20% Bush Approval-Bloomberg Poll of 18 to 24 Year Olds

[kpete]

Youth Give Bush Poor Grade, Hurting Republican Hopes, Poll Says

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's hopes of attracting a new generation of voters to the Republican Party may be fading, as younger Americans are far more critical of his job performance than the broader population.

A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll of Americans age 18 to 24 found Bush's approval rating was 20 percent, with 53 percent disapproving and 28 percent with no opinion. That compares to a 40 percent approval rating among Americans of all ages in a separate Bloomberg/Times poll.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aaVlSyTtsmic&refer=us

[Supersedeas]

1. 28% have no opinion -- MTV rocks dude.

[jsamuel]

22. why vote for president when you could vote for American Idol

[corkhead]

67. not even a Segway and an Ipod could help poor chimpy

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,271586,00.jpg

[mark414]

27. yeah that's the most worrisome part

my generation sucks man...:(

[cyberpj]

37. How many schools tackle current events intelligently? + No draft/no care.

[LibDemAlways]

39. How many tackle them at all?

With all the emphasis on standardized testing, current events aren't even on the radar screen. My daughter's going into 8th grade and current events have never been a part of the curriculum in her "blue ribbon" elem. or middle schools.

[cyberpj]

54. We recently found out that gov't budget cuts meant no more Civics classes!

Local protests managed to change that but there are so many people not paying attention that the dumbing down of America will soon start in grade schools! And, unfortunately, the local private schools are all religious in nature. No one can convince me it's not part of the plan.

[GOTV]

2. What % of 18-24 year olds vote these days?

[aquart]

5. Whatever it is, we have to up it.

Right now, they don't realize they aren't being counted as "likely" voters. So any prediction being made is leaving them out. Which means ALL the power is theirs. If they show up, everything changes. THEIR WAY. It would be nice if we told them that.

[Rose Siding]

Up 11 pts in 04 to 47%

But in the 2004 presidential election, when the overall electorate showed a four-percentage-point increase in turnout from 2000, the turnout rate among people ages 18 to 24 increased by 11 points -- to 47 percent from 36 percent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071500685.html

[Posteritatis]

47. In Canada, it's been

(wtf? It stripped my percentage out of the topic.)

Anyway, in Canada it's been under 25% for the last two general elections.

Despite the overall turnout being in the mid-sixties.

To say that annoys me is a tremendous understatement.

[lisainmilo]

53. Talking to younger voters

Whenever an opportunity arises, I try to talk about politics to the younger voters. Many, that I have spoken to ( in a work situation ), have no interest...I was absolutely astounded the other day when I spoke to a young woman who said she didn't vote, that it doesn't matter to her. I brought up the issue of ENRON and she said she didn't study history! OMG....I said, HISTORY? This just happened...Have you heard of Kenneth Lay? No, she replied.

Well I wont go into further details, lets just say I was working on the 11-7 shift and I had plenty of time to speak with this young lady....I work tonight and will see if our conversation mattered.



:dem:

[fasttense]

3. A new target for the republic vote riggers

Instead of hiding, spoiling and not counting minority and democratic votes they will have to do the same thing to the younger votes too. Soon only rich republic white male votes will be counted, just like the 1800s.

[aquart]

6. What a ridiculous and defeatist thing to say.

Let's all give up now.

[Bill McBlueState]

4. this is great news for the future of the country

And yet, the first three posts are

*young people suck
*young people suck
*voting doesn't matter because it's all fixed

Way to be optimistic, DUers! :sarcasm:

[BlueEyedSon]

33. How's this one: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THAT LAST 20%???

:)

[GOTV]

55. What does optimism get us anyway?

In 2004 I heard nothing but optimism. Bush was such a screw up that no one was actually going to vote for a second term - or so progressives told me. And so, people who might have worked to elect Kerry didn't.

So I'm susicious of any slicing of the polls that makes the odds look better for us than they might otherwise be.

