GI Bill

Still no word on data from CIRCLE . . . sorry. Waiting on them for my post-election recap.

• Rolling Stone skewers the Senate in The Senate Caves.
• Peter Levine - Director of CIRCLE - splashes some cold water on the idea that party identification forms early and hardens for life. Yikes, let's hope not.
• In the past I've had real disagreements with Courtney Martin's reading of today's youth activism, but she does us all proud in this op-ed for the Women's Media Center.
• The RNC tried to pull ahead of the DNC in the race for Facebook friends. It backfired hilariously. Full story at Tech President.
• Campaigns and Elections has released a list of Rising Stars Under 35. A few are familiar. Most are not. What do you think of the list?
• Apparently, in his quest to craft a "better" GI Bill than the one offered (and recently passed) by Jim Webb, John McCain didn't actually consult many veterans. You stay classy, McCain.

Today is the big day. Hopefully the last day of the primary season. I'll have some overall thoughts up on the nomination process later today.

• Current TV tackles the Millennial generation and the coming political realignment:

• Why have anti-war protests proven so unsuccessful? David Sirota has some answers in The Protest Industry vs. The Players
• Kevin Bondelli follows up on his post here yesterday and outlines why Vote Pledges are important even in heavily Democratic districts.
• Banks are cutting down on loans and leaving community colleges and two-year college students out in the cold.
• A veteran runs the numbers and debunks McCain's fears about the Webb GI Bill.
• Wired runs a mini-profile of Josh Levy, formerly of Tech President but now an editor at Change.org. The story hits on the power of social networking to mobilize change, and Youth to Power merits a mention.
• The New York Times gets hip to the new face of evangelical community, and how young people are redefining the role of politics in their faith.
• Finally, episode one of This Brave Nation is live. In it, Carl Pope and Van Jones provide insight into the development of the progressive movement over the last half century and discuss how and why they became progressive activists. In particular, I found fascinating their discussion (2/3 through the video) about the role of culture in social change and why artists today seem less involved than in the 60s:

Clair McCaskill rocked it on the Colbert Report last night - giving props to young voters for being involved and touting the passage of the new GI Bill:

So this is my first of hopefully many Sunday posts, I suppose an introduction would be appropriate. My name is Awais Khaleel and I currently serve as the Vice President of the College Dems of America. Since I walked across the stage seven days ago, I am also a recent college grad. And although I (like a lot of people in my situation) face a lot of uncertainty in the next couple of years, I recognize how fortunate I am to be in a place to even have this uncertainty. My college experience has been beneficial on so many levels, both personally and professionally, and that blessing has never been clearer than now.

As Americans, we spend Memorial Day weekend remembering and honoring those that have served this country. Therefore as a rule, we want to afford those who have sacrificed for this nation every opportunity to succeed after their service. Unfortunately, however, not everyone appears to feel this way.

Alex Cornell du Houx, who is the Chair of the National Council for our organization and a Marine who served in Iraq, blogged on the Huffington Post earlier this week about this unfortunate phenomenon. More specifically, he wrote about how regrettable it was that John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, refused to support the new GI Bill that found broad bi-partisan support in the Senate this week. And while I could write about this until I’m blue in the face, I cannot imagine a better description of the issue from a more credible source than what you’ll find there.

See the article [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-cornell-du-houx/tell-john-mccain-to-standb103163.html|here]]

Update: According to Think Progress, McCain - supporter of the troops, veteran hero - skipped the vote to be at a high-dollar fundraiser.

You stay classy, McCain.
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MC Joan over at Daily Kos is reporting that the Webb Amendment (aka the 21st Century GI Bill) just passed 75 - 22. Good news today. Now we wait to see about a Bush Veto. I believe that's what we call veto proof . . .

Update: Voting on the first amendment now. There are a lot of Republicans, and not just those worried about reelection (though mostly) supporting it. This amendment contains domestic initiatives including the Webb bill.

Update 2: Wow. Passed 75-22. The Webb bill moves forward. They did their jobs! Veto that, Georgie Boy!

Update 3: They are now voting on the second amendment that provides both funding for Iraq and Afghanistan and contains war policy provisions.

The AP is reporting that Vote Vets will be running new anti-McCain ads that highlight his opposition to the new GI Bill:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats and their allies are ready to convert Sen. John McCain's stance on college aid for military veterans into a presidential campaign cause.

McCain, the all-but-nominated Republican presidential candidate, opposes a Democratic-backed bill that would significantly expand the breadth of education benefits for veterans, first adopted for those returning from World War II. Democrats want the proposal included in a war spending bill the Senate is scheduled to vote on this week.

Sen. Barack Obama, McCain's most likely general election opponent, already has raised objections to McCain's resistance. And on Tuesday, a veterans' group that has been critical of the war in Iraq is launching an ad in Washington to pressure McCain to change his mind.

By taking issue with McCain on the subject of veterans, Democrats hope to weaken one of his biggest assets — his personal biography as a former Navy pilot who became a prisoner of the North Vietnamese and endured torture at the hands of his captors.

