Help me out: Clearest differences between Kerry and Bush for young voters

[HFishbine]

I've had three discouraging conversations with the early 20-somethings in the past week. They all echoed the same sentiment. There isn't much difference between Kerry and Bush. Because of that, one is going to vote for Bush, one will write in Nader and the other isn't going to vote.

I tried to persuade them, but I failed. I couldn't seem to find anything to trip their triggers. What would you say to these people? Can you think of a couple of succinct reasons why young people should vote for Kerry over Bush? If you're in this age group, what would you say?

[Melodybe]

1. Kerry says no draft, Senate repugs want men and women up to 35

with no college or medical deferments.

Is that enough for ya?

[HFishbine]

3. You'd think

And I tried that. The responses:

- "I'm 25, I'll be too old by the time they reinstate the draft." (Rolled his eye in disbelief when I mentioned the extended ages).

- "I have Krone's disease, I can't be drafted."

- "They won't draft women."

[xray s]

11. do they give a shit about the 130,000 military people stuck in Iraq now?

Some of them mothers and fathers in their 30's and 40's that are struggling to support their families?

Does anyone think about anything other than themselves anymore?

[HFishbine]

17. That came up too

Especially with the young women who plans to vote for Bush and supports the war (who is young enough to enlist, BTW). Her repsonse, "Those people signed up to fight wars. They volunteered."

When I asked her why she doesn't enlist, she insisted they'd never take her (she's heavy) and besides, she has plans to go to cosmetology school. Selfish? Yes. But I didn't think I'd get anywhere by telling her so.

[JimmyJazz]

7. Oh, really. Well Sean Insanity said just last night

there were no documents to prove Bush intends to reinstate conscription. Sean wouldn't lie would he? :7

BTW: it's more than enough reason for me.

[HFishbine]

12. Yeah

And who was that Democrat he was arguing with? The guy needs to see the documents about the draft that have been posted here -- he had no comeback to Hannity.

[JimmyJazz]

16. I have no idea who he was

I was too busy yelling at the television! God how I hate that annoying blowhard, but I get even more upset with Colmes who just sits there. Except the one time when a liberal was trying to make a point and he kept interrupting her! But, I digress.

[AlCzervik]

2. Kerry wants young people to be able to get a college education

Bush wants to cut pell grants so lower income people cannot.
That difference alone should be reason enough for college kids.

Kerry---educate yourself so you can make your way in the world
Bush---Less Learning, more earning! and by earning he means digging ditches or stocking the shelves at Wal-mart.

[HFishbine]

6. Sounds good but

Two of the three had just finished college and the other is thinking about cosmetology school.

[AlCzervik]

9. Well ask them if the air and trees

do they believe in a womans right to choose? Because Bush doesn't believe in either of those things.

[JimmyJazz]

15. Point them to the book called

"Worse than Watergate" -- I know we want everything in neat little sound bytes, but sometimes it not that simple. If they are truly interested in making an informed choice, they will read the book. It was written by John Dean and discusses the secret presidency of George Bush and Dick Cheney. It outlines very clearly, the relationship Cheney has/had with Halliburton and how they were illegally doing business with Iraq as well as how the administration blocked the 9/11 investigation, how it led us into this horrible war and on and on.

The book is not lengthy and is written in an engaging manner. I highly recommend it to anyone who is on the fence or whose head isn't up GB's ass.

[HFishbine]

18. Done!

I'm going to buy it and I'll keep it in the car for the next such occasion.

