Poll: Majority of Younger Voters Not Planning to Turn Up for Midterms

[brooklynite]

Source: Roll Call

Candidates running for office in this year’s midterm elections should expect little help from younger voters, most of whom, according to a poll released Tuesday, are unlikely to go to the polls in November.

The Harvard Institute of Politics poll of millenials found that just 23 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they will definitely vote in November. That number has fallen 11 percent just since last November, when 34 percent said they planned to vote in the 2014 midterms.

In February of 2010, before the last midterm election, 31 percent said they would definitely be voting.

Pollster John Della Volpe attributed the disinterest to a “decrease in trust” in government institutions and an “increase in cynicism.” Younger voters, he said, “need to feel like they’re making a difference,” a feeling that voting in elections does not necessarily provide. He noted as well that voting is often logistically difficult on college campuses.

Read more: http://atr.rollcall.com/poll-majority-of-younger-voters-not-planning-to-turn-up-for-midterms/?dcz=

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Another poll that's not optimistic, so just ignore it.....

[jwirr]

1. They are going to learn the hard way. And I will not be feeling sorry for them.

[laurent]

14. What are they going to learn? (no message)

[jwirr]

18. That this midterm election is different. If we do not show up for this one we will lose what little

we have gained back since 2008 and give power the very people who want to take our right to vote away from us. Not to mention that the economic situation for many of us will get a whole lot worse.

[Nihil]

100. It's always "But this one is different" isn't it?

Every election has polls that show that the younger segment of the population
isn't as enthusiastic about the prospect of voting for "the less bad option" and
every one is answered by "But this time is different!", "But this time the people
you vote for will behave differently!", "But this time you really will benefit!".

It gets old ... and once the shiny facade has worn thin from too much polishing,
the turd that is underneath starts to be recognised for what it is.

[jwirr]

109. I have voted since JFK and it is not the actual primary that is different. It is the situation we

are in today. I have not since the civil rights movement has this nation been threatened so clearly with losing the vote to big money. It is voter vs money. Not since the great depression has there been such an economic division and the threat to the middle class. It is voters vs money again. I could go on but I do not need to tell you how bad it is you know.

I am in no way telling you that "this time they will behave". God knows that our elected leaders are not in touch. But that is not what is different. It is voters vs money. If we do not vote money wins and money is not interested in anything but more power to consolidate the power they already have. That is why I say vote. Then I spend the rest of the year fighting for what I believe in. I win some and I lose some but I never step out because to do so in my death warrant. And more important my severely disabled daughters death warrant.

Hopefully this makes some sense to you. By the way there was a time that politicians did listen to the people instead of money. It has taken the rethugs since 1980 to consolidate the power of the dollar. They are almost at their goal. I do not want to be a peasant.

[Nihil]

113. "It is voters vs money."

Agreed. And yes, I personally will always cast a vote (even if not expecting any change)
rather than stay home but I can totally understand my children's cynicism with the way
that things are.

Take care of yourself!

[jwirr]

115. Yes, I hear it from mine also. And I just remember what an idealist I was in the 60s. Maybe we all

start out with high hopes. Mine will vote though because it is kind of a family tradition.

[yeoman6987]

21. Doesn't surprise me

This is nothing new. The youth almost never vote especially in off-year elections and mid-term elections.

[jwirr]

23. I understand that but as you see in my other post I think this year is vitally different. I am going

to ask my young family members to vote for my sake and their disabled auntie.

[Ash_F]

41. Learn the hard way that both parties are way to the right of the national center?

I think they already know that. I think that is why they aren't voting.

Forget Republicans. Democrats have failed this nation's youth.

[jwirr]

45. So they are going to let the SCOTUS go totally to the right for the next 40 years? They are going to

let the rw take their vote away from them totally? They are going to let the rw cut the safety net even further?

