Article: "Anti-War Students Rock the Vote"

[Armstead]

Here's an interesting counterpoint to the "activists are all old" argument. There's also a lesson here that the Democrats had best heed, if they want to tap into the younger voters.

(The article tends to favor Dean, but it is not a blindly pro-Dean propaganda. Merely using him as an example of a candidate who is apprealing to this segment of youth.)

A good read. And somewhat hopeful, if the dang politicians will listen.


The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030804&c=1&s=featherstone

article | Posted July 17, 2003

Antiwar Students Rock the Vote
by Liza Featherstone

Three years ago, Chantel Azadeh, 23, an antiwar activist at the University of California, Irvine, would never have imagined herself working on an electoral campaign. Ghafari, who belongs to an anarchist group called People Organized against War, Empire and Rulers, wasn't exactly the incremental-change type--and she certainly didn't see much difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. But 2004 may be different. "The last two years have done a number on a lot of people's minds," she says. "You might be surprised to hear this from an anti-authoritarian, an anarchist, but this election I plan on getting involved. I think it's crucial that we get Bush out of the White House."

Protests against Bush's war on Iraq drew more students than any other recent protest movement, and they were younger, more working-class and more racially and geographically diverse. Now it looks as if that protest energy may provide momentum for the 2004 elections. The enthusiastic volunteerism of right-wing students played a significant role in electing George W. Bush. It stands to reason, then, that progressive students, if equally savvy, could help toss him out. Azadeh is now planning to devote herself to that project, joining many other antiwar students who have been skeptical about electoral politics in the past.

A survey of young people conducted for MTV by Peter D. Hart Research Associates found that one out of every twelve respondents had attended an antiwar protest--and many more said the war had affected their voting plans. Fifty-three percent of those eligible to vote planned to pull the lever in 2004, a dramatic increase over recent past elections. "We're poised to see the highest participation yet," says Jehmu Greene, executive director of Rock the Vote. Though two-thirds of the respondents in the MTV poll said they supported the war, 54 percent believed that those who protested the war were "acting patriotically" and only 41 percent said they would vote for Bush. These numbers suggest ambivalence about Bush and good will toward the antiwar movement--a real opening for young peace activists who want to build a voting bloc of their peers.

<snip>

Whether or not any particular presidential campaign attracts mass student support, Bush's aggressive warmongering and perilous mishandling of the economy have undoubtedly drawn many young people into electoral politics. But as much as they want to defeat Bush, most are not willing to support a prowar Democrat. If Dean doesn't win the nomination, Rosenblith says he'll vote Green. Ben Waxman, who just graduated from Springfield Township High School in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania, and an organizer with NYSPC, says if the Democrats nominate Lieberman (that Gallup poll put him as the top choice among Democrats), he'll abandon electoral work for protest and direct action.

Many young peace activists remain unimpressed by the pool of candidates and will be tough to recruit into electoral work. To them, participating in the Democratic Party is a distraction from building a long-term alternative to what Ralph Nader called the "Republicrats"--or building a mass movement that could make such an alternative viable.

Yvonne Liu, a Columbia University senior who has been active in the campus antiwar movement and in several anti-authoritarian groups, predicts that many more young activists like herself will vote in '04. But Liu won't go to work for a candidate, which she says would mean "getting co-opted by our market democracy."



<snip>

MORE

[bryant69]

1. So . . ..

They dislike President Bush, but not enough to vote for, say, Senator Edwards? Great.

Bryant

Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[chimpymustgo]

2. Dean or Green? Just plain dumb!!!

"If Dean doesn't win the nomination, Rosenblith says he'll vote Green."

I've heard this before, and I don't understand this anti-progressive defeatism. Also, Dean is a "centrist", right? There's a lot of confusion here.

[Armstead]

3. You miss the point

The point is the disconnect between the real issues and the current political dialogue.

There are many young people who would be receptive to poliical involvement -- but not if the politicians continue to detach themselves from the real need for reform.

Dean is a moderate, but he is also addressing those, as are Kucinich and Sharpton.

[buddhamama]

4. i don't understand that either

a better example of a progressive and anti-war candidate is Dennis Kucinich.

that's a limited take of the article though.
message is, if the party wants the votes of young people it's time to start listening to them.
i identify with the younger voters. i'm not a party politics person.
my focus is more on issues and i tend to act on issues outside of 'politics' and put my energies into outside orgs.

[Armstead]

5. Connecting issues to politics

>>>my focus is more on issues and i tend to act on issues outside of 'politics' and put my energies into outside orgs.<<<

The trick is reconnecting those issues to the political system. It's similar to what conservatives did with the social issues, to make their economic policies seem connected to the concerns of right-wing Christian fundamentalists.

[buddhamama]

8. agree

i do see that connection coming into practice, at least with the majority of orgs that i belong to.
what's great is that you find coalitions being formed that may not have been imaginable in yrs past;and that too i think, is helping because it is allowing for a wider range of viewpoints and approaches to issues.

[Kolesar]

6. Would you DUers like to leaflet college campuses when classes start?

It is only a month away. Young people like to read material like this. We could do environment, civil rights, fiscal policy/cuts to higher education.

[hang a left]

16. Yes I would

I am close enough to San Diego State

[Kolesar]

20. I need to know whether it is "permitted"

I live 1.1 miles from a community college. I don't want someone calling security to get me shooed off campus on my first day. Perhaps we should find a liberal professor on the campus to help us clear the paperwork.

