some good news . . . from MTV, of all places . . .

[OneBlueSky]

while channel surfing, I happened upon MTV and watched a few minutes of a report about their ""Rock the Vote" initiative . . . the guy reporting said that in a recent poll of young people (don't know the demographics), fully 62% said that they would absolutely be voting in November . . . he also noted that this figure was unheard of, by far the highest since they began polling in 1992 . . .

he also reported on the efforts of young African-American artists, particularly rappers, to encourage young blacks to register and vote . . . I was aware that Sean 'P Diddy' Combs and Andre 3000 of Outkast had been active in GOTV efforts, but apparently there are a ton of others who are doing the same thing . . . and their efforts are paying off . . .

and a crucial sidebar is that NONE of these voters are included in mainstream polling . . . they're part of the hidden Kerry vote, which I believe to be huge . . . and growing every day . . .

[Indiana_Dem]

1. Lordy I hope so! n/t

[EnfantTerrible]

2. An encouraging statistic...

Sean Combs has been incredibly dedicated to this cause and for that I say

DIDDY

:yourock:

[Cloud]

3. Yep

I have never been polled before and I will be going for Kerry.

Maybe rumors of the draft will motivate more young people to vote. The bigger the turnout the better it will be for Kerry.

[smiley_glad_hands]

10. I think you hit the nail on the head. eom

[Cloud]

15. There are those that cannot be helped.

I was talking to this one girl in my Chemistry class a week ago. I was telling her about how I was excited about my floor in the dorms to be all for Kerry. The other day a guy came door to door polling people. Both me and my roomate said we are for Kerry and I have seen about 5 Kerry stickers and no Bush stickers in windows on my floor. However there are several Bush stickers on the floor below.

She gave me this bad look and asked me how I could be for Kerry when he supports abortion? She said Bush is a Christian and is against gay marriage.

I said something like, "Bush took us to war based on lies and bad intelligence. That alone is enough to vote him out of office."

I got a wierd look.

[abrock]

22. I am in that bracket, and so are...

I'm not a sociable person really, I have some friends but I stick to myself most of the time. I know at least 10 people personally who are voting for Kerry in the 18-24 age bracket. I do not know ANYONE, and let me repeat that, ANYONE in that bracket who is voting for Bush.

A few were leaning that way before I showed them the facts and the dangers of reelecting that warmongering psychopath, but none were pro-Bush. NONE.

[spooky3]

35. Thanks all of you for encouraging news.

Now, how do we get all your peers out to vote?

[abrock]

42. I already have, and they're passing out info on the possible draft, too!

Lets fill college campuses with the possibility of a draft under bush. That'll get them out to vote in record numbers more than anything.

[JimmyJazz]

51. Also, parents of conscription age children may not

be too keen on electing a president hell bent on re-instituting the draft...If we learned one thing from Vietnam, it's that Canada isn't such a bad place after all! I'd send my kids out of the country before I'd let them be drafted. It is definitely a hot button issue.

[abrock]

56. Except that Canada and the USA have signed an anti-draft dodger act.

Google for it. It was posted about here weeks ago.

[JimmyJazz]

58. Sorry for being behind the times,

I just signed onto this sight over the weekend. Plus, all I got from my google search was that draft dodgers from Vietnam are being given a statue and a festival...

[abrock]

60. Don't worry about it.

Just remember that most Americans are, and will always be, even less informed. That is how asshats like W get elected in the first place.

[JimmyJazz]

66. gee, thanks so much for the compliment

it's nice to know you think I'm slightly more informed than the average W voter...

[abrock]

72. A lump of misshapen wood is more informed than the average W voter.

[JimmyJazz]

73. so now I'm a lump of misshapen wood - thanks

my parents will be so proud

[abrock]

76. Yes, but a lovable lump of misshappen wood! :-)

[JimmyJazz]

77. so what you ultimately are saying is that

I wasted a whole shitload of time at hockey games trying to learn the words to the Canadian national anthem...oh crap. Oh well, at least I now know what "icing" is...
:p

[JimmyJazz]

78. Truthfully, I think my parents would rather view me as

misshapen wood - As republicans, they are still trying to figure out how they raised one republican (not me) and one socialist (oops, that's me). Don't worry. I am not trying to make a stand - Kerry has my vote.

