'Millennial Generation' set to rock the vote

[babylonsister]

'Millennial Generation' set to rock the vote

Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer

Sunday, April 20, 2008


(04-19) 18:28 PDT San Francisco --

snip//

Nothing sticking

Meanwhile, Obama literally brushed it all off as the old way of doing things, while both Pennsylvania and national polls appear to suggest that none of it has stuck to him. Indeed, he looks even stronger, said Winograd, a former senior adviser to Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration.

Twenty-somethings "are driving the presidential race in a huge way," said Annemarie Stephens, an organizer for the youth-oriented "Nation for Change" rally to celebrate Obama's campaign today at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland. The event, which will star gospel, hip-hop and ethnic musicians - like similar rallies planned in nearly all 50 states today - has been put together almost entirely on the Internet, she said.

"People are concerned about the well-being of this country," she said. "It's no longer politics as usual; we're not going to stand for the pettiness."

Jordan D'Amato, 20, a political science major at UC Berkeley and one of the "Millennial Generation," says coming of age in an era of the two-term presidency of George W. Bush has had a clear impact on his political outlook.

"I think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and there have been monumental failures, like the war in Iraq," the health care system and the economy, he said.

Obama, he said, has "run a very successful campaign so far, proposing a message of hope" to address those issues.

"So when he makes a slipup, and people point out his relationship to Jeremiah Wright," the senator's controversial former pastor, "you say, 'Yes, he has faults.' " But, D'Amato said, Obama isn't influenced by pundits and politicians "trying to pick him apart."

The apparent inability of Clinton and McCain to influence voters like D'Amato and blunt Obama's trajectory underscores the different world and political view of the "Millennial Generation," which some have suggested looks increasingly like the "Obamanation."

more...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/19/MNN7107FVE.DTL

[rockymountaindem]

1. Cue the "young people are too stoned to vote" replies

:sarcasm:

[babylonsister]

2. 'Cept the educated young folks will be voting in droves, so

there goes that theory. If they're too stoned to vote, I'd think they'd be too stoned to GOTV. ;)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

3. Unless they vote for Hillary.

In which case, they'll be bathed in the light of freedom.

[Leftist Agitator]

15. Too stoned today, that's for sure!

:rofl:

[madrchsod]

33. took a while but they showed up...

[Dbdmjs1022]

4. Well as a member of the Millennial Generation...

I think my peers are going to keep up the big turnout of young voters in this primary season.

For the record, I'm a 21 year old college senior, and yes I get drunk and even high sometimes, but that didn't stop me from voting for Obama in Maryland. I think people underestimate the youth vote. Everyone on my campus has been fired up for this election, and I think it's a nationwide trend.

[babylonsister]

5. Thanks for your pov! Good to hear, and belated

welcome to DU! :hi:

[livetohike]

6. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[FrenchieCat]

12. Welcome

:hi:

[Cha]

14. Thank you, Dbdmjs!

You will help make the difference because it seems the young people aren't that turned on by hilary lies.

I just saw a movie that more young people need to see to open some more eyes. "Lions For Lambs" a starkly politically real film with Robert Redford directing and acting.

[Leftist Agitator]

16. "...I think it's a nationwide trend."

If WVU is any indication, it surely is.

Then again, we're basically in the same neck-of-the-woods, so maybe not, but I tend to think that Obama is massively popular on college campuses all across the U.S.

Except maybe at Bob Jones University and BYU of course.

:evilgrin:

[roseBudd]

18. I live near a college in SW OH & the kids have put the signs that brought home from the rally

at UC in their apartment windows. That never happened for Kerry.

[SeattleGirl]

20. This older voter is so excited at the youth turnout this year!

Getting people to vote, regardless of their age, has been a passion of mine since the first time I voted in the Reagan-Carter election, because essentially my vote, as well as everyone else's on the west cost, was discounted. I pulled into my driveway after work, all excited to go to the grade school next door and cast my first-ever vote for president. Just then, the radio announcer said that Carter ha conceded to Reagan. DAMN, but I was pissed!

Yes, Reagan would have won anyway, but I really didn't need to hear that announcement BEFORE I voted in the GE. All these years later, I still get pissed about it, but I use that anger to encourage people to register and to vote.

To see the turnout of the young people in this country just makes my day!

[Irishonly]

37. I Am Thrilled

the millennial generation is getting fired up and participating. My only advise to you is stay fired up about all of the elections and don't let the pirate boomers get you down. I call boomers who turned into neocons pirates-Peter Pan reference.