Less optimism would be nice for a change. Progressives might show up to work in sufficient numbers this time.

[Jacobin]

7. It would be nice if they would vote in higher numbers than they do

If there were a draft, they would

[mark414]

30. um...they did

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1838056#1838599

[ginnyinWI]

41. if there were a draft,

They'd be out on the streets and marching on campus like our generation did.

But if they would just realize how much debt they are inheriting, they might be outraged enough to march. Maybe.

[Pawel K]

8. Just for the record, I'm 20, I vote, and I am pissed off

republicans better fear me.

[joefree1]

17. We support you Pawel K

Don't the let the tin hatters and the glum lords bother you. Lots of us Liberals working hard to get rid of the rapture right.

[ramapodem]

18. I am 22

and I second your post. I vote in everything and its gotten to the point where my friends vote because they don't want me yelling at them.

[IronLionZion]

71. I'm 23 and I'm with you!

Young people overthrew Nicolae Ceauşescu. Being young and pissed off can and does make a difference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceauşescu

[Posteritatis]

74. "I am pissed off; Republicans better fear me"

Such a wonderful octet of words. ;)

[1932]

9. Great. Now if only more than 1 in 10 voters were 18-24.

[Tom Joad]

10. Can't waif for the day it gets to the level of support among

African-Americans. Somewhere between 0-5% (we do know it isn't zero, Condi still loves Bush)


Why are white people so stupid? Is it the bad neighborhoods they grow up in?

[Alcibiades]

78. Not all of them are stupid

Take my baby boomer father in law, a white guy. He's a former Exxon engineer, and still owns lots of stock in Exxon Mobil. I totally understand why the man votes for Bush. Let's face it, if you're an oil man, this is your presidency.

Or take my dad (also white). He's a Vietnam vet, and still fighting that war. He has taken orders all his life, and now he finds an administration that is plugged into the most sophisticated propaganda machine since Goebbels. Now they tell him what to think! He loves it. Upon reflection, maybe this is stupid, but it's only because years of obedience have conditioned him to be stupid.

So there you have it, two middle-aged white guys, two Bush votes--one from the daddy warbucks side of things, one from the big brother side. And let's not forget that, all the talk about inclusiveness and the tokenism in the world cannot also hide the fact that the republicans still get the Wallace vote.

[dipsydoodle]

11. Do you think that re-introducing

The Draft might lower that figure further ?

[KharmaTrain]

12. Sliming The Daily Show

The other day, Chris Matthews showed his usual disdain for anything that doesn't suck up to this regime, took a wicked shot at Stewart and 18-24 people at the same time. He dismissed Stewart as being a "comic" and the fact that so many young people watch his show and list it as a prime source for their news as being "wrong". Of course...this destroys and exposes the entire punditocracy that feels both entitled to being the only voices heard and to control the flow of information and opinion. How dare Stewart stand outside the walls and expose the hypocrisy...and those damn kids...who know nothing...for watching him.

My son is almost 19 and each night we watch both the Daily Show and Colbert...it's almost a ritual...and its also a great way for the two of us to discuss the issues of the day. In many cases, he doesn't follow the news like I do, but he's very aware of things going on and when a topic comes up on TDS, it gives us the chance to discuss it for a bit. This November is his first election, and he's voting. Thanks to this regime, Democrats are again "cool" with young people and, as witnessed by all the young folks here at DU, a new and dynamic group is being added to our ranks.

Hell yes the pundits and repugnicans hate it...while their "prime demo" gets older, Democrats are reaching out to many different groups...blacks, Hispanics, women, young, old...hopefully this November we'll see some of this NEW majority flex some muscle.

[Alcibiades]

79. Of course, Ann Coulter is also just a comic

At least, that's her excuse for whenever she's exposed at her most malignant. "Just a joke."

Will Rogers was just a comic, too. Didn't prevent him from being both right and funny.

[liberal N proud]

13. Just need to get them to the polls

So many of them were disenfranchised after 2004 that it will be a lot of work to get them out there.

