This morning's Detroit Free Press has a wonderful article about the enormous youth turnout in this year's primaries, and how it's all swinging our way.
TOLEDO -- Ben Cohen admits he has been a little obsessive this year, but not about the usual things that preoccupy most 23-year-olds.
Advertisement
At every free moment, Cohen is at his computer keyboard, checking out Web sites about the presidential race. [snip]
Voters younger than 30 are having a big impact on presidential campaigning this year. Exit polls reveal that they're voting in unprecedented numbers, and Democrats -- especially Obama -- are benefiting.
Obama, the 46-year-old Illinois senator who could seal the Democratic nomination with wins in Ohio and Texas, is driving much of the enthusiasm. He has geared his campaign to not only appeal to young people but to get them to vote.
"Everybody is tired after the last seven years and hoping for a change. And there's so much hope in his message," said Janell Scott, 24, a resident of Columbus, Ohio, who drove nearly three hours to see Obama in Toledo on Sunday.
More on this after the jump...
Despite the issues with Michigan's Democratic primary (and apparently, there is now going to be a makeup caucus on March 29, from what I've heard), the primary turnout this year was 1.5 million people, the third-highest primary ever in this state. That is incredible news, even though Republicans had a higher youth turnout here (but, as the Freep pointed out, Clinton was the only one with her name on the ballot).
Of the people interviewed in the article, though, only one of them was a GOP voter, the rest all Democrats. As we've seen in so many other states, the desire for change is bringing a huge turnout, and clearly we are identified with that change. The article further goes on to bring up that technology has helped fuel young voters more than ever, with text messaging, Facebook, and candidate sites giving our generation the ability to research and reach out to others in numbers we never could before.
Best number I read: 55 million videos were watched on Youtube last month of presidential candidates, and Obama accounted for 24.1 million of those videos. Second was Ron Paul at 13.5 million, and he's a non-factor in this race at this point. Again, another positive sign for us.
As I wrote before, this election means so much more to myself, and the comments throughout the article indicate that other young voters feel the same. It is so vitally important that we continue to build this party, and the only way to build it is to bring people into the process that forment change, much as Robert Kennedy did in the late 1960's, when blacks and Latinos joined Democrats in droves behind his work for the underprivileged, for the farm workers, for minorities.
And yes, Barack Obama is the head of this change movement now. It is quite obvious that he has picked up that torch that Kennedy carried and is holding it high. He isn't backing down. He's got rapid response to smears. He has the right answers for attempted smears. He has the right message for our troubled nation. And, he epitomizes what all of us young voters feel with three words. "Yes, we can."
This is the attitude that fuels Dan Foster, Darcy Burner, Donna Edwards, Dan Seals, Mark Pena, Col. Rick Noriega and so many more of our new progressive candidates. It's the idea that we CAN make a difference, that we CAN change people's minds, that we CAN win outside of our safe zone, that we CAN be a better people, a better nation, and a better example to everyone around the world. America is not about the George Bush/Dick Cheney/Tom DeLay/John Boehner/John McCain/Mike Huckabee worldview. It is not closed-minded. It IS tolerant. It IS diverse. It IS freedom-loving, true freedom, not freedom at the point of a gun or through illegal wiretapping. This is the year that America stands up again for what it believes in, and the charge is being led by us young voters, and I am damned proud of that.