[LTR]

37. Thousands of people died under Bush's watch

Nevermind ignoring the pre-9/11 warnings. The war in Iraq was unnecessary, and cost thousands of lives (including Iraqis). Even the Pope condemned it.

I don't want to turn this into an abortion debate, but my answer to the anti-abortion crowd is that if you don't like abortion, don't get one. I feel we're smart enough people that we don't need the government telling us what to do. I don't like abortion, but it's really none of my business what other people do with their lives. I don't pass judgement on people who obtain abortions, and I know a few people who have gotten the procedure.

Abortion can be combatted in the homes and in the classroom, through proper education. Which (SURPRISE!!!) Bush has cut down hard on.

If the youth of America were educated on the real life consequences of abortion, perhaps they would think twice. I'm not saying shove anti-abortion propaganda down childrens' throats. Just tell them what options they do have, just in case. Though I'm sure the abortion issue is blown out of proportion in this country. I highly doubt people think of it as a form of birth control. After all, a $1 condom is cheaper than a $400 surgical procedure, right?

But to make a law banning it will only bring the practice into the back alleys with castor oil and coathangers. That's even crueller than the holy rollers could possibly imagine.

[mreh]

40. Be sure you get Kitty Kelly's book and loan it to her to read

She may discover that the Christian robe he wears is an act!
The BFEE is corrupt!

[JimmyJazz]

50. You can also remind the people who bring up the abortion issue

of how many people were executed in Texas under George Bush's watch and that he refused to pass legislation making it illegal to execute those with a diminished mental capacity. I never did understand the anti-abortionist/pro death penalty people.

[DavidMS]

64. Ask her about Savambi and Taylor

Mention that they also took a bath...

See how she likes having her Idol compared to these two bloodthirsty warlords.

[sonicx]

4. this is great. the youth GOTV is working it seems and...

imagine what the older demos are going to be! :D

again, i don't like most mtv hiphop artists, but thank god for em right now when we need em!!

[gospelized]

5. fantastic news

[smiley_glad_hands]

6. I say Kerry in a Landslide.

Unprecedented turnout. The mother of all turnouts.

[gospelized]

7. you and me both

[sonicx]

11. if 60% of 18-29 vote, it would be a slaying. =D nt

[Old and In the Way]

12. I was at a Edwards Rally earlier this week at the University of Maine

up in Orono. Probably 5,000 students turned up to see him. Bush/Cheney? maybe 75

[LittleClarkie]

24. Yes!

Amen! Sing it, friend.

I've been saying this for a while, based at least in part on Kerry having a history of keeping it close until the end, and then surging ahead.

And it will have to be a landslide too, to counter the dirty trick machine.

[smiley_glad_hands]

8. Have you seen that commercial geared to young and urban audiences?

It starts out with a guy on the phone saying "It ain't going down like that!" Pretty cool ad---wish I had a link.

[rocktivity]

14. You have to go to moveonpac.org

and register (far right-hand column).

And while Diddy's "Vote or die" effort is non-partisan, I think he realizes that if his audience were forced to duck bullets for a living, that would be REAL bad for business!

:headbang:
rocknation

[KitSileya]

28. Thanks!

Those are some very funny, to the point ads. Thank you for pointing me in their direction.

[Catfight]

36. I think that is a superb ad for the black community. The black community

has such unity and passion, that is what America is all about.

[elperromagico]

9. I fall into their age demographic.

I will be voting for President the first time this year. I suppose you needn't guess who I'm voting for (see below). And I know many others who are in the same boat as me. :D

[CityDem]

13. Turnout will be key in 2004

Hopefully, this report on mtv is true.

[noamnety]

16. The pulse of my classroom

I am in a very racially mixed school, and when I left last year, the black kids in my classes expressed complete apathy in their choice between the two white guys. Something changed over the summer - I don't know if it was F9/11 or Rock the Vote campaigns or what. But holy smokes, last week I was almost run over by a gaggle of them charging into my room demanding to know who I was voting for, and getting right in my face saying I had to vote for Kerry - and I'm not even teaching anything related to politics! There is a definite mix of republicans, democrats, and independents in the white kids, but some hardcore unity and intensity in my black ones at the moment. Most of them aren't old enough to vote yet, but if they are almost foaming at the mouth to get to the polls, I'm sure they've got discussions going on at home.