[jsamuel]

14. So, the only reason Bush is below 40% is because of the "youth"

I am one of 'em

[sendero]

15. I think..

... you are seeing the power of the internet, and its effects on the age group that uses it the most.

[DemReadingDU]

16. they see the increasing world violence

they are getting worried that there maybe a draft for them to be sent to fight

Maybe they will go vote out the Republicans :eyes:

[Dinger]

19. And The "MSM" Gives That 20% All The Time In The World

You gotta wonder about that 20% . . .

[HomerRamone]

20. And my "love generation" turned into Reagan Democrats eom

[The Wizard]

70. this one didn't (nt)

[W_HAMILTON]

21. Just more proof that most Democrats are going about it the wrong way

They should be focusing on getting these types of prospective voters motivated enough to go out and vote. Instead, so many of our Democratic politicians want to act like Republican-lite types, which in turn can cause these younger votes to sit at home on election day because to them, it's a choice between two evils. There's no excuse for the Democrats to act like that. Instead, they want to abandon their principles and back down from fights, just to win the votes of people that probably won't even be alive in a couple of decades. It's pathetic.

They need to stop worrying about trying to "court" the goddamn evangelical vote, and worry more about getting these types of voters out on election day. They're more likely to side with true Democratic ideals. They're more likely to be around for 5+ decades. If Democrats took advantage of this, they could dominate national politics for the next half-century. Instead, they care more about winning over Republican-types that don't want to be won over, and are never going to vote Democratic. It's idiotic.

Here's to hoping that this "conservative swing" that many Democrats are essentially helping along doesn't come back to bite us all in the ass and turn these younger people into more conservative types who we'll be losing elections to over the next half-century. Democrats need to stand up for what they believe in, and stop putting people that don't believe in the same ideals ahead of those voters that do.

[klook]

23. Young activists are the hope and future of the country

and the world. So are old, middle-aged, and every other -aged activists.

Some on DU say we have to have a military draft to get young people to wake up. Some say it's hopeless to expect young people to do anything, so why should we bother? I say we just need to keep getting the truth out, and young people will respond. Not all of them, of course--but many will. And their voices are powerful.

I am very encouraged by this report. Maybe some of the cynical, defeatist old farts need to get out of the way and let the young people lead for a change.

[LynneSin]

24. This means SQUAT to me

unless the 18-24 bracket can do something like get the vote out. If not, they're just a bunch of useless stumps

[jsamuel]

25. why are you calling me a "useless stump"?

[LynneSin]

26. well if you vote then you have a set of brains

Hell if you were republican and voted I would still have more respect than all these useless stumps who can't bother to vote. They said in 2004 the turnout for this age bracket was dismal

[Bill McBlueState]

28. it's a chicken-and-egg problem, though

We could put it this way: "Which came first? Politicians' disregard for young people, or young people's disregard for politics?"

When entire campaign seasons revolve around the intricacies of Medicare, and we still have major Democratic politicians bitching about MTV and violent video games, young people are less inclined to participate in the process. Of course, if they started participating, we might see campaigns that address their concerns.

[LynneSin]

32. You summed it up best

All this "ROck the Vote" and "Vote or Die" stuff looks great on TV but means shit if they don't get the message through that voting is a MUST!

[Eurobabe]

62. Blame it on the DNC/DLC consultants

and their lack of a message that people can get excited about. MY 65 yr. old DEM mother is bitching about that one.

And don't be so harsh against the youngins, Lynne. Yikes you are fire-breathing these days!! My kids went the extra mile to get all their friends to the polls in 2004. And they'll be voting in November too. Against RICK in PA. And FOR Lois in District 6, etc.

[mark414]

29. that's a lie!

in 2004 the number of people in this age group was higher than it's ever been before...the only thing that distorted that was that voting was higher in almost every OTHER age group too, so the percentage stayed the same...but we turned out in record numbers anyways...

not withstanding, my generation still sucks...28% with no opinion? wtf?

