Where the FUCKING HELL was the much-ballyhooed youth vote?????

[liberalhistorian]

PLEASE PLEASE tell me that. The youth who did vote voted overwhelmingly for Kerry, but there was only 17% of them! That was supposed to be a much higher percentage, what in the holy fuck happened? If they had voted even a few percentage points more we would have taken the country back! GODDAMN, WHERE WAS THE YOUTH VOTE!

And if I hear the usual "my vote doesn't count, what's the point" whining from ANY person between 18 and 30, I'm really gonna lose it. These are the very people who will suffer the most from repigs and their policies, and I just don't wanna hear one word from them about how "my vote doesn't count, what's the point." Hey, kids-WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?????? Thanks a lot!

Maybe you can think about that when you're stuck in a foxhole in Iraq or any one of the other countries Our Great Leader in his Infinite and All-Knowing Wisdom will send you in his endless oil profiteering and imperialist wars, or when you're losing everything you've worked for because you can't afford health care for a major illness, or when you're busting your balls at three minimum-wage jobs just to stay afloat and pay off the student loans from college because you can't find a half-way decent job anywhere because they've all been sent overseas since the CEO's need a few more gazillion bucks in their Hummer-sized wallets, or when you're being crushed with trying to pay for our horrendous national debt. Jesus, my 13-year-=old son has so much to look forward to, doesn't he? The draft being one of the first things.

[shrub chipper]

1. Hope they enjoy the Draft!

As well as the huge deficit that is going to crush them later.

[Citizen Kang]

2. Too busy getting packed...

for their trip to Iran, North Korea, Iraq, Syria or where ever the hell we are going to invade next. I am glad I am just out of draft age (or not, I'm 27). Hope you 18-25 year olds had fun playing X Box yesterday. Iran won't be so much fun.

[pinniped]

15. I just started seeing a new Vietnam War video game commercial...

a couple weeks ago. Look forward to seeing Iraq, Iran, Syria, and North Korea video games in the near future.

[sub.theory]

3. For the last time: STOP BLAMING US!!!

I'm 24 and this post pisses me the fuck off. I voted. I donated money. I got friends to vote. I protested against the war in Iraq. Many people I know did too. Look, I know you're upset, but this constant scapegoating of the under 30 crowd is just stupid and untrue. The fact is that the under 30 crowd NEVER votes. Why? I dunno, probably because they are young, selfish and stupid. Just like everyone was at that age. And, yes, those that did vote, most of them went for Kerry. So let's put the blame where it really belongs: the millions of fuckers who voted for the Chimp. They weren't the under 30 crowd.

[liberalhistorian]

6. Sorry, I have to disagree.

There was NO REASON AT ALL why the younger crowd shouldn't have known just how critical and serious this election was, especially to their own future, and especially with the possiblity of the draft, joblessness, etc., etc. They were given more than enough information and motivation and appeared to be motivated like never before. There is no excuse why they shouldn't have voted.

[sub.theory]

18. Ok....

Maybe I'm taking this too personally, but I really don't see how the youth are to blame. Do I wish more of my generation had shown up? Absolutely. Especially with the war in Iraq and a possible draft. It's a black eye for us, no doubt. But you can't blame us for costing Kerry the election. Why aren't we taking as critical an eye towards 40 year olds? I bet a hell of alot of them voted for the Chimp. You see my point?

[Touchdown]

31. I don't blame you. As an older member of the stupider Gen X crowd.

My generation might be smaller in numbers, but we as a group are apathetic, rarely vote, and when we do, it's usually repug. We've still got about 20 years to go to retirement, annd we're the ones being outsourced...but the majority of Gen Xers still vote Repug. I get embarrassed at the GenX crowd.

That, and we have the embarrasment that is Rob Lowe.:puke:

But I am counting on you guys.:hi:

[arcos]

32. the young people were the ONLY ONES to vote for Kerry...

All other age groups voted for Bush!

Ok, fine, they didn't show up in large enough numbers... but it was the only age groups where Democrats ACTUALLY INCREASED THEIR SUPPORT!

People 30-44 voted for Bush 53-46, people 45-59 voted for Bush 51-48 and people 60 and older voted for Bush 54-46.

People aged 18-29 voted 54-45 for KERRY, when in 2000 that vote was TIED.


So, actually young people prevented a landslide for Bush!

[LilKim]

7. I don't blame 'the youth' either

But according to this http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1304286
organizing a Democratic 'ground game' is about aa easy as herding cats.

[Briarius]

16. I second that

I did all the things you mentioned above, as well. I'm 24. What about all the over-30-somethings who didn't vote? What about the social security they won't have, the health care they won't have, their jobs that are being shipped overseas? Why weren't they more motivated to vote for Kerry?

Look, the fact is, what happened happened. Attacking a particular segment of the population for 'not voting enough' doesn't help. We all thought Kerry was going to take this thing by a landslide, across many types of demographics. Blaming one of those demographics does not do anything but piss that demographic off, I think.

[NorthernSpy]

4. when chimpy gets his draft...

... stand outside the induction center with a sign reading,

...should've voted,huh?...