Other teachers are being confronted as well. One was telling me she was cornered by a mob of kids wanting to know what she was, republican or democrat. She wouldn't say, and they started saying she probably is rich, she must be republican. She laughed and said "I'm a teacher, how rich would I be?" and then they commented on her clothes. She told them the blazer was a hand-me-down from her mom, and the pants were $1.50 from the thrift store. Then they said all that proved was she was cheap, and she could be rich and cheap. And republican. One of them said she had to be republican, because if she were a democrat, she wouldn't be ashamed to admit it. She told them to look around the room a bit closer ... finally they spotted a photo on the wall from a democratic convention from the 70's, and figured it out.

I don't think I'm adequately conveying their passion, I really did feel a bit surrounded and attacked (not that I didn't enjoy the whole scene). They finally bullied me into an answer; I probably should have stuck to my guns, but my car has a Kerry bumper sticker, a Veterans for Peace sticker, and now a DU sticker, and we all share a parking lot, so that's pretty hopeless.

[sonicx]

17. LOL, kids are bullying teachers into admitting who they are voting for...

sorry for laughing it just sounds funny. :)

but it's great too, Kerry in a landslide!

hey did you make that website in your profile?

[noamnety]

18. yeah, that's mine

It's not really so much a formal website, just a couple of pages of notes for myself as I was compiling things. And some photos and snarky letters.

[sonicx]

19. i love it

i've had it in my bookmark for a while, but haven't really read through it. lots of great info.

where in MI do you live? i live in ypsilanti. :)

[noamnety]

27. I'm in Macomb County

But I used to live in Ann Arbor. The school is right on the edge of Detroit, and we pull a mix of students from Detroit, Warren, Sterling Heights, Grosse Pointe, Farmington Hills, Bloomfield Hills, etc. The republicans are going to need an act of God to suppress the Detroit vote, from what I'm seeing.

[Dem2theMax]

25. Just had to stop by and say that I loved your post.

You had me smiling and feeling all sorts of hope. Yeah for your kids! Thanks for sharing the good news that the young people today ARE paying attention. And here's something I think your class would say: :yourock:

[Nana]

32. My classroom, too

I'm a teacher, as well, in a predominantly Hispanic school in a lower economic area, and Kerry is the overwhelming favorite by about 14 to 1. Many of these kids parents don't have telephones or speak English. But, they are obviously discussing politics at home!

[Arugula Latte]

41. Welcome to DU, Nana!

Thanks for your story. :hi: :toast:

[spooky3]

33. great story! Thanks.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

45. OMG

my eighth graders last year were that passionate!

Almost to a KID, they detest bush. These were lower middle class to poor kids, mostly African-American and Hispanic, with about 10% white mixed in.

They all said they wished so badly they'd be 18 so they could vote against him. They are all about 15 now, so no luck there.

By February, they had worn me down AND several of them had seen the big "Texas Democrat" sticker on my van in the teacher parking lot.

They thought it was great. I stayed pretty bi-partisan and just encouraged them to be active, get people to the polls and vote themselves once they were old enough.

No worries there, they were PISSED off. So much for kids not paying attention to what's going on. They blew that theory away.

[yardwork]

20. You mean that it didn't help when the Bush Twins said they like Outkast?

LOL! And they tried so hard to be cool....

[bling bling]

21. I just e-mailed johnkerry.com

And urged them to advertise on younger market radio stations, especially in swing states. Younger voters are CRUCIAL to this election, imo.

[lpricanprynces]

23. I was reading a Michael Moore interview the other day...

and the interviewer asked him what advice he had for Kerry. Moore said that everyone was so concerned with the undecided voters, but Kerry should be more concerned with the people who usually don't vote. The undecided's only make up about 10%, meanwhile there's almost 50% of people who don't usually vote. He said if Kerry could incite just half of these people to vote, he wins in a landslide.

Sounds like good strategy to me!