[Posteritatis]

48. 47% is still dismal. (n/t)

[mark414]

50. it's just about the national average

so get off yer grown up high horse and start doing some work

[Posteritatis]

56. "Grown up high horse?"

Whatever; I'm 25, have yet to miss a vote, and make a tremendous pain in the ass of myself every election going after others who refuse to cast ballots.

And a 47% national average is also dismal. The 63% average up here pisses me off enough.

Christ, I wasn't aware calling a spade a spade was so upsetting these days.

[mark414]

66. sorry, i didn't really mean that

well maybe i did since i said it, but i apologize

i guess it's because there are a lot of other people on here ridiculing young people for not voting when they are no different than anyone else in the country...47% IS dismal, and while this approval rating given by my age bracket is good news, what's even more troubling is the 28% with no opinion...but again sorry for the knee jerking on my part

[Posteritatis]

69. No harm, no foul, no problem

The hypocrisy bugs me too, which is why I usually try to aim my ire fairly well. I'm also coming from a political environment in which the same age bracket is vastly worse than the American one, even though I consider the latter unacceptably low too. That's one of the reasons I've got Prime Minister Stephen Harper sucking up my country's global goodwill and raising taxes on the lowest income brackets right now, and I freely admit to being sore over it.

Folks who spit on the entire age bracket for being unconnected fools are fools themselves; that big chunk that lie to themselves about why they don't vote (a few of my friends have said they refuse to vote until they see a candidate worth voting for. I found one in their riding, pointed him out, watched him meet with their approval, and they didn't vote anyway because "meh"), or who are indifferent enough not to have political opinions? They're fair game.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

77. The fact is that people don't start voting regularly until middle age

40 and below, forget it. It pains me to admit it, but I was one of those non-voters until idiot boy and his merry band of neo-cons blew into town. I was in my 30s. If I saw the light, then others can too. It's going to take a massive get out the vote effort. Bring registration forms with you everywhere you go or little cards with the website on it if online registration is available in your state. It's not enough to get the base out with all the voting machine shenanigans. We have to grow a big pool of voters so that there's no way they can steal it.

[ComerPerro]

31. to the 20% that approves in that age group

you are in the prime, ideal age for military service.

Go enlist and fight in that war you support so much.

[ProfessorGAC]

35. Exactly!

"If you approve of his work, what are you waiting for?" Selfish twits, all 20%.
The Professor

[Marie26]

34. No surprise there

But do they vote? No way.

[maxsolomon]

36. i have an 18 year old who's birthday was 2 weeks ago

she's already signed up absentee. she's pissed off & she'll vote. my 20 year old voted against GWB, but it took me hounding him to make sure that ballot got mailed.

some kids that age can barely keep their underwear clean, much less schedule their day around getting to the polls. i've made both my kids sign up absentee, and even that's not guaranteed. kids are spacey.

[SteppingRazor]

38. Man, there's a lot of dismal attitudes in this thread...

I voted for Gore in 2000 when I was 23. I voted for Kerry four years later. I can't believe that, even when a poll announces that the vast majority of this age bracket is against Bush, we're still dismissed as a bunch of do-nothing airheads.

I mean, Christ! Did you see the approval rating for non-religious 18-24 year olds?! 12 FREAKING PERCENT!

Hitler has better numbers than that, for God's sake.

Casually dismissing young voters is the same stupid mistake that Democratic politicians make when they rant about violent video games or some other such inanity. I just can't believe a poll that reflects an admirable political view among my generation gets dismissed so casually. If feels like a casual dismissal of my generation as a whole.

What a fucking mistake.

[ProfessorGAC]

40. I Didn't See That Here

I didn't see that same sentiment. Maybe because i'm an old puke and are looking through your lens. But, i saw mostly that people were targetting the 28% who aren't paying attention at all, and the 20% who think things are just peachy.

