl, student co-coordinator for Bruins for Clark,
expressed disappointment but said Clark’s decision to
withdraw from the race was the practical choice given the results
of the previous primaries and caucuses. Prior to withdrawing, Clark
had only won Oklahoma, and had a string of second- and third-place
finishes.
“He did get a good showing in a couple of states but the
reality of the situation was that he wasn’t going to go
anywhere. His momentum had petered out,” Sanderl said.
“I still think he’s the best candidate and it’s
sad that people in other states couldn’t see that. But he
understood the facts and he made a wise move.”
Dria Fearn, a co-coordinator for the group and member of the
Associated Students of UCLA board of directors, said they
“knew (the withdrawal) was going to happen. He wasn’t
doing as well in the primaries as we hoped he would.”
Clark entered the race for the Democratic nomination last
September, more than a year after some of the other candidates.
Although he has never campaigned for a major office, the
politically inexperienced Clark raised a total of $25 million in
funds and visited about 30 states in less than one month.
Many political analysts have said Clark’s decision not to
campaign in Iowa, the first state to have a Democratic primary or
caucus, gave current primary frontrunner Sen. John Kerry a
greater edge and contributed to Clark’s loss.
“Many people think forgoing Iowa wasn’t the best
strategy, but hindsight is always 20/20,” Fearn said.
Fearn added that the members have not given up and most are
still helping the Democratic campaign for the presidency by
supporting other candidates.
“I think everyone really wanted to get involved before and
is still interested in being involved,” Fearn said.
Clark publicly endorsed Kerry last week. Kerry’s military
background and moderate stances have prompted many Clark supporters
to back Kerry’s campaign.
Although as a group, Bruins for Clark has not endorsed another
candidate, both Fearn and Sanderl support Kerry now that Clark is
no longer in the race.
Sanderl said he will not be as vigorously involved in
Kerry’s campaign as he was in Clark’s, but added that
he is hoping for a Kerry/Clark Democratic ticket.
Matthew Dabaneh, president and founder of Bruins for Kerry and a
fourth-year political science and public policy student, said he
expects a large turnout of previous Clark supporters at the next
Bruins for Kerry meeting.
“I expect most people that supported Clark to back Kerry.
We have gotten an increase in people not just on campus but even
city-wide,” Dabaneh said.