[fujiyama]

26. My sister

is voting for the first time. She's 18. She's at UMich where there are many out of state students and since we live in a swing state, she said that many from states like MA and GA are registering here in MI. She said that there was great excitement at a booth for young democrats at the school. Another nice thing I've noticed is there is little support for Ralph Nader this year. This was probably one of the only places in the state he did relatively well in '00. I was driving throughout SE MI yesterday and saw several bumperstickers. One was from OH that too!

I got my friend to register his ass after he didn't vote in '00. I think his ex gf also registered after not voting in '00 as well. I'm going to have to work on some more people like my friend that voted for Bush in '00 but claimed he didn't like him. My guess is he'll vote for him again...so I'll have to convince him not to.

[LizW]

29. Question

What have you heard about the National Student/Parent Mock Election?

I was at a meeting the other day and someone said that the two high schools in my city are going to be participating. I looked at the site and it looks great. There's a whole curriculum geared toward teaching kids the political process and civic responsibility. It includes actual voter registration for those students who are 18. The board of directors is bi-partisan, as far as I can tell.

However, I was concerned because the person who was telling about this kept mentioning that CNN had agreed to cover the mock election and results. Since CNN is trying to be FOX2, I don't trust them to cover the results fairly. I believe the mock election is October 28. Has anyone heard anything about this?

[noamnety]

52. mock elections

I just filled out the forms Friday for mock elections - it's run through the local paper, and they are reporting results, but I'm not sure if it's tied in to a national mock election or not. It might be different, because I don't remember anything about parents.

The civics teacher is sending it in and getting the curriculum that comes with ours. We have voter registration going on at our school, and a few of the kids are talking with the principal Monday to see if they can get a few long lunches to go to other area high schools and register kids during their lunch hours as well.

We're also planning to run voter registration tables at parent teacher conferences, and a copy of "Iron Jawed Angels" is in the mail to me. We're looking to have a free movie night in the evening at our school to watch it. (A house-party style get together, but much larger.)

[blm]

30. This is really good to hear.

I always pad Kerry's poll numbers an extra few points because of the hidden voters that never get factored in by the media pollsters.

[roseBudd]

31. FLOP FLIPPER 8x10 poster for college campus bulletin boards

Go here:
http://somnamblst.tripod.com/index.html

to download the 300 DPI TIF file for printing and distributing.

[spooky3]

34. that's fantastic, thanks!

[Claire Beth]

38. Gawd, I sure HOPE so! n/t

[Insomnicole]

39. I have been approached by Kerry volunteers ...

... all over DC and Northern VA. Almost all of them look really, really young, as in "No way were they old enough to vote in the last election" young. I'm especially tickled about the ones in NoVA.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

43. There's another music video channel called Fuse TV

and they have an online voting website and Kerry is winning there by a big margin: 62% to 37%. There's even a spot to write in a third-party candidate, but it doesn't look, from the numbers, as if very many people are--1%.

www.fuse.tv

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

44. And hell I'm part of the hidden Kerry vote

my husband is part of the hidden Kerry vote, TONS of people I know are.

Why? We live in Texas. No one's asking us, at ALL.

[blue neen]

46. My son is 21 and voting in his first presidential election.

He and all of his friends are registered and voting for Kerry. NO ONE has polled any of them!

[IronLionZion]

47. Turnout helps Democrats

It's always been like that. Democrats want people to vote, Republicans don't.


And I'm absolutely certain there is a massive hidden Kerry vote because young people my age do not get polled, but we certainly vote. The problem with that is that it's easier for the Republicans to cheat if they can pretend it's close.

[OneBlueSky]

49. there's another huge group that doesn't get polled . . .

those who have dropped their land lines and have only cell phones . . . which could be as much as one-third of the voting public! . . . yet another reason to believe that these polls showing Bush ahead are bullshit in the extreme . . .

but, hey . . . it's okay for them to believe they're winning . . . might keep them from doing something drastic like invading Iran or facilitating another 9/11 before the election . . .

[calimary]

63. You have an interesting point there. It's okay for them to believe they're

winning - well, that just might be true. If they think they're gonna pull it off, they'll be more complacent. Complacency means if it's in the bag, why should I break a sweat? Screw it! I'm not worried anymore. If they sense otherwise, and start getting desperate, Lord only knows what they'll do. Maybe we WANT them complacent. Perhaps this will wind up as the tortoise and the hare. Let them be the hare, and blow the race!