I don't think i saw anything really negative about the 60% who disapprove of him, which would, by my math, indicate nobody was dismissing an entire generation. I could have missed something that you would have taken more personally, though.
The Professor

[GOTV]

61. I give them credit for recognizing the president is a fool...

... but at the same time, you can't deny that they tend to vote in smaller numbers than the general population. What good does it do any of us that they correctly identify a poor administration if they don't go to the polls to fix it?

[Eurobabe]

64. I totally agree with you, summarily dismissing this age bracket

and calling them names is NOT a good way to keep them in the party. Who's the asshat that started this thread or started hurling insults??

I have a 22 yr. old and a 24 yr. old who went way out of their way in 2004 to vote, and they were and are extremely pissed at *.

Cut it out people!!

[Ishoutandscream2]

42. I work with teenagers - we need to give them more credit

When I started working in education, I worked with Generation X kids. By no fault of their own, they were the rudest, most undisciplined kids I worked with. I say they were not at fault because the vast majority of them came from broken homes and/or selfish yuppie parents who didn't seem to give a damn about them.

For the past ten years or so, I have seen a more intelligent and respectful group of kids. Character education may have played a role; they seem more tolerant of diversity. They are a hell of a lot smarter than my generation was at the same age. I have seen great leaders among them, and many seem to know where they're going once they finish their schooling.

I am more confident now in Generation Y (or whatever the hell we call them) than any other generation before them. They are our future and our hope. Things aren't that bleak, folks. This is a wiser group who is more respectful of others and the planet they live on. I'm not worried at all.

[WI_DEM]

43. 28% more than a quarter with "no opinion" is pathetic

For those who are paying attention--my hat is off to ya.

[jsamuel]

44. based on another poll (showed women of this age to be 1/2 as informed)

as men

We need to concentrate on educating young women in current world politics as well as history. I bet you most of that 28% is women. And women are usually on the Dem's side of things as well. That is a HUGE voter block we are missing (18-24 women) That should be 90% Dem, but if 28% of them have no opinion, then we are failing to gain their attention.

[lonestarnot]

45. Fuck yeaya! Guess there are those that just can't be brainwashed.

And therein lies bushitler's biggest problem.

[stepnw1f]

46. This is No Surprise to Me

Since I hear alot from young folks...

Good news!

[Aviation Pro]

49. They'll start paying attention as soon as....

...a draft is initiated should the CONS return to Congress.

[Radical Activist]

51. So young people are some of the smartest voters in America.

Good to know. Maybe we should be putting our country in the hands of the young now rather than later when they sell out and get stupid. I want black people in their 20's to have all the votes from now on.

[Radical Activist]

52. Would you old people shut up about the 28% undecided?

When was the last time a national leader really made an effort to reach out to young people and talk about THEIR issues? It hasn't happened in this generation.

I remember 2000 when even Al Gore talked about prescription drugs and health care FOR SENIORS (I guess young people don't get sick), Social Security, and retirement security and K-12 education (not college). For years the Democratic Party has been ignoring young voters. So don't be surprised that young people don't feel like either party is representing them.

Maybe you think young people should vote Democratic so they don't get sent off to war, but did Kerry talk about the draft issue or promise to end the war? NO! Who is representing young voters? No one at the national level, that's who.

When a national leader starts seriously talking about free college, student loan forgiveness, good paying jobs with benefits for recent graduates, the amount of payroll taxes young people pay to social security and medicaid when they make very little, the environment, and generally stops acting like an uptight full-of-shit politician THEN you'll have fewer undecideds. Until then, stop with your self-righteous bullshit because the politicians are already talking about your issues.

[Posteritatis]

57. So issues relating to 18-24 year olds

are the only things 18-24 year olds do or should care about? Immediate self-interest, that's it? Sorry, Randroid bullshit like that doesn't impress me much.

I know long-term thinking is weird and scary, but there's plenty of issues out there for these guys to pay attention to. There is more for young folks to pay attention to than college. The state of the world in twenty or forty years is one of those things, and anyone who's indifferent to that is a fool. Anyone who can't form an educated opinion without being spoonfed the answer to the question, "what about meeeeee?" is contemptible.

