YOUTH ACTIVISTS WIN BIG AT POLLS

[Padme Amidala]

http://creativeyouth.net/victory2006.html

YOUTH ACTIVISTS WIN BIG AT POLLS
by the Creative Youth News Team

11/08/06:
In Califonria, youth activists helped secure the victory of Debra Bowen over Bruce McPherson for Secretary of State. The key issue for youth activists is the voting age, which has disenfranchised more than 72,000,000 Americans and resulted in approximately 400 Americans dying in Iraq before a first chance to vote in a Presidential election. Youth activists spoke with her at the 2006 California Democratic Convention and learned of her strong support for lowering the voting age. This propelled them into strong action. They distributed their own literature in support of Debra Bowen and let Californians know that Debra Bowen's election was the most important statewide election in America.

The youth activists won big in other ways. Youth rights supporters Dennis Kucinich, Maxine Waters, Lynn Woolsey, Pete Stark and Barbara Lee landslided to victory. Dennis Kucinich and Maxine Waters are our strongest Congressional supporters in our quest to lower the voting age. Both have been under heavy attack by the Bush Administration. The GOP made Dennis Kucinich their number one target in the 2006 election and spent a fortune on TV ads and literature. Despite these attacks, Dennis Kucinich landslided to victory. Lynn Woolsey also landslided to victory despite a stong opposition. Earlier this year, Lynn Woolsey and Pete Stark spoke strongly in support of youth rights in speeches opposing a bill allowing all school officials to strip search children.

One of the biggest wins for youth rights activists was the defeat of Michael Fitzpatrick (8th CD, PA). Fitzpatrick co-sponsored the strip-searching legislation and sponsored a bill to delete minors from the Internet. The idea behind the Intenet bill was to prevent future online organizing as occurred prior to the large immigration marches earlier this year. Youth activists also manager to unseat Mark R. Kennedy (6th CD, MN), Sue Kelly (19th CD, NY) and Curt Weldon (7th CD, PA), all of whom co sponsored both the strip-searching bill and the Internet bill.

The youth activists also worked to send a clear message to Congess that they will get the voting public to oppose any war agenda. With all the young Americans dying in Iraq before a first vote in a Presidential election, the current war agenda is part of an ageist agenda.

Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul, the two leaders of the opposition the war in Iraq and the planned war in Iran won landslides against heavily funded opponents. The GOP sent out literature with Osama bin Laden's pictures to Cleveland voters in an attempt to disuade them from voting for Kucinich. Democrats, doubting that the anti-war sentiment was strong enough, ran a pro-war "conservative" Democrat against Ron Paul.. Shane Sklar's (Paul's opponent's) campaign went after anti-war Democratic groups and tried to get such groups thrown out of the Democratic Party. They failed in that quest and in their quest to unseat an anti-war Republican.

Youth activists stood strongly behind John Chiang after he subjected himself to being grilled by a youth panel in May, 2006 and established himself as a candidate who surpassed their expectations. Youth activists helped a number of supporters of lowering the voting age get elected (in some cases, re-elected) in the California elections. These winners included Gene Mullin (19th AD Incumbant), Karen Bass, (27th AD Incumbant), Jackie Goldberg (45th AD Incumbant), Lori Saldana (76th Assemblywoman), Mark Ridley-Thomas (26th SD), Betty Yee (Board of Equalization 1st District). Youth activists also back successful local candidates, such as Sukhee Kang and Mayor Beth Krom (Irvine City Council). Youth rights activists were successful in helping to get John Palacio elected to the Santa Ana Unified School District and in defeating Cecilia Aguinaga for that position. Palacio supports lowering the voting age while Aguinaga expressed her low opinion of Americans under 18 at a candidates forum in April, 2006.

The Creative Youth News Team wishes to congratulate the youth activists across American in their big wins of November 7th. Youth activists have become a major force in elections in America without the vote. Perhaps, it's time they gave us the vote.

Copyright ©2006 by the Creative Youth News Team at CreativeYouth.net. All rights reserved.

[SeaNap05]

1. Great Work

Great work and interesting the level of activism.