Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Younger Voters Apathetic - Voted for Change and Got Nothing

I bookmarked this article a day ago, but the topic is still relevant: younger voters who surged out to vote for Barack Obama and promises of systemic change are apathetic and inclined to stay home this coming November. Words do have meaning and broken campaign promises can have dramatic consequences - something the Democrats may discover in spades two months from now. Yes, the GOP has been the "Party of No" and has tried to obstruct any and all change. But the bottom line is that Obama and the Congressional Democrats have been spineless wimps who have time and time again failed to use their majorities to enact the legislation and programs promised. The result is that if Democrats are decimated in November, they need look no further than in the mirror to see the cause of their misfortunes. Standing at the head of the line for blame will be Obama who has refused again and again to be a LEADER. Now the country is poised to suffer from that failure of leadership and refusal of Congressional Democrats to deliver on promises. Here are highlights from the Seattle Times:
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Getting young voters back to the polls this year is critical for Democrats' hopes of hanging on to majorities in Congress. But with the economy struggling, U.S. troops still in Afghanistan and Iraq, domestic issues stalled amid partisan wrangling, and no presidential race at the top of the ballot, that won't be easy.
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The 2008 election also marked the first time since 1992 that a majority of voting-age Americans under 30 turned out, according to the nonpartisan Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).
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Getting those young voters back to the polls this year is critical for Democrats' hopes of hanging on to majorities in Congress, particularly in the Senate. . things haven't really improved much," said David Ruiz, 22, a Capitol Hill resident and University of Washington student.
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According to a CNN poll in July, only 27 percent of Democrats were extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this year, compared with 42 percent of Republicans.
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"We felt it was our opportunity as young people to change the face of American politics. I don't sense that young voters feel they have that same connection or influence this year." Anderstone, of Tacoma, who worked on the successful primary-election campaign of Democrat Laurie Jinkins in the 27th Legislative District, said the bitterness he's heard on the campaign trail isn't directed at the president in particular, but at politics in general.
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Disenchantment with Obama is helping recruit young Republican voters, said Lisa Shin, 30, executive director of the King County Republican Party. "Kids are graduating from college and there are no jobs out there for them. So it has started to affect them personally."

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The Obama agenda? You mean there is one? One would never know from his failed leadership and double speak be one LGBT, Hispanic, some other minority. It's all talk and little or no delivery.

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