And before you lecture me about my being a privileged member of the gerontocracy, I've been out of that age bracket less than a year, and held the same opinion when I was in the middle of it.

[Radical Activist]

93. That's the standard for other age groups.

Do you think politicians talk about social security so much because its the number one issue for the future? No, they talk about it because people in that age bracket vote the most. When a candidate talks to any other group of people he talks about issues that relate directly to their lives. Why should there be a different standard for young voters?

[Patchuli]

60. But our issues are your issues too,

because you will all get where we are today. You too are paying into MediCare and Social Security and I know for a fact you will want it to be there when you do need it.

The politicians are talking about your generation; it seems to me that the republicans are trying to screw the youth on college loans, etc., dumping trillions of debt on you guys, trying to undo environmental protections for the world you and your children will live in, talking about reinstituting a draft to fight wrongheaded wars. We should not need to remind you that this is all going to affect your future. I have personally argued with friends' kids who told me "I don't vote because it doesn't matter." That is one of the saddest things I've ever heard. IT DOES MATTER. To us "oldies" and to you guys. We are all in this together!!

[Selatius]

83. Right now people my age are worrying about two things:

Paying off the the damn bills that include things such as student loans with interest at the end of the month and not dying in war. If you don't talk about those two, you will always have many young people who will not readily identify with Democrats.

[Patchuli]

88. Don't lose the whole message though

running on just those things. We know all about loans. We just barely paid off our kids' school loans ourselves. As far as the draft? We marched against this travesty of a war before it began, just as we did against Viet Nam. We are prepared to take our kids outta here if such a thing came down.

You need to remember that youth is not an island. We need to get fairness and justice for us all back in the government. Don't just be about you. We will lose if you are just as much as if we older people ignored your issues and only focused on ours.

[Radical Activist]

94. You mention some good issues

and yet national Democrats don't talk about those issues in a way that directly relates to the lives of young people. That's my point.

As far as social security and medicare go, I don't care if they are there for me in the future when I can't pay for my asthma medication right now. I can plan for my own retirement. What bothers a lot of people in their 20's who work low wage jobs is the obscene amount of money taken out in payroll taxes. It is horribly unfair and regressive. That will only get worse if social security isn't dealt with, but that isn't spoken of. You only hear talk about how to preserve it, and not how to prevent a third of young people's paychecks being eaten up by income redistribution based on age. That's what I mean when I point out that politicians don't talk to young voters about their issues. The age group least likely to have health care is people in their 20's but you wouldn't know that listening to Democrats.

[kpete]

58. Just dropped in to say

Rock On 18-24 Year Olds...

and, by the way, we need ALL OF YOU TO VOTE!!!

[Eurobabe]

59. Don't be so harsh, there are alot of kids in that age range

that I know who VOTED for Kerry, and who hate Bu$h. I produced TWO of them! And their friends hate Bu$h as much as they do...if Asshat has no clue how to solve the world's problems that he started, you think an 18 yr. old can?

These kids aren't dumb, they see what's going on in the world, and they worry about it. Did you know are the most likely age group to volunteer and perform public service, certainly much more than I can say for my fat-ass, wasteful SUV-driving consumaholic generation (1960).

Let's not be generalizing against the you'ds. Peace out.

[kpete]

63. I also have 2 great kids

22 and 25 - not only did they vote for Kerry, they convinced their friends to register and vote!

Cool Kids!

[Reckon]

65. We should stress the National debt / war / global warming...

is really going to hurt young peoples future life style. Tell them their future is in their hands, they can make a difference, IF THEY ACT NOW, and vote!

[indepat]

68. Wonder what percentage of that 20% approving have/will volunteer to go to

Iraq to bring freedom and democracy to those poor souls/devils.

[LetsGoMurphys]

72. You can all rip on us

but it was baby boomers who put Bush in office. The same ones who stood up for things in the 60s-70s sold out hard. For those I am talkin about (not even close to all) it must have been more about the drugs and sex.

