Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, laced up his bowling shoes Thursday night.
“When President Barack Obama bowled, he bowled a 39,” Donnelly said as he entered the Indiana Memorial Union bowling alley. "Let’s go double that!" The college crowd laughed.
Donnelly stopped by the IU College Democrats bowling social event Thursday night. He encouraged the students not only to stay involved but also to get others politically involved by getting students registered to vote across campus.
“When we turn out, we win,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly was surrounded by eager college students waiting to shake his hand and thank him for his work in the state as a senator. The line wrapped around the bowling alley.
The social event is part of a new initiative IU College Democrats are working toward this semester: combining fun activities with the opportunity for students on campus to discuss issues.
Javier Fuentes-Rohwer, vice president of IU College Democrats, said the club is mixing in social events to get people excited about involvement in the group, alternating between informational sessions and social events.
“Events like these are really to get people to meet other democrats,” Fuentes-Rohwer said. “To foster a sense of making friends and being a part of this club.”
Terry Tossman, president of IU College Democrats, said these events are a way to facilitate membership in the club itself. He said they'll often switch back and forth between events so people can pick and choose.
“The way we’ve set it up in the fall is we’ll have one event on a certain issue, whether it’s the environment, whether it’s on LGBT rights, women’s issues or criminal justice,” Tossman said. “And then the following week, we’re going to do a more fun event like, say, something to do with ice cream.”
This switch back and forth gives members a chance to find issues that they are interested in and hang out with like-minded individuals at the same time, Tossman said.
Fuentes-Rohwer said from what he saw at the event, half or more of the attendees were freshmen.
Tyler Smith, a freshman in the Civic Leaders LLC, said the goal at IU is similar to one with the greater Democratic Party at the national level.
“Politics is more community-based where you can come together and chat about issues and find a middle ground,” Smith said. “That’s why we’re all here.”
Tossman said the students need people who know what it takes to work for democratic policies and create change.
“Meeting people that have been in their shoes before, who know what it takes so they’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Tossman said. “So they’re able to learn from democratic leaders.”
He said this can be a challenge for the Democratic Party, the current minority party in Indiana. He said the election last year, however, sparked interest among people in the state.
“They felt they couldn’t just sit back and rely on other people to do it,” Tossman said. “They felt they had to get more involved.”
IU College Democrats try to get these students involved through events like these and by exposing them to resources for their future.
John Teney, treasurer of IU College Democrats, said many members have worked on campaigns and have the experience necessary to lead the way.
“We’re a resource to the freshmen who want to get involved,” Teney said.
Despite Donnelly's visit, Tossman said the group does not endorse candidates during the primary election but will endorse whoever the primary candidate will be after the election.
The visit was one stop on Donnelly's Hoosier Highways RV tour this past week.
He said the best way to find out what’s going on in the state is to stop in areas around the state and spend time with people in the areas. He said he goes to all 92 counties every year to achieve this.
“There is so much more wisdom in Bloomington, in Monroe County, than there is in Washington, D.C.” Donnelly said.
In alignment with his re-election announcement and campaign, Donnelly also sat down in Bloomington the next morning to speak with former Congressman Lee Hamilton, the director of the Center on Congress at IU.
The two discussed national security, including Trump’s recent Afghanistan plan, North Korea, Russia and China, over breakfast at Uptown Cafe.
Afghanistan
Donnelly said he will return to Washington and will be going over the details of the condition-based plan for Afghanistan that the president has talked about recently.
“What we’re trying to do more than anything in Afghanistan is make sure our nation is safe — that there are no terrorist safe havens for Al-Qaeda or ISIS or any other organizations," Donnelly said.
North Korea
He discussed the sanctions put in place against particular individuals and companies in China and North Korea. When the North Koreans have these missile tests, they are able to pick up debris and see the parts in the missile, he said.
Once they are able to see the parts, they can figure out the Chinese companies that built these parts.
“A lot of them are regional banks, financed by one of the larger banks, and so we know the entire chain of financing to build parts for the North Korean missiles that would carry their nuclear weapons,” Donnelly said. “We want to make sure that sanctions are in place so those companies will say we are better off staying away than being part of this.”
Donnelly also touched on domestic issues, including the current administration in the White House.
President Donald Trump
Donnelly said President Trump would be well-served in working with senators and representatives of the House rather than going after them.
He also said the president should consider sitting down with Hamilton, someone who Donnelly said is well-versed in national security. Hamilton is the director of the Center on Congress, an educational institution at IU that focuses on learning how to interact and understand the inner workings of Congress.
President Trump’s transgender ban on military recruits
Donnelly said he welcomes the service of all people serving in the United States military.
“These are men and women who are serving their nation with honor and dignity,” Donnelly said. “We are lucky to have their contribution. We are lucky to have them in our nation, who stepped up and said, when the country asked, 'I'll answer that call.'"
"When we compromise together 70 percent of something, it's so much better than 100 percent of nothing," Donnelly said, on working with Republicans and Democrats in Washington.
He said, when looking at local-level government, county council, commissioners and even mayors don't worry about party labels. Donnelly said he and Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, work together on a constant basis to push the nation forward.
"We worry about how we can come together to make our community more attractive to families, how we can come together for a better future," Donnelly said. "We have a great working relationship, and I think it's one of the good parts of Indiana in the U.S. Senate."