[JimmyJazz]

21. a wise investment, dear n/t

[JimmyJazz]

27. I just passed my copy to a young repub I work with!!!!

He saw it on my desk and called it "kindling for my fireplace." When I told him it was written by one of his boys, his interest was piqued. He actually seemed a bit nervous to read it - afraid he might find something in it he didn't want to read! His curiousity got the best of him. Again, had it been written by a known liberal - no dice. :7

[displacedtexan]

4. I'll try.

JK: No draft
W: draft

JK: supports the worker
W: supports the boss

JK: supports all Americans
W: supports his supporters (the ones who donate)

JK: trusts women to make their own reproductive health decisions
W: wants to control women

JK: wants everyone to have equal access to our courts
W: wants to keep you from suing the company that harmed you or a family member

JK: wants to keep natural resources clean for hunting, fishing, water sports, and family outings
W: wants to help his biz buddies make as much $ as possible (Damn the environment; W's friends have access to private outdoor venues)

[HFishbine]

14. chimpsrsmarter and displacedtexan

I got into a dicussion of reproductive rights with the young woman. She even told me that she had had an abortion. Even after I pointed out that the next president will likely appoint 2 supreme court justices, enough to overturn Roe V. Wade, she simply insisted, "They'll never overturn it. It's the law. Are they going to overturn Civil Rights too? And even if they did, you'll still be able to get an abortion." I was dumbfounded. I really didn't know what to say.

[AlCzervik]

19. Go to Santorums site and see if you can find

his position on abortion, if that doesn't scare them i don't what to tell you.

[nyhuskyfan]

5. Ask them if they know any 27-30 year olds...

If you talk to someone who was trying to enter the job market in 1998-2000, they'll likely tell you that the job market was tremendous. There were options, so you could try a few things before settling on your career path of choice.

At that age, it makes a HUGE difference to be able to have some degree of career flexibility and to feel confident that you'll find your way. Kerry will restore much of the Clinton era economic plans, while also trying to improve the health care situation, since young folks looking for their career path might also end up uninsured for stretches.

[HFishbine]

8. I hadn't thought of that

That sounds worth a try.

[nyhuskyfan]

23. I entered the job market in 1992...

So I was hammered by the first Bush economy. It really stunk. I went the unpaid internship route, temped for a little while, and finally made it with my first full-time job in my chosen field (a competitive one to enter( in 1994. People in 1998 were just jumping right out of college into my field, because employers couldn't find enough qualified applicants. It was a 180-degree turn.

Nowadays, people don't have options, so they feel fortunate to get anything -- especially something with benefits -- and they stay stuck in jobs they don't really want.

[Melodybe]

10. John "no" to arsenic in the drinking water, Bush "go right ahead"

[Fleshdancer]

13. My answer: saying there's no difference is a cop-out answer

Nothing more than intellectual laziness in my opinion.

If you seriously don't think there's any difference between Bush and Kerry, then you obviously don't know anything about either of their platforms. A few people have attempted to give me this bs answer and I call them on it.

[mimitabby]

35. that isn't going to help win votes

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. You wanna be cannon-fodder? Vote Bush.

Kerry certainly isn't all that I would like, but I doubt that he is anywhere near as eager to send kids off to kill and die.

[G_j]

22. THE ENIVORNMENT! also

he doesn't surround himself with extreme wackos like Ashcroft, Perle, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perle, Rumsfeld etc. etc.

[KC21304]

24. I agree. The environment issue alone should scare the hell

out of everyone. Do these people read at all ? Tell them to beg, borrow or buy a copy of RFK Jr's book " Crimes Against Nature "

I heard him talk last Saturday. He said he has 3 boys with asthma. He said he had a mercury level done on his body. He was told if he was a pregnant woman, her child would have a 30 % chance of having autism or at least some learning deficiency.

Do these people plan on having children and grandchildren ?

Kennedy's organization had sued the 70 worse polluters and won, and Bush came into office and with the stroke of a pen changed the standards so these polluters did not have to change any of their practices. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

[G_j]

26. read them RFK jr , he states it like no other! n/t

[G_j]

42. RFK jr. Bush is sabotaging the laws that have protected America....

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/5939345?rnd=1096038176143&has-player=true&

Crimes Against Nature

if this won't get through to them, then nothing will.

===============================
Bush is sabotaging the laws that have protected America's environment for more than thirty years

By Robert F. Kennedy Jr.