Here's the ad:

You can read more about it on the VoteVets website. Lots of people are stepping up to rebrand McCain. Brave New Films is hitting McCain hard on Youtube. The DNC just launched the McCainpedia, and a few days ago Chris Bowers picked up on a point I've been making: McCain's savvy use of broadcast and cultural media (at least for a conservative). The campaign to redefine McCain is well underway.

The new GI Bill was just passed in the House. From an IAVA email:

You did it. Just a few minutes ago, the House of Representatives passed the new GI Bill by a vote of 256-166, as an attachment to the emergency supplemental. Click here to view the full list of who voted for it and who voted against it.

Earlier this week, we told you that the new GI Bill was facing opposition from a small group of Representatives in the House, who were threatening the bill despite its deep bi-partisan support.

We asked for your help, and you stepped up to the plate. Thousands of you took action by calling your Representatives, signing the petition at www.GIBill2008.org, and spreading the word to your friends and neighbors. Today, your dedication paid off and together, we made history.

There's no question that your efforts had an impact. Referring specifically to the group of Representatives that were standing in the way of the bill, known as the Blue Dogs, the Politico, a Washington-insider newspaper, said that "there had been erosion among Blue Dogs in the face of pressure from veterans groups."1 The leadership you demonstrated in fighting for this bill shows that IAVA is a force to be reckoned with.

The new GI Bill has widespread support among Democrats, Republicans, and all of the major veterans organizations. But the legislative process is a long one, and it's your dedication that keeps it going during these crucial stages.

Next week, the Senate will have to vote on the bill as well. After that, it will go to the President's desk for his signature.

We'll keep you updated via email, but for the latest news, just visit www.GIBill2008.org.
Thank you again for standing with us. The support we're getting in this fight has been truly inspiring.

Sincerely,

Patrick Campbell
Iraq Veteran
Legislative Director
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

• Will Ralph Nader poach youth votes from the Democrats this year? - Chronicle of Higher Education
• Will John McCain poach youth votes from the Democrats this year? - The Politico
• Kat Barr from Rock the Vote interviews me and reviews Youth to Power. - WireTap
• Tim Fernholz has a tough but fair review of Youth to Power. - Campus Progress
• 17 year old Pennsylvanians are fighting for the right to cast primary ballots if they will be 18 by election day. - Fair Vote
• Obama hits McCain for failing to support the Webb GI Bill. - TPM Election Central
• Bob Herbert gets hip to the economic plight of Millennials - New York Times
• Former candidate George McGovern has an interesting solution to bring the primaries to an amicable end. - New York Times
• Along a number of indicators, the civic engagement gap between college and non-college youth has widened since the 1970s. - Peter Levine
• Hip Hop youth organizing is going local and deeper in 2008. - Boston Globe

Been traveling a lot this week and my browser has a gagillion open tabs of stuff I meant to blog. Here they are. I'll try to have a recap of the Demos Better Deal Conference posted later.

• Paul Rosenberg has a detailed post documenting all the ways in which McCain has failed to support the troops. - Open Left
• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) agrees with Webb - McCain is full of it in his opposition to the GI Bill. And they have the stats to prove it. - Think Progress
• Micah Sifry has an interesting post on "Voter File 2.0" and Catalist's plans for the future. - Tech President
• The blogosphere is starting to wonder why YDA and CDA Super delegates have yet to endorse Senator Obama. - Americablog
• Rock the Vote has calculated that Young Voter turnout this year increased by 2.2 million over turnout in the 2000 and 2004 primaries. - Rock the Vote
• More reportage on Obama's success in raising small dollar donations, particularly from young people. - The Politico
• Congress is fast-tracking a student loan bill, though whether that is a good or bad thing for students in the long-term is still unclear to me. - The Politico
• The Millennial Makeover authors argue that Clinton and Obama supporters arguing over the strength of their coalitions just don't get it; demography is destiny for the Democratic Party. - Huffington Post
• Where is the next generation of philanthropists? - Tactical Philanthropy
• More kvetching about the lack of protest music. Will they never stop whining about this? - Huffington Post
• Clay Shirky discusses our "cognitive surplus" and what it means for human information production and organizing. - Open Left
• Andrew Kohut explores the widening generation gap in how voters cast their ballots. - New York Times

IAVA just emailed their supporters announcing that tomorrow congress will vote on the new GI Bill. They are asking all members to call their representative. Here's the link to their action tool:

The House of Representatives faces a historic choice tomorrow when it votes on whether or not to pass the New GI Bill. This vote decides whether our nation will honor its newest generation of veterans and invest in the future of the men and women who have been serving in harm's way. We need your help today.

At this crucial point in the process, please take a minute to call your representative in the House and tell them to vote for the New GI Bill.

Click here to find your representative's contact information. We've included talking points below that you can use on the call.

Thanks to IAVA supporters like you, the momentum for a 21st Century GI Bill has been incredible. The widespread support among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle proves that caring for our nation's veterans is not a partisan issue. However, we still need your help before tomorrow's vote.

Your representative will decide whether or not the New GI Bill is funded. Please take a minute today to call him or her and make sure they vote in favor of the New GI Bill. You can use the talking points below.

Click here to find your representative's contact information. After you do, please take a minute to let us know how the call went by clicking here.
It's time we give our troops the benefits they deserve. Thank you for making your voice heard.