Young Voters

After a year of the likes of MTV's Street Team, Rock the Vote's Rock the Trail, and others harnessing the power of youth reporting on youth, Kids network Nickelodeon has decided to also get into the politics game for some of the younger members of the youth movement who are at the tail end of the Millennial Generation.

Reporters Lily Collins (daughter of singer Phill Collins) and J.J. will be the reporters on the scene at the Presidential Inauguration to report from their perspective.

According to the AP

"Throughout the presidential campaign, Nickelodeon found that interest among its young viewers matched that of the adults. Nick's own online "election" had 2.2 million children voting, with kids supporting Obama over John McCain (51 percent to 49 percent) in a closer margin than the real election.

"We decided to carry it through so that kids would have the full experience of the presidential election," said Marva Smalls, executive vice president of public affairs at Nickelodeon.

The coverage will show up during commercial breaks and, most prominently, during the periods between regular shows in prime-time. Nick will offer a retrospective of past presidents taking the oath of office and interviews with young people about Obama's election and his inaugural address."

The piece goes on to say that because the Obama children are within the Nick demographic the network believes it is a major reason viewers connect with the new First Family so well.

Like others, Nick covered the primaries in some way as well as the conventions and election night, but this seems to be a much more detailed coverage of the events.

Nickelodeon first began to dive into the youth news with Nick News, a series hosted by Linda Ellerbee in 1992 and has consistently brought both global and domestic issues to young viewers and covered them in a way youth can both understand and relate to.

Its always great to see other young reporters who bring youth the news, I hope Nick News covers the youth movement moving forward and the impact those formerly in their demographic then grow into some of the best movers and shakers of our generation.

Sarah wrote about efforts to mobilize young voters in the Georgia runoff yesterday, passing on a few tips from the Young Democrats of Georgia on how to get involved. One of these was phone banking with friends.

Fortunately, YDG has set up "Let's Get Calling," an opportunity for Young Democrats from all over the country to contact young Georgia voters about the election. Details below:

YDG has made it easy. You can access our phone bank online, from the comfort of your own home, or coffee shop, or dorm room...you get the idea. All you need is
1. Access to the Internet
2. A phone
3. An RSVP for one of the phone banks below

That's it, we'll take care of the rest. No long hours of dialing and
leaving messages, our system will let you spend your time actually
talking to voters. SO LET'S GET MOVING PEOPLE!

Here's our call-times coming up. Sign-up for one of the times below by RSVPing, click on the link, and let's get the Youth Vote out for
Democrats on December 2nd.

1. Sunday November 23rd, 1-3PM - RSVP by clicking Here
2. Monday November 24th, 6-9pm - RSVP by Clicking Here
3. Tuesday November 25th, 6-9pm - RSVP by Clicking Here

More Phone Banks after the Holiday are listed on our website at
www.georgiayds.org, click on "Events".

Make some calls and help Jim Martin!

It'd be a total cliche to say that the 2008 campaign changed everything. Certainly there was change, and it happened on a wide level. It will take us a couple years, perhaps longer, to digest the meaning of this election and the two year campaign that preceded it. But there are a few things trickling in already that signify its importance. One of these is the text messaging army the Obama campaign built. NDN describes just how big this technological revolution was/is.

A million people signed up for Obama's text-messaging program. On the night Obama accepted the Democratic nomination at Invesco Field in Denver, more than 30,000 phones among the crowd of 75,000 were used to text in to join the program. On Election Day, every voter who'd signed up for alerts in battleground states got at least three text messages. Supporters on average received five to 20 text messages per month, depending on where they lived -- the program was divided by states, regions, zip codes and colleges -- and what kind of messages they had opted to receive.

NDN goes on to remind us of their prophetic white paper, "Mobile Media in 21st Century Politics," from 2006.

Imagine this very realistic scenario: In the heat of the 2008 election, 1 million activists – all of them connected in a collaborative web both on their PC's and their mobiles – conspire in a collective act of mobile democracy.

...let's say a candidate has emerged that "gets" the power of the Internet and its mobile cousin. All their traditional media and Internet action combines with a call to mobile action. No speech ends without a call for those listening to join the campaign on their mobile phones – then and there. And this candidate has inspired a small portion of his base - 1 million people - to each devote ten minutes of their time to mobile action for the Presidential campaign.

I think that then-Senator Obama must have been doing some reading.

The words "collaborative" and "collective" in that white paper excerpt above really stand out to me. Obama saw the importance of running a campaign in a way that underscored his unity rhetoric. Obama saw Web 2.0 and mobile technology and immediately recognized it as the opportunity to redefine our politics. While we've grown up in an uber-fragmented society thanks to our Boomer parents, the overwhelming number of Millennials carrying cell phones is a tremendous opportunity for rebuilding community. Obama talked about working together just like any other politician; but for once, someone was able to show people how to do it, not just with words, but by the campaign's actions.