George W. Bush will go down in history as America's worst environmental president. In a ferocious three-year attack, the Bush administration has initiated more than 200 major rollbacks of America's environmental laws, weakening the protection of our country's air, water, public lands and wildlife. Cloaked in meticulously crafted language designed to deceive the public, the administration intends to eliminate the nation's most important environmental laws by the end of the year. Under the guidance of Republican pollster Frank Luntz, the Bush White House has actively hidden its anti-environmental program behind deceptive rhetoric, telegenic spokespeople, secrecy and the intimidation of scientists and bureaucrats. The Bush attack was not entirely unexpected. George W. Bush had the grimmest environmental record of any governor during his tenure in Texas. Texas became number one in air and water pollution and in the release of toxic chemicals. In his six years in Austin, he championed a short-term pollution-based prosperity, which enriched his political contributors and corporate cronies by lowering the quality of life for everyone else. Now President Bush is set to do the same to America. After three years, his policies are already bearing fruit, diminishing standards of living for millions of Americans.

I am angry both as a citizen and a father. Three of my sons have asthma, and I watch them struggle to breathe on bad-air days. And they're comparatively lucky: One in four African-American children in New York shares this affliction; their suffering is often unrelieved because they lack the insurance and high-quality health care that keep my sons alive. My kids are among the millions of Americans who cannot enjoy the seminal American experience of fishing locally with their dad and eating their catch. Most freshwater fish in New York and all in Connecticut are now under consumption advisories. A main source of mercury pollution in America, as well as asthma-provoking ozone and particulates, is the coal-burning power plants that President Bush recently excused from complying with the Clean Air Act.

Furthermore, the deadly addiction to fossil fuels that White House policies encourage has squandered our treasury, entangled us in foreign wars, diminished our international prestige, made us a target for terrorist attacks and increased our reliance on petty Middle Eastern dictators who despise democracy and are hated by their own people.

When the Republican right managed to install George W. Bush as president in 2000, movement leaders once again set about doing what they had attempted to do since the Reagan years: eviscerate the infrastructure of laws and regulations that protect the environment. For twenty-five years it has been like the zombie that keeps coming back from the grave.

..much more..

[NewYorkerfromMass]

30. DO they want a planet to live on?

simple enough.

[DjTj]

25. I said it a few weeks ago...

Here is a snippet in 250 words:

$500 billion dollar budget deficit. $200 billion dollar war. $7 trillion dollar national debt. That is this administration’s gift to the youth of America.

Every dollar of the budget deficit is a dollar that will have to be paid back. Every gallon of gasoline we waste is a gallon we won’t have tomorrow. Every tree that is cut will take a generation to grow back. Every species that dies out is gone forever. Every day that stem cell researchers wait is another day a patient waits for a cure.

Every country that’s not with us is against us, and every country that’s against us is a friend we won’t have when the next attack comes. Every child that grows up seeing images of Americans torturing his people is a child that will grow up hating America.

The debt that is being passed on to my generation isn’t just measured in dollar terms. It is the debt of dependence on oil wells that will one day run dry. It is the debt of polluted air and water that cannot be cleaned. It is the debt of anti-American sentiment spreading throughout the world.

* * *

On almost every issue important to the future of America, John Kerry is far ahead of the current President. He has a plan to reduce the budget deficit and to pursue renewable energy. He will work to rebuild our relationships with other countries and reinvest in important scientific research. For young voters, the choice should be simple.


The long version is in my sig (from the DU Homepage a few weeks ago)

[HFishbine]

29. Excellent!

I had a feeling the best answer would come from one of your generation. Thank you!

[DjTj]

40. I'm glad you liked it.

There's really no reason any young person should be voting for Bush.

[Lefty48197]

28. Kerry doesn't want to saddle their unborn children with Bush's debt

Bush does.

[kodi]

33. that's right. we're partying now and they're gonna' pick up the tab later

.