I hope they begin to understand that the world is not perfect and far from fair. And they are old enough to learn. I learned at the age of 16 how unfair the world can be when I gave birth to a severely disabled daughter who would need my care for the rest of my life which ended up in my living in the poverty that I now enjoy! But in all that time I have remained an activist and worked to make things better for everyone. I still am.

I do not give a shit where the Democrat Party is - they are not perfect but they are not trying to destroy me and all the people around me. The other party that some claim is just like the Democrats is trying to destroy us. This is no time to set out and watch the battle. Win what we can and keep fighting for better. If not then as we were taught when we are young - don't bitch.



To those who think the two parties are alike - try being poor under the rethugs. When they are in power it is worse than we they are obstructing.

[Ash_F]

48. Democrats have to court the voters, not the other way around

...so indignation towards them is not going to win anything.

I never said both parties are alike. One party is way to the right of the other, but both parties are way right of center.

If you look at the list of issues, and see how Americans poll on them, you can see that even Democrats are on the right of the majority on every issue.

Why?

poster #43 lays it out pretty well.

[jwirr]

50. What I see #43 saying is that the gop propose plans for the future. What plans? Perpetual war?

Repeal ACA with nothing to replace it? Destroying the safety net? More fracking and pipelines? I have not heard one single plan for the future except the budget from P. Ryan. Is that who you think is going to help the young?

By the way wasn't there something in the ACA for students? That was not a rethug proposal. That was a promise kept by our President.

Look I see that many of you are frustrated. I get that. But it will not help to burn the bridges across the river. We need to fight to keep what we have even when it is not everything we need. We are going to lose this thing totally for the next 40 years if we do not GOTV. In 40 years you will be my age. That is a long time.

As for courting the voters - the rethugs do a great job of that - they outright lie.

[Ash_F]

51. And all I see in your post is excuses.

Young people work hard for a piece of the future while old Democrats sit comfortably on their loins.

Don't worry, I'll vote.

[jwirr]

54. LOL I have lived in poverty my entire adult life due to taking care of my disabled daughter. What am

I making excuses for?

[Ash_F]

56. Democrats. /nt

[jwirr]

58. Give me another party that is way left and I will vote for it. Until then the Democrats are what I

and others have to work with. Oh, also the list of causes that #43 has are the same list I work for except I add the safety net. All I want is that we do not let the rethugs destroy us by default.

[Ash_F]

62. That was not my point

My point is that Dems should be doing work.

Plenty of winning policies are out there. But Dems need to get to work and stop letting Republicans tell them what to do.

[jwirr]

67. On that I agree totally. I am from MN and both of my senators are progressives and the man we

elected in as rep is also. That leaves me a little puzzled why they are not making more positive strides in at least outlining the future goals in the issue we all know are important. If I am not mistaken when polled the country leans left on the issues.

I remember a sign in my landladies office a few years ago: "I got to get going. There they go and I am their leader." That pretty much fits too many politicians today. And I think that is what you are saying.

I am curious: if the young are not voting how do they plan to further these goals. My grandchildren are all voters so I do not have anyone who feels this way. Josh did say that he finally figured out politics: Every generation has to try to change things for their time. He is right about that. I told him just not to forget that sometimes we were right.

[Ash_F]

68. They feel like they don't have power and when they vote they are capitulating to people who do.

It's not apathy with most people. It is not even protest. It just doesn't feel good to vote for someone who you know doesn't care about you.

[jwirr]

70. Got it.

[Nihil]

99. *That* is it. The beginning, the middle and the end.

> They feel like they don't have power and when they vote they are capitulating to people who do.
> It's not apathy with most people. It is not even protest.
> It just doesn't feel good to vote for someone who you know doesn't care about you.



And guess what? That view isn't restricted to the under-25s either (or the US for that matter).

[randys1]

77. Agree with both of you but this midterm is a choice between UNTHINKABLE vs almost reasonable

To not vote is saying you are willing to have your grand-kids die from climate change, that is how important this is

[Proud Liberal Dem]

101. Maybe it is time for some "fