Young Voters Key to Party Success

It started as an independent study to kill some "easy" credits and score an "easy" A in the spring semeter... 120 pages later... I have become convinced that Young voters are a vital group that has been continually ignored by both parties (give or take some minor and ineffective pandering).
The 2004 election, was a decent step towards future youth turnout...

Youth turnout was up however not enough to make an impact on the electorate... remaining at 17% for the second consecutive cycle...

CNN exit polls show that young voters are solidly voting in the Democratic bloc, whcih means... we just need to mobilize them.

Even southern young voters performed well for Kerry in 2004... While all other age groups in the south went for Bush by 60% young voters supported Bush under 55%...

Here is a brief list of assumptions we must move away from:

*young voters are uninterested
*young voters are only swayed by flashy rock concerts and celebrities
*young voters only includes students

Let's walk through this for a moment shall we...

The most difficult age to vote at is between 18-22.. students have a difficult time and must vote absentee, which is in and of itself a problem... non-students are essentially difficult to identify and target so they are ignored... A party that makes a strong effort to register and mobilize these voters will have success in turning them out...

Second it becomes pretty difficult for young voters to become interested in the political system is their issues (which are the same as everyones.. Irag, economy, jobs etc...) are ingored. Candidates and parties should make an effort to talk to young voters like voters... Groups like Puff Daddy's "Citizen Change" do nothing more than create cynicism among young Americans.

Thirdly... the value of creating a young voter system... YOUNG VOTERS AND ACTIVISTS ARE THE FUTURE OF OUR PARTY! In the 1960s the Young Americna Foundation(YAF) and College Republicans understood this concept and mobilized a conservative youth elite... look what happened those young conservatives of the 1960s are now running this country (into the ground but runnin git nonetheless)... This is where we need to make inroads...

The interenet and the blogosphere are becoming essential to this pursuit however we cannot let our candidates and party elites continue to go about pandering to young voters instead of making an actual effort to mobilize them.

Filibuster Watch Day 1

As part of the upcoming filibuster fight... Blogfactor will detail the happenings and hypocrisies of the events at hand...


The official battle over the filibuster has now reached the Senate schedule.

Republicans moved yesterday to shut off debate on the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, forcing a showdown over the use of filibusters against judicial nominees that will occur Tuesday unless a bipartisan group of senators can agree on a compromise plan.

The Washington Post has a detailed description of the upcoming battle here With the vote on one of the most scared aspects of Seante tradition on the horizon it is time to consider the actual value of this procedure...

In order to prevent the "tyranny of the majority" the founding fathers established the United States Seante, which would come to be known as the most collegial body in the world. The filibuster has become a vital aspect of protecting minority rights in the Senate...

In fact the Republican party has been notorious for its use of the filibuster in such radical reforms as the Civil Rigths movement. Strom Thurmond (R-NC) is the official filibuster record holder at 24 hrs 16min including a reading of the King James Bible...

In an effort to protect this Senate tradition moderates have been furiously working for weeks on some sort of compromise. The result of which has been increased pressure from Majority Leader Bill Frist to push ahead for a full vote and parliamentary motion to end the judicial filibuster.

In the case of judicial filibustering...Senate Republicans participated in a judicial filibuster just five years ago against a "liberal" Clinton nominee... after turning back more than 30% of his nominations during 8years n office. This Seante has confirmed over 90% of President Bush's nominees and only 10 are in question now.

The boston globe has an interesting cartoon on the entire process
here.

This is my daily rant about the filibuster... check back tomorrow for more on the Republucan grab for absolute power...

What happened to deterrence?

Here it is... The moment we have been talking about for months... In about twenty minutes the Republican majority in the Senate will exercise the tyranny of the majority the Senate was created to avoid! Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) will force a fight on the Senate floor today over the nomination of controversial judicial nominees. The fight will inevitably lead to a Democratic Filibuster, which CNN explains:

The filibuster, a form of extended debate that dates to the 1850s, can be overcome only by a three-fifths majority of 60 votes, a move known as invoking cloture.

The Senate Republicans' attempt to avert the safeguads created to protect the minority is a clear violation of the spirt of the American Constitution. Than again can we really say we are surprised by this tactic. Isn't this what we have come to expect from the "conservative majority." Colin Powell was ignored because he did not agree... John Bolton fired aides who viewed intelligence different than his personal choice. This is the crap that we have come to expect and we can't let it keep happening.

If the Senate becomes just another rubber stamp for the administration then the only question left for the most "collegial" body in the world is... What's next?

Get Local!

"All politics is local," the immortal words of Tip O'Neill have never been so true. With an extreme Republican majority, the House of Representatives has become a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration. Since an extreme majority of seats in the House are considered "safe districts" we need to take action and work to change the bodies that control Congressioal district lines. State elections in Virginia will be essential in 2005 to make a difference. It is important to get involved in these races and make a difference. Wanna find out how to get involved look here and here and here. Making a difference has to start at the local level and it takes young, excited and energetic people to make it happen. So get local and make a difference!

A Foray into the Blogosphere

About a month ago I wrote a fifty page paper on the future influence of the American youth on a future (and by future I mean near future) progressive movement. The basis of this entire concept was the rise of energize figures like Howard Dean... and the rise of the netroots community/blogosphere. This is my effort to help promote a new progressive effort inside American youth. Blogfactor is devoted to posting on issues relevant to students, young professionals and really anyone bored enough to listen to what I have to say. I intend to use this offshoot of my research and writing (nicknamed during the process as "Xfactor") to promote young activism and involvement in creating a progressive movement and progressive majority. Blogfactor will include a complete effort to complain about the everyday crap that goes on at home and abroad and the absolute lack of effort by the "conservative majority" to give a damn about it. I will work to promote opportunities to get involved in politics and to help create a new progressive movement.