[Buck Rabbit]

31. Surprisingly the draft issue doesn't work well.

I saw a young poster say that here on DU the other night and thought she was nuts. I IM'd my son of draft age who told me she was correct. He says most his age believe it is not going to happen, if it does they might not get called, if they do get called they can finesse out of it, if they do get inducted they won't be a casualty.

Remember this generation was raised on a sanitized, bloodless, made for TV version of war. The draft is a much bigger issue to people like me who worry about our young ones more than they do themselves.

[secular_warrior]

32. Talk about issues that affect their daily lives

Free Speech/Censorship
is an issue that seems to resonate with young voters. They don't like when their entertainment is censored... its something that affects them directly. Tell them that the Republicans are overly religous (young people don't like self-righteous older folks who preach morality) and took Bill Maher off the air, were the ones who made the stink about Janet's boob, and want to take Howard Stern off the air. Talk about the Patriot Act and how the Repubs plan on monitoring everything we do, possibly the Internet one day (that will scare the heck out of them.. young folk love their Internet porn, free music downloads and complete freedom to say whatever they want online).

Draft
Tell them that Bush has overcommitted our troops in Iraq to a war we cannot win. Tell them it is a quagmire like Vietnam, and that the draft is likely to come back even though Bush won't admit it.

College
Talk about how Dems put affordable education as a top priority.

Economics
Talk about the Clinton years and how Dems brought peace and prosperity (young people seem to identify with Clinton -- I know I did at that age). Talk about how Democrats want to help the poor and underprivileged and how Republicans simply look down on these people.

Stem Cell Research
Tell them how the Democrats are forward looking and pro-science/research, and how STR will lead to curing diseases, but the Republicans are standing in the way because of religion.

[deek]

34. one awesome page from bigpath.net:

go to http://www.bigpath.net/politics/Home/home.html and click on PDF for file suitable for printing...there is a similar one that has bar graphs also.

:bounce:

[ohio_dem_52186]

36. I'm a college twenty something -> Political Balance may be a good take

If the fact Bush is loosing the war on terror, ruining our economy, and giving the rich lucrative tax cuts is not punching the buttons...

My fall back position with undecided voters like that is that America needs balance. The Senate is Rep, the House is Rep., 7/9 Supreme Court Justices are Republican, a majotity of state gov'ts are Rep., etc... Bush is stacking courts and nominated positions with Republicans (you know the rest...)

Yet the voters of America are split, just look at 2000:
Al Gore (Democrat) 50,999,897 48.38%
George W. Bush (Republican) 50,456,002 47.87%

These are the people that the government needs to represent! Currently it doesn't.

I have a "fact-sheet" on my website with the all the actual number from above and a little bit of a arguement using the Iraq situation.

http://getthefacts.atspace.com/Balance%20in%20America.htm

I have other "fact-sheets" posted under the different categorys that I have made. I hope people can use them for something.

[rlev1223]

39. Balance? Or douchebag?

Balance is a good argument, one that business types use all the time because they are in favor of "gridlocked" govt.--- one not able to do much at all.

Unfortunately, a lot of young people seem to respond to the current
sportsaholic brownshirt team mentality -- this is the age of the bully, and it doesn't take much to position someone as a loser. (Repukes love to use blowhard lines like the one about not getting a permisson slip from foreign govts.)

So, in all seriousness, I propose simply telling any young person on the fence that he shouldn't vote for Bush because Bush is a douchebag, and leave it at that.

[JohnKleeb]

37. Kerry knows what it's like to be marginized

Bush well he just got high off of coke. It's just sick that people think there's no difference between the two because I see a great contrast of the two.

[marlakay]

38. I have two daughters in their twenties...draft & environment

led my things to say, also to the one with kids I said does it matter to you at all that our country is in debt in the trillions? Most of the young people don't know or care about it but when you remind them that we could end up like the 30's depression if it doesn't stop that gets them.

[eridani]

41. KERRY DOES NOT WANT PERMANENT U.S. BASES IN IRAQ!

That means they have much less chance of getting drafted.