Welcome to DU and you sound like a perfectly normal college senior.:hi:

[WCGreen]

39. I am fifty and have voted in every election, municipal included,

since 1976...

I have seen a growing number of college aged folks getting more involved for about the lat ten years. You could see this here in Ohio as the mad rush for voting in 2004 in the Oberlin and Mt. Union precincts that included the colleges were overwhelmed by the turnout.

This is Good. I see this as a simple fact of demographics. More people are attending college today than at anytime in our history. These students are supercharged and highly motivated to vote. Even if there is no draft to cause personal concern. So throw open the voting gates and throw away the assumptions. The promise of a deciding youth vote is finally here.

Millennials; assume your positions and Seize the Day.

Have at it. You can do no worse than the generations that came before but are poised to do much good.

[NC_Nurse]

7. That's MY kids! They are fired up and READY TO GO!!!

Yes. We. Can. :patriot:

[Skidmore]

8. I'm so proud of our young people.

It is good to know that they will do well by the nation. I'll help as long as I can.

Standing with Obama!

[smalll]

29. So proud. Yes, they will "do well by the nation." (As long as they're not pre-occupied with...

throwing "Surprise! We're Beating You Up!" parties for youtube purposes. :eyes: )

[depakid]

9. It'll be interesting to see if they turn out

in any greater numbers than past generations who were supposed to "rock the vote."

[Zachstar]

23. This year the voters have been coming out in numbers that scare the republicans.

What did these candidates do to encourage rock the vote in the past?

Mondale?

Clinton (Ok I will give you this one to an extent)

Gore (While I like him he was not really "new" as viewed back then)

Kerry?


Now they got a candidate saying Change and other things that get the attention of young voters.

So yes I am proud that young voters have found a calling to vote. It is scaring the shit out of the republicans and I like it!

[depakid]

27. McGovern and the right to vote at 18 in 1972

One would have expected to see a groundswell there... but lo and behold....

The under 25 vote has historically been one of the least reliable demographics. Maybe it'll be different this time. I hope so.

[WillyT]

10. Damn You Babylon...

Every time I think I've found something ground-breaking to post... you've already done it, LOL!!!

Ah well...

:hug:

:hi:

[babylonsister]

11. Keep looking, WillyT.

Weekends are tough to find anything inspiring, especially after 7 weeks of everything being hashed to death, but there's some nuggets out there. And this week will be history-making, fingers crossed! :hug:

[H2O Man]

13. Nominated.

I think that our Constitutional democracy is going to benefit from the younger generation's participation in the Obama movement.

[roseBudd]

17. If Obama is the nominee there will be a generational shift in party identification that will help

the Democratic party for decades.

[WillyT]

19. BINGO !!!

:yourock:

[rockymountaindem]

22. I think so too

People of my generation already have plenty of reasons to sour on the Republicans, now we just need to give them a reason to positively side with the Democrats. If we can do that, then I do believe the generational shift will occur.

[Scurrilous]

21. K & R

:thumbsup:

[DearAbby]

24. BaROCK the VOTE!...........n/t

[cliffordu]

25. Thought I kicked this earlier

KICKED!!! :kick:

[BlooInBloo]

26. As long as they don't flake out like they've done in past elections, this is great.

[smalll]

28. Counting on Da Yoof in the General Election -- that's McGovern '72 all over again --

so many little things can knock them out of electoral contention. Just some bright new shiny piece of hype will do it.

Seriously, "gamers," I have a question: any chance they'll roll out the latest generation of the Xbox or Play Station sometime this fall? Early fall, September or October? That happens, kiss the youth vote good-bye. (They're easily distracted.)

[scheming daemons]

30. People who vote in primaries tend to NOT skip the GE....

[rockymountaindem]

35. Let me just point out that I saw you coming from post #1 n/t

[smalll]

36. Nice to know I have fans.

:hi:

[rockymountaindem]

38. Don't get a big head

I'm not a fan of you or your thinking, it's just so damn predictable.

[madrchsod]

31. my 22 year old daughter has voted since she was 18

of course she had no choice....voting for barack..

[Duder]

32. Thank you young people!

The Upward Trend in Youth Voting
by Kristen Oshyn
http://takingnote.tcf.org/2008/04/young-voters.html

[Coexist]

34. my baby is one of them!