Cross posted from Future Majority.

In one of his Netroots Nation recaps, Kevin mentioned a new organization called Qvisory, which essentially aims to be the AARP for young people.  In conjunction with the research group Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner, Qvisory just released a poll on the economic concerns of young people.  

We all know that the economy is the  #1 issue for (non-latino) youth.  The poll has some good information that fleshes out young voter's economic concerns.  Here's the situation in which many young people today find themselves:

Hey Kossacks,

Over at Future Majority, 29 year old Josh Segall is live blogging about his race in Alabama.  Come join us and hear about his efforts to turn a red state blue.

As a taste, I've posted Josh's initial remarks in the extended entry.

Young voters are the talk of the electorate this year, yet our participation is often misunderstood.  Rising youth turnout is not solely the result of Senator Obama's good looks and message of hope and change.  It is the result of years of work by over a dozen youth organizations (beyond Rock the Vote and other celebrity vehicles) working in the field to engage young voters, establish best practices, and teach the media the true story about the youth vote.

It is for the most part thankless, but important, work that is underfunded and often overlooked.

Hello young Kossacks (Kossacks Under 35 . . . ?)

I'd like to invite you to join a new progressive blog community dedicated to young voters, young candidates, and youth issues: Future Majority.

Hello Kossacks,

Over at Future Majority we are about to start a live blog with George Colli IV, a 29 year old state senate candidate in Connecticut running using pubic financing.  Please join us.  George's initial comments are below the fold.

Kossacks,

Nebraska Senate candidate and Netroots favorite Scott Kleeb is live blogging NOW at Future Majority.  

I hope you'll join us.  I've posted Scott's initial comments below the fold.

Kossacks,

Right now at Future Majority we're having a very special father/son live blog.  Jim Slattery, running for the US Senate in Kansas, and his 26 year old son Mike, running for the Kansas legislature, are live blogging at Future Majority.

The Slattery's initial comments are posted in the extended entry.  They'll be with us until 11am Eastern at Future Majority.

Hello Kossacks,

Darcy Burner, Democratic Candidate in Washington's 8th District is live-blogging right now at Future Majority.  

Darcy is participating in the Serve with the General competition put together by Democrat's Work.  She's reaching out to young people to help her campaign and to help her win the competition to send General Wesley Clark to her district. Please come by and chat with Darcy about her race, and why she deserves your vote.

Come join us.  I've posted Darcy's initial comments in the extended diary.

Hello Kossacks,

Jared Polis, Democratic Candidate in Colorado's 2nd District is live-blogging right now at Future Majority.  

Jared is discussing Colorado youth, the challenges of being a young candidate, and his proposals for ending price-gouging by oil companies at the gas pump - an issue I'm sure we all find relevant these days.  

Come join us.  I've posted Jared's initial comments in the extended diary.

Hello Kossacks.

As we speak, Young Elected Official and Kansas State Senator Donald Betts Jr. is live blogging at Future Majority.  Sen. Betts is currently running against 7 term incumbent Todd Tiahrt for the 4th Congressional district.  Please stop by and ask Sen. Betts about his race.  Below you will find his initial post.

Cross posted from Future Majority.

David Hardt, President of YDA and the only YDA/CDA superdelegate to not yet endorse a candidate just released a statement:

STATEMENT BY SUPERDELEGATE DAVID HARDT, PRESIDENT OF THE YOUNG DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA

"We have seen unprecedented turnout among young voters this election cycle.  A true Young Voter Revolution is underfoot.  Nearly six million young people have participated in our primary process thus far.  With just five contests left, I will wait to declare my superdelegate vote until every young voter has made their voice heard.  The Young Democrats of America will proudly unite behind our nominee."

The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the nation’s largest youth-led, partisan political organization with over 2,000 chapters in all 50 states.

Cross posted from Future Majority.

The two superdelegates from the College Democrats of America - Lauren Wolfe and Awais Khaleel - have endorsed Obama.  This comes at the end of a long process in which they posted a YouTube video asking for advice from college students, were lobbied heavily by Obama surrogates, their fellow young superdelegates, and Students for Barack Obama.  It also comes on the heels of criticism for lagging in their endorsement.  

Originally posted at Future Majority.

Last Friday I attended the Better Deal Conference, a gathering of young activists to discuss the creation of a new progressive economic policy that addresses the issues facing our nation and our generation.  

As Tamara Drout, one of the conference organizers noted in an article in the American Prospect, young Americans today are the first generation that may actually end up with a lower standard of living than their parents.  On average, we graduate college with $20k of debt and enter into an outsourced, service-industry dominated economy in which health care has been decoupled from employment.  For those of us who don't make it into college, it is becoming near impossible to earn a middle class living with just a high school diploma.  

The issue is timely, to say the least.

Cross posted from Future Majority.

Well my pre-game analysis was off.  Banking on a smaller youth electorate and possible voter suppression at the polls, I predicted that Indiana would have a smaller youth turnout than North Carolina and that Clinton could potentially overtake Obama among some segments of the youth vote.  That turned out to be false.

Kossacks Under 35 is a weekly diary series designed to create a community within DailyKos that focuses on young people. Our overall goals are to work on increasing young voters' Democratic majority, and to raise awareness about issues that particularly affect young people, with a potential eye to policy solutions. Kossacks of all ages are welcome to participate (and do!), but the overall framework of each diary will likely be on or from a younger person's perspective. If you would like more information or want to contribute a diary, please email kath25 at kossacksunder35 (at) gmail dot com

Cross-posted from Future Majority.

CIRCLE has crunched what numbers they could and here are the results from yesterday's primary:

There are a boatload of caveats that come with these stats.

Cross posted at Future Majority.

Since I've been traveling so much, I've taken the opportunity afforded by long plane flights to revitalize my reading habits.  So far I've read and reviewed Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody, and David Kinnaman's UnChristian.  I've been enjoying this chance to read again.  It's a good habit that unfortunately dropped well below previous levels as I worked on my book and struggled to juggle a full-time job and blogging.  I've been able to do a new book every 12 - 15 days, and hope to keep that  up through the spring and summer (no promises once the Fall gets here and the campaign really kicks into high-gear).

Cross posted from future Majority.

Yesterday in USA Today, Republican operative David Frum published an Op-Ed acknowledging the Republican Party's huge loss of support from young voters, and outlining a four-point plan to recapture the youth vote and revive the days of Reagan and Bush Sr.

Frum gets a few things right.  Millennials are the most anti-Republican age group in the electorate, that position is a response to the failures of the Bush Administration to adequately address any number of social, economic, and geopolitical problems, the dominance of Christian conservatives and their culture war values on choice and GLBT rights also plays a part, as does the fact that the Millennial generation is the most diverse, tolerant generation in history and the Republican Party is not at all diverse or tolerant.

But Frum is smoking something if he thinks his four-point plan can turn things around for the GOP.