Yes, the number one million is certainly impressive and important. But what's more critical is that we're seeing the opportunity for Millennial values to be channeled into the political dialogue thanks to this technological development. 2008 contained several cataclysmic events. One of those is certainly the emergence of text messaging as a campaign tool.

One thing about the Inauguration to be aware of is the many balls that are happening in Washington. Inauguration is a lot like the acceptance speech at the Oscars only they don't play you off the stage. Inaugural Balls are like the post Oscar Parties, only people wear a hell of a lot more black clothing and people are drunkenly talking about numbers, charts, graphs, and policies, rather than movies, publicists, and who's dressed the worst.

Now you have to know your balls quite well. There are a lot of balls in DC..... more than you'd think. And everyone dresses up special for their balls. Even some caucuses have balls! Thus far there are 9 official and 31 unofficial balls. Everything from Native American balls, to the official Commander and Chief Ball hosted by military personal ... you could I suppose call that the Brass Ball.. There are Hawaiian balls, in the past a Texas/Wyoming Ball presumably because that was where the Pres and VP were from. I've been told that Texas has very large balls or at least they like to think they do.

CNN did a recent special about the Balls and the extravagances that you see at these balls. Everyone wants to have a big expensive flashy ball - I mean who doesn't want to see some flashy balls right? Especially in Washington which often times is filled with so much darkness and seriousness. But, at a time when the economy is in peral and our Commander in Chief will face some pretty steep challenges on Day 1, do we want him out the night before taking in so many balls? I mean... you really have to pace yourself...

In the past balls have been paid for by flashy lobbyists and companies hoping to wine and dine key members in the Washington community. But if you've given you r two cents on Change.gov then you have also been asked to be a contributor to the transition and inauguration to prove that small donors can fund this thing just like we funded the campaign. That said... of the millions upon millions of donors to the Obama campaign only a select 4 million are expected to come to DC and lets face it... there just aren't enough balls for all of us to attend.

Similarly, most balls require tickets which are often times pricey, so the kinds of people who are able to attend either have to have the hook up or they have to have money. This means, largely that young people are once again... shut out of the influence, the celebration, and the flashy crab cakes.

But the Babyboomer Professionals get the Celebration of Change Ball... where they will all get to groove to some easy listening and sip on champagne while undoubtably talking about how big and awesome their ball is. No word on whether it will be a disco ball.

The cheapest balls I can find are certainly the unofficial balls like the Garden State Ball(New Jersey is the Garden State) which is only $125 with black tie optional... its unclear whether you get wacked at the end of the night or if the wine is from a box...

The Change the Nation Celebration Ball plays the song Celebration when you look up the invite. That is a cheap ball at $125 and hosted by a consulting firm in Maryland... So if you want to schlep way up north to see some hawt ball action, its only $125 and $125 for the cab to get there.

The Illinois State Society is hosting a $300 Gala, no word yet on if you must pronounce it gay-la or gall-la if you attend.

The Creative Coalition which works to lobby for arts policies and such is hosting their super pricey Hollywood Liberals Gala where the LA and New York finance committee will be in full ball on ball mode. Last time I saw Susan Sarandon she was quite drunk, so I'm sure the Creative Coalition won't mind if I forgo the $10,000 and sit this one out ...

While I can make jokes about the size of people's balls, or their caucus balls, or the attire for their balls, or whether they like to call their balls gay-las or whatever... the long and the short for balls is that young people, who had a huge part in the success of President Obama's election are being once again.... ignored.

No ball for you... and even if there was a youthy ball, a small youthy ball, with popcorn and boxed wine, Snoop calling Obama the Prizzle... whatever ... we would then have to figure out how the hell to help young people pay the thousands of dollars for hotel rooms or to rent apartments for the weekend.

CNN has one thing right - we want to party with Obama, we want to celebrate the success, but having big balls is not quite as great as passing policies that impact our lives, particularly when you're a demographic or interest group that will have no access and/or no credibility when it comes to admission, official Presidential Balls or not. Our night can just be about free ballin'.