[Lost-in-FL]

73. 20% is still a lot of idiots

IMO

[ElboRuum]

75. Same demographic got Clinton elected...

You tend to vote for the other guy when your job prospects are slim and getting worse.

[kineneb]

76. when I turned 18

somewhere back in the Stone Age (ok, 1976), my grandma marched me down to grandpa's union hall and I registered to vote (Dem, of course). I have voted in every election since, often in anger at the incompetence of the choices offered or to vote down insane state propositions (CA), sometimes because there was something to vote for.

I will always remember that during my grandparents' childhood (before 1920), women still did not have the right to vote.

[Selatius]

80. Didn't they predominantly draft 18 to 24 year-olds for Viet Nam? n/t

[islandspirit]

81. Encourage to be involved

As a parent, you need to talk politics in your home, around the dinner table. And stress the need that every person should vote who can. Our daughter finished her last semester in Brazil & voted absentee and it was a bunch of work to get the necessary ballot but she did as she recognizes the need to vote.
And hopefully more and more of our youth are getting their news from the internet instead of the sanitized version of the news on all tv and radio stations - bought & paid for by this administration. I think most youth are a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

[BuyingThyme]

82. Thank you, John Stewart.

[jerry611]

84. You baby-boomers are what screwed up America

Like it or not, the reality is that the baby-boom generation has really screwed up this country royally.
Lets see what you guys are going to leave for the next generation to figure out:
-A $10 trillion dollar national debt
-A warming, dirty planet
-A bankrupt social security program
-No healthcare system at all
-Unfinished wars all over the place
-A public education system that's in the toilet

And with all these problems you are passing down, you want us to take care of your entire generation?

So don't give me any complaints about the youth of America. You've all done a pretty good job of screwing America up all by yourselves.

[Alcibiades]

85. Young voters face greater structural obstacles to voting

We seem to assume that there was a golden age, perhaps during Vietnam, when young people voted at higher rates. It's not true. Ever since 18 year olds got the right to vote, their rate of voting has been lower than other groups. This is not simply the product of selfishness or stupidity. Young people are more likely to be in college, which faces them with the question of where they should register to vote, in their home town, or the college town. This s a decision most others don't have to make. A certain percentage will simply opt out at this point. Young people also have lower incomes than older folks, and we know empirically that all forms of conventional political participation tend to go up with income. They have also had less times to define themselves politically--in other words, they have had less time to familiarize themselves with the issues, rules and mechanics of the political process. While some folks are intensely political, even in childhood, others do not form much in the way of a political persona until later--including one of the earlier posters in this thread. Young people are also less residentially settled, meaning that they move more often, which means they have to re-register, which is yet another structural barrier to voting in our system. Young people are also more likely to be in the military, which poses its own set of obstacles, similar to those facing college students. They are also less "plugged in" to those social institutions that are associated with voting, i.e., unions, churches, fraternal organizations (not the college kind, the other kind) and political groups.

We should also not be too shocked to see low levels of political knowledge among the young. They are a diverse group, but Americans in general have shockingly low levels of political knowledge, so it's not surprising that we find this also among the young.

I'm not saying that low levels of youth political participation are good, just that they are normal. The good news is that the young can be motivated to vote in greater numbers, as 2004 showed. We need to learn the lessons from that election. We also need to reach out to young people now to get them used to voting in midterm elections. We need to explain to those who don't know why it's important that it matters, and to get them in the habit of going out and voting for Democrats every two years. Older activists should also do what we can to recruit and mentor young activists, because they are the future of our party. Believe you me, the Republicans are doing just that!

[Endangered Specie]

86. Registering to vote while living in an on campus dorm

can actually be a rather confusing process... and at least here the instruction form is VERY unclear how to do it. Course the form itself is rather poorly done too, hell even after helping 200+ people I nearly screwed MINE up! :mad:

Without any external help, I'd say about 80% of kids registering would have done it wrong enough to have had their forms rejected.