[charlyvi]

55. True....

I think that's half of Rove's strategy, especially with anti-Kerry ads on Black media outlets. He knows that many people won't vote Bush, but he wants them to stay home so they won't vote for Kerry either.

[AntiFascist]

48. Funny thing is....

the general Media tends to pander to the older voters, the ones who are retired, watch more television, and tend to answer the phone more when pollsters call. It's really the younger generation they should be looking out for who will be buying the products for generations to come that they are advertising.

[phish420]

53. This and the gay vote

This and the gay vote will win it for kerry...they arent counting on the 1 million log cabin republicans that have switched loyalties after being betrayed by their party, and the young vote that is overwhelmingly pro-kerry (or anti-shrub). This isnt taken into account in the polls.

[rocktivity]

54. Speaking of the gay vote

The Log Cabin Republicans have officially witheld their endorsement of Bush. But as far as I know, they haven't actually endorsed Kerry.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Northern Experiment]

57. Well, i'm the college age bracket...

21 in college with very liberal views. And everytime I pull up in the overcrowded parking lot, I smile from all the Kerry stickers on cars.
I'm too protective of my car to put a sticker on it...so i'll just rock my buttons.

I'm in Detroit by the way (Edwards is here on Wednesday!) and many of mypeers claim they are voting for Kerry. I'm trying to get them to be more active though and check out this site for a huge amount of information. I admit, i'm addicted to this site!

Being that i'm a double voting minority, (21/african american) I would love to see much more political activity around. Not just on racial issues but national issues. Its no reason to come here and just preach race relations all day, all speech. Its good and all but dammit, we are in this fight together. People of all walks of life are suffering from this administration.

Ok, i'm getting off topic.........

[juajen]

59. Welcome to DU, Northern Experiment

Hope you're happy here.

[Northern Experiment]

61. Thanks....

I'm happy here, the information here is gold to me.
Only thing negative I see is people quick to say "Kerry is DOOMED!"

[blondeatlast]

68. Welcome to DU! Since you're 21, let this DU mom buy you a beer!

:toast:

[ItsMyParty]

62. I know masses are being registered but I'm really curious to know

if any of it is related to where one lives?? In other words, is there a swarm of new voters also in conservative areas?? There have been a lot of big campus Republican groups over the years (when before there were barely any on campuses). It's one thing if a swarm of new Dems vote in CA or NY. Or a swarm of new Repubs vote in TX or Alabama. But what are the demographics of all those new voters in say, Ohio, PA, MO, WI??????---do you think the clear majority of them are Dems?????

[kid a]

65. yup -

my 15 yr old daughter is registering 18 yr olds in her HS. she can't wait to turn 18 to vote

I was surprised by yht number of K/E stickers on the cars in the student parking lot the other day

[blondeatlast]

67. Don't it make you feel good?!

One suspects that this voting bloc will not be favoring a man who sresses up like a rabbit to fake-fly a plane...

[skooooo]

69. I'll believe it when I see it ... Young people DO NOT vote.

Every election, I hear hype about the young vote showing up to the polls and it never seems to. I hope I'm wrong, but ..

[Eurobabe]

70. 'zackly.

they are not polling young first time voters, and not including people with cellies in the figures. it's totally skewed. keep the faith!

[Dawgs]

71. "She said Bush is a Christian and is against gay marriage."

Why didn't you say 'so is Kerry, but Bush is the cause of ten of thousands of people either getting killed or are now dead. He did this just to get rid of one man who has been found to be not threat to the United States. Do you think that it was worth it?'.

[funkybutt]

74. I've been working with Rock The Vote

as well as some other voter registration initiatives. I've registered over 40 people to vote and only 2 have registered as Republican. The majority of the people I register at RTV events either choose "none" or "independent" under the party affilliation box. The vast majority of the people who feel obliged to share their voting plans with me, say Kerry is their man.

Rock the Vote does not endorse any candidate..it's a non partisan initiative but it focuses on people between the ages of 18 and 25. The young voter's negative opinion of the current administration could explain my findings.

Great post! Wish I had seen that spot...but it mirrors my experiences with RTV.

[cthrumatrix]

75. kick for good news