Some Sunday reading:

• The New York Times reports that President Obama may have to give up his blackberry. It certainly is nice to have a technologically-engaged president in the White House who is at least pushing the envelope on these issues.
• Meanwhile, Obama's not procrastinating at staffing his White House. Some more roles have been filled today.
• An examination of young voters' preoccupation with merit and what that meant in the Minnesota senate race.
• A panel discussion on "Generation We" will be held tomorrow at Noon at the First Amendment Lounge at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, in Washington, DC. Sponsored by Eric Greenberg, author of the book "Generation We: How Millennial Youth Are Taking Over America And Changing Our World Forever," and moderated by The Politico's Ben Adler, the panel will include the following confirmed panelists: Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow at both The Century Foundation and American Progress, who will present new findings on the youth vote this election cycle; Alexandra Acker, national executive director of Young Democrats of America; Michael Moschella, director of outreach at the Truman National Security Project; and Kat Barr, political outreach director at Rock the Vote.
• Bruce E. Cain, a professor at UC Berkeley, offers his thoughts on the GOP's demographics problems. He discusses youth and their current politics and nails it:
  

  Finally, there is the new generation. Even before this election, the Generation Y kids were participating in public life at higher levels than their Generation X predecessors. What strikes me as I read their resumes and talk to them at the university is that they are more service-oriented (partly because community service is a requirement at many schools), technologically oriented (they have been running computers and electronics for their parents for years) and world-savvy (they intern as a way of testing out the world). Generation X was the "me" generation; Y seems to be the "us" cohort. Republicans may want to think about what that means for them.

• An examination of the new electorate in American politics.
• The Nation has a "You Voted. Now What?" post-election guide for young voters on how to stay engaged. Check it out.
• Young Australians are also politically engaged at record levels.
• "Liberal" just isn't pejorative with young voters. Deal with it.

In a piece on the Washington Post aimed at dispelling (although pathetically) so-called myths post election Chris Cillizza had this as important as the second

A wave of black voters and young people was the key to Obama's victory.

Afraid not. Heading into Election Day, cable news, newspapers and blogs were dominated by excited chatter about record levels of enthusiasm for Obama among two critical groups: African Americans and young voters (aged 18-29). It made sense: Black voters were energized to cast a historic vote for the first African American nominee of either major party; young people -- following a false start with former Vermont governor Howard Dean in 2004 -- had bought into Obama in a major way during the primary season, and they finally seemed on the cusp of realizing their much-promised potential as a powerhouse voting bloc.

Or not. Exit polling suggests that there was no statistically significant increase in voting among either group. Black voters made up 11 percent of the electorate in 2004 and 13 percent in 2008, while young voters comprised 17 percent of all voters in 2004 and 18 percent four years later.

The surge in young and African American voters is not entirely the stuff of myth, however. Although their percentages as a portion of the electorate didn't increase measurably, Obama did seven points better among black voters than Sen. John F. Kerry did in 2004 and scored a 13-point improvement over Kerry's total among young voters.

Well... someone didn't get the memo.... Chris Cillizza, according to the by line at the close of the piece covers the white house. Can I please request of the Washington Post that reporters who are supposed to cover stuff like the White House be well informed before they write pieces in the freaking Washington Post? I don't think this is too much to ask, do you?

For the record: Using Dean in 2004 as a way of dispelling the Obama youth vote is pathetic. Seriously? Come on... seriously?

Secondly, he uses exit polling. Even Paul Begala on election day said he didn't go to the briefing on the exit polls because everyone knows that exit polls are crap. And final numbers are available, so why is it that Mr. Cillizza couldn't find his way to some ACTUAL numbers rather than cherry picking exit polls?

His last point makes me think he needs to get his money back from whatever institution of higher learning gave him his degree. The facts are that Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, and god knows how many other states would not have gone for Obama had it not been for the African American and/or youth communities.

Even James Carville said Indiana and NC were attributed to the youth vote. Similarly, Obama wouldn't have won Iowa without the youth vote, so in a way he might not even have been a candidate had he not won Iowa...

Belittling the youth vote is one thing, calling it a myth based on data that is crated by the Green Fairy is just sloppy journalism. BAD JOURNALIST! No Cookie!

Email Mr. Cillizza here chris.cillizza@washingtonpost.com asking him WTF?

CBS news commentary via Katie's notebook all about young voters and how they can be influential in impacting their community if the Obama Administration continues to use new technologies to inspire them.

If you haven't heard of it by now... where have you been?! The Harry Potter Alliance got started in 2005 on MySpace and has grown into a larger and larger alliance tackling issue after issue bringing online involvement into offline actions.

Most recently their stance on California's Anti-Equality Amendment Proposition H8

The HP Forum includes anti-discrimination topics that speak of the inspiration for the advocacy.

"Dumbledore spoke against the Wizarding World’s discrimination of Half-bloods, Muggle borns, Muggles, Centaurs, Werewolves, Giants, and House Elves. How can we fight discrimination based on race, physical and mental ability, age, sexual orientation, economic status, ethnicity, and any thing else?"