Just an interesting tidbit

[Alcibiades]

87. Our wonderful NC voter registration form

sucks.

In a side note, I do think the right thing for most students to do is to register in the town where they go to school. At least that avoids the confusion of absentee voting.

[Endangered Specie]

92. Yes, that is a whole nother nightmare...

but its still a pain to have to reregister everytime you move, especially since most move off campus in a year or two, then graduate college and so on.


Guess thats why we need so many voter registration volunteers.

[emmadoggy]

95. You are spot on.

Your whole first paragraph just described me exactly when I was in that 18-24 bracket. I had no idea what my political views were at that age - I hadn't "lived" enough to have firm opinions one way or the other. I grew up with a Dem mom and a Repub dad and they weren't terribly political. I went to two different colleges (one in Iowa, one in MN) and then 2 months before I was eligible for my first presidential election (Bush/Dukakis) I got married and moved to a whole new state/town (WI). I had never voted before, didn't know where to go, what to do, if I could still register or not and from what little I had seen of and knew of the candidates, I didn't particularly care for either (if I had actually gone and voted, I believe I was leaning towards Dukakis). I knew that I SHOULD vote and felt bad that I didn't, but I just didn't feel "prepared" enough. Since then I have voted in every Presidential election (Dem every time). I did miss some of the midterms, but have gotten better with those as I've gotten older too.

We can't give up on that age group. We may not get them to vote Dem right away, but we still need to speak to them and educate them, and cultivate political interest and activism in them. They need time to live as adults in society and to figure out who they are. Time to learn what it means to be Dem and what it means to be Rebub. (Heck, I daresay there are a lot of people who think/say they are Dem or Repub, but have no idea what that really means - I have two siblings like that). If we discount them and give up on them, they will either go the other way or continue to be apolitical for years. In my opinion, the registration and voting process needs to be much more uniform & simple too, or at the very least more information needs to be put out informing residents of in all areas of how it works where they live. I do so wish that we could have one national system of voting (an NO, NOT the machines!!) because I think many people don't want the hassle of trying to figure out where to go, what to do, how to get registered, the deadline for registering, or some new voting method each time they move (sometimes even if they only move a few blocks). The system is way too complicated.

[a la izquierda]

89. I have some hope

I am a graduate TA in history at an unnamed university and I'm not supposed to talk about politics(for fear of losing my job should someone complain). But I have to say, that when I can have an intelligent conversation with my students about history, I do have some hope for the future. Yeah, some of my students walk around with coach purses that could pay my rent for a few months or drive cars I could only dream of, but the point is is that this is precisely the age group that politicians need to tap into. One of the reasons I never voted when I first turned 18 is because I felt like not a one politician paid any attention to my age group.

[DanCa]

90. I wonder how many youngin's in this poll voted for Dubya

and were too embarrased to admit to it? Imo the freeper crowd should be sentanced to four years in Iraq for putting the chimp back in office.

[npincus]

91. The Internet Generation- less susceptible to MSM propaganda

[mkb]

96. Everybody's Headin' for the Top

     "...But tell me how far is it from the
bottom..."  said the late great Peter Tosh.
     We only wonder how far the cycles of excess and greed
that deprive the masses of their "pale parabola of
joy", modest or not, will go before people realize the
nature of the game.
     Bush's family's whole history for those who bother to pay
attention smacks of the fascist rich trying to cling to their
privileges and tyranny over everyone else.
     I just say the simple pleasures and perhaps a little hope
for the future of life is all many of us ask for, yet we are
always caught up in the battle against the powerful who rarely
treat anyone but themselves with respect and decency.  So we
ask the younger generation to join with us in rejecting the
program of the rich and powerful, and have fun in a balanced
and decent and respectful society.  I hope you can come to
that conclusion out of truthful inspiration rather than
pragmatic realization that they're taking everything away, but
either way, we aim to persevere.