(I have never leafletted a campus.)

[Devils Advocate NZ]

7. So, it starts...

Let me just point out right off the bat that I am a New Zealander, and as such I have no vote in American elections. I am not a Dean supporter, for the simple fact that my support would mean nothing anyway. All I am interested in is seeing America become a good global neighbour, and as such I will support any US politician willing to transform US policy.

But it surprises me that so few people can see the obvious when it comes to Dean: He can energise people who have in the past turned to the Greens or not voted at all, and get them excited about going to the ballot box to vote for a Democrat.

This to me seems very positive, and in fact I predicted this (sort of) long ago when I posted the story of the NZ Labour Party's corporate influenced rightward shift. I have maintained all along that the Green party concept during the 2000 elections that things may have to get worse before they can get better is not only true, but almost mandatory. This article I think proves that.

Those people who bash the Greens of 2000 should read this article very carefully, because it indicates the left backlash that I talked about happening here in NZ, and it shows that they (the bashers) are actually the ones who could cost the Dems the victory, if they do not embrace this movement, rather than trying to say "I told you so".

Remember, it is not the Greens themselves who are going to get a Dem elected, it is all the people who have finally woken up from their self-induced political slumber and have come to see the right wing for what it is.

I would also like to point out that all those people who spoke of anti-war positions as being a sure fire way to lose votes, that from this article, it seems that not only is the opposite true, but in fact, the anti-war vote may be the single most important issue of the election.

As an outsider, I can say that to me, it appears as if Dean is the best choice for the Dem nomination, purely because he has become the nexus of this backlash against the right, and that he has the energy, the political smarts, and most importantly, the street smarts to fight the right wing from a position of power rather than the back foot (which is where the media forced Gore, and will undoubtably try to force the next Dem candidate).

Personally, I would prefer someone more leftist than centrist, but Dean may be the best chance of ridding the world of Bush and his cronies, so as far as I am concerned, if I could vote in the upcoming primaries, he'd get my vote.

[Armstead]

Good point

>>>Remember, it is not the Greens themselves who are going to get a Dem elected, it is all the people who have finally woken up from their self-induced political slumber and have come to see the right wing for what it is.<<<

Marginalizing all oopposition politics and dismissing it as "the Greens" is delusional and self-defeating.

There is a larger energy and thirst for change out there. And much of it is very mainstream. If the Democrats can tap into that, they win. If they ignore it -- or diss it -- they lose. It's that simple.

[Armstead]

9. Good point

>>>Remember, it is not the Greens themselves who are going to get a Dem elected, it is all the people who have finally woken up from their self-induced political slumber and have come to see the right wing for what it is.<<<

Marginalizing all oopposition politics and dismissing it as "the Greens" is delusional and self-defeating.

There is a larger energy and thirst for change out there. And much of it is very mainstream. If the Democrats can tap into that, they win. If they ignore it -- or diss it -- they lose. It's that simple.

[Armstead]

10. Good point

>>>Remember, it is not the Greens themselves who are going to get a Dem elected, it is all the people who have finally woken up from their self-induced political slumber and have come to see the right wing for what it is.<<<

Marginalizing all oopposition politics and dismissing it as "the Greens" is delusional and self-defeating.

There is a larger energy and thirst for change out there. And much of it is very mainstream. If the Democrats can tap into that, they win. If they ignore it -- or diss it -- they lose. It's that simple.

[Armstead]

11. Good point

>>>Remember, it is not the Greens themselves who are going to get a Dem elected, it is all the people who have finally woken up from their self-induced political slumber and have come to see the right wing for what it is.<<<

Marginalizing all oopposition politics and dismissing it as "the Greens" is delusional and self-defeating.

There is a larger energy and thirst for change out there. And much of it is very mainstream. If the Democrats can tap into that, they win. If they ignore it -- or diss it -- they lose. It's that simple.

[hang a left]

17. Ok

Quit Yelling

[blm]

12. Name one time when those who were unstudied

in the facts DIDN'T succumb to the attraction of the glibbest talker or the hottest rhetoric?

If Dean calmly gave an accurate depiction of his actual record in Vermont and where he stood on the issues and what he stands for, I doubt he'd have half his supporters.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

13. That may be so...

but what would you prefer, a candidate who better fits your ideals, but can't energise the people needed to vote Bush out, or Dean, who seems to be able energise people to vote for him, even if his record is not as perfect as you would like?

[dajabr]

14. Bingo...

DANZ, yours is the most perceptive "politics" related comment (here and above) I've read here in days. Thank you.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

19. No, thank you!

You're too kind. No I mean it, you're making me blush :-)

[blm]

15. Who sez those are the only two choices?

Seems to me we have just been watching one show for the last few months. The REAL fall schedule is about to begin.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

18. If you can show me another candidate who has energised non-voters...

to vote as much as Dean has, then I'd be happy to change the name. The problem is, it seems fairly clear that Dean has cornered the market.

Did you read the article? Do you see how there is a change in attitude happening amongst the young idealists that are causing them (even the anarchist types) to say that they will vote this time because they know how necessary it is, and that they are saying they will vote for Dean?

Can't you see how important this is? To me what this means is that Dean's centrist leanings will soon become the only electable right wing leaning. In other words what was once considered the centre will soon become the right, what was once considered the left will become the centre, and the far left will become the left.

To leftists of every stripe, this must be considered good news.