With over 12,000 friends on MySpace and 50 chapters in 7 countries across the world, the HP Alliance works against real dark forces as members of Dumbledore's Army that advocates for justice.

Their specific causes include but are not limited to:

• Genocide, Poverty, AIDS, and Global Warming are ignored by our media and governments the way Voldemort's return is ignored by the Ministry and Daily Prophet.
• People are still discriminated against based on sexuality, race, class, religion, gender, ethnicity, and religion just as the Wizarding World continues to discriminate against Centaurs, Giants, House Elves, Half-Bloods, Muggle borns, Squibs, and Muggles
• Our governments continue to respond to terror by torturing prisoners (often without trial) just as Sirius Black was tortured by dementors with no trial
• A Muggle Mindset pervades over our culture-a mindset that values being "perfectly normal, thank you very much" over being interesting, original, loving, and creative

Since the release of the first Harry Potter book in 1997 the Alliance is targeting a demographic that is 100% millennial. A generation has come of age with the HP books in their lives advocating for good against evil. Tapping into this value and applying it to policy initiatives that matter to young people and showing how they can affect change within their communities is what I believe we all strive for in the youth movement. The HP Alliance does more than advocate against Prop H8 they are working within the culture to create lasting impacts on policies that we'll see as Millennials continue their takeover.

HPA did a lot this election including a huge Wizard Rock the Vote registration drive, but I have been wanting to write about them for a while as a special thanks for their continued advocacy against Prop H8. And I hope they'll stay involved in the new campaign to overturn Prop H8 begins.

In an interesting development, one of the only four losing democratic incumbent congressional races in the country is speaking out. Second Congressional District Rep. Nancy Boyda's campaign manager Chad Manspeaker has posted a blog on the Kansas blog Everyday Citizen calling for a greater need for youth outreach and leadership development for youth in the state.

After a tough year in Kansas that made only a net gain of one state house seat and lost a US Congressional seat, democrats in Kansas are bitter sweet. Inspiration for hometown favorite Barack Obama came out in force with a gain of 4% over Kerry's loss in Kansas in 2004. Obama also garnered a 65,000 vote gain since 2004. Yet even with those benefits, Kansas was unable to create any local benefits for itself.

This morning's Topeka Capitol Journal says democrats in the state have no bench of candidates ready to step up and run for any statewide seats much less to seriously oppose the now 3 members of Congress in Kansas.

Manspeaker acknowledges his loss in his blog and the further loss of the state, but calls on Kansas Democrats to instead re-invent their party as a tech savvy grassroots movement much like what the Obama campaign did that does youth outreach and develops young leaders presumably to become candidates in the future.

More than anything, I learned from this campaign that grassroots organizing really does get the job done and new technologies like social networking tools are presenting themselves to make organizing forward even more efficient and effective.

If we are going to change Kansas politics, we must start from the bottom up, not from the top down. Utilizing social networks to build our ground forces and recruit new people will put us in a position to go after local races, could you imagine a city council race with social networking? But we can't stop there. We must build a structure that is more vast than the small races and act as a support mechanism for every race. We must build leadership within our state and retain those young leaders and fostering their enthusiasm. We must be a presence not merely for those who voted Tuesday, but those who will cast ballots in the years to come.

This campaign taught me that if someone has never been forced to run a campaign, no one will know who they really are. It is our job in the coming days, weeks, and months to change the rules and fight to expose people for who they are and what is really behind them. "The true test of our strength is how we rise to master challenges like these when they do arrive."

Emphasis mine.

The Discovery Channel YouTube channel Why? Tell me Why? Addressed the question of why young voters vote the way they do and old voters vote the way they do.

Irwin Morris from the University of Maryland says these are tendencies that develop depending on the political environment. Young people have come of age in an era with unpopular Republicanism thus they are more inclined to harness those anti-republican sentiments and carry them with them throughout the course of their lives.

The same is/has been true for older voters who he said came of age in an era of anti-democratic tendencies which is why they lean more toward republicans. This might also account for the messages republicans used nearing election day about communism and socialism etc... because those were real threats that older voters faced when they were first beginning to cast ballots.

These kinds of arguments of course flopped on young voters who only know about socialism within the context of republican finger pointing and communism with regard to Cuban relations or history classes about the former Soviet Union.

With "reliable seniors" as a major voting demographic in the past, this was a good strategy, but as we saw with the new data, young voters surpassed those seniors in turnout and at least a third of the seniors voted for Obama.

My hope is that this means we are finally beyond the idea that crying "socialism" and "communist" are helpful to a campaign.