[liberalhistorian]

8. LOL!

Great idea!

[gatorboy]

5. For one, they waited waaayyy to late to sway the young vote.

Especially with the Samuel L Jackson "Draft" ad and Eminem's "Mosh". Both the video and the ad came out after the voting registration deadline and were of no use to those who might have decided to vote after seeing both.

[Tweed]

9. WRONG! Youth made up 17% of the vote, more than 17% voted

[killbotfactory]

10. I'm under 30 and am considered part of the youth vote, I voted.

My wife voted. We donated money, even though we really couldn't afford it.

Then the fucking evangelicals came in, patted us on the head, and said "Oh, how cute, they're voting!" and went and voted for God's Own President Bush because they are a bunch of bigoted stupid assholes.

[liberalhistorian]

14. Yes, indeed, that they are,

and I am finally leaving my church because of them. I've had enough, as they've slowly taken over.

[Sean Reynolds]

11. They were all playing GTA......

:D

[foo_bar]

12. they were holding out for Dean or Eugene McCarthy

[high density]

13. It was there

Unfortunately everybody else was out in high volume as well so the proportion of the voters didn't change.

[jdj]

17. I believe this too.

I heard 20 million voted, which was MTV's goal. I heard the youth vote was huge, and props to the students in Mississippi who felt the full wrath of Jim Crow, and the kids elsewhere who waited 9 and ten hours in line to vote. God bless them. I don't think it is right to blame the young people, that is lame.

[JI7]

19. younger people voted in large numbers and largely for Kerry

the reason it's 17 percent is because other groups had a bigger turnout also . but in actual numbers , the younger voters did come out in big numbers and for kerry.

[info being]

20. Dunno, but they deserve what they will get.

Not my problem anymore.

[SoCalDemocrat]

21. Look at precinct results with paper systems

See how many young adults voted under paper systems. That will give you an accurate picture. Forget the national averages.

Note more youth turned out, but more of everyone else turned out as well.

If you were 20 years old, would you wait 3 hours in line to vote?

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. You were lied to

How many times did you read here on DU that there was going to be a massive turnout of young voters? You also may have read the the pools were way off in underestimating Kerry's support because of all of the young voters who have cell phones and are not polled.

One of the best ways to predict future events by analizing past events. And in every single Presidential election youth turnout is low. This year was no exception.

[The Flaming Red Head]

23. The repukes burned all their registration cards and votes

the same way these kids are going to burn their draft cards.

We'll have a big bonfire of them by the time it gets going.

[John_H]

24. christ. when will the dems learn? The DNC is staffed almost entirely by

"the youth vote" Dean was going to win with the "youth vote." Then he was going to get out the "youth vote."

So, now when the "youth vote" get canned from the DNC, when the "youth vote" gets screwed over in every way imaginable by the GOP. When the "Youth Vote" gets ignored by the Dems in 06' and '08, guess who gets the blame? "The Youth Vote." Guess who will not hold anyone accountable for screwing and ignoring them. The "Youth Vote."

[Cyrix]

25. Blame your self

The education system in this nation is so fu**ed most people graduate high school with out even a basic understanding of how this government works. Is that THEIR fault? Nope. It's YOURS and anyone else who isn't young for letting the system get so bad to begin with.

Let's also not forget that candidates like Dean were FAR FAR more popular among the youth. Any one vote for anyone other than dean? If so you fu**ing KNEW that there were trade-offs, and the youth vote was one of them. If you weren't prepared for that then you should have voted dean. Don't complain now. If the youth vote was so important then DEAN should have been the candiate.

It's like taking Sharpton over Clark and then bitching that you didn't get as much of the vote from those who wanted good foreign policy experience.

[kiahzero]

26. Um, WRONG.

17% of the VOTERS were 18-29. We don't know what the turnout (voters/eligible voters) was yet. It'll take a bit for the political scientists to figure that out.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2587095

[RBHam]

27. BBV skewered the youth vote...

When a hacker can infiltrate the system, change the numbers, and leave no trail...

www.blackboxvoting.org

[Ell09]

28. 30-55 screwed us

Especially white married people. They voted for this piece of shit in large numbers. The group of mindless fundamentalists killed us, as did the inbred states in the south and great plains.

[sub.theory]

29. That's exactly what I've been saying

Don't blame the under 30 crowd for not voting (which they may or may not have done). Blame the fucking 30+ crowd who did vote and voted for the fucking Chimp. That's how that piece of shit won, cause middle aged assholes made it happen. They are the ones who deserve our contempt. I hate them. I wish every one of them was shipped to Iraq tomorrow.

[ContinentalOp]

30. Give the youth bashing a fucking rest and look at your numbers!

So the youth was only 17% of the vote? Hmm, I wonder what percentage of the population they are? Let's see, according to the 2000 census* the 18-24 year old population was 27,143,454 people while the total population 18 and above was 209,128,094. I could be wrong but I think 27 million is about 13 percent of 209 million. Of course I'm just an ignorant 20-something who has never been good at math but I would say that the youth vote came out pretty much in proportion to their place in the population.

* http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_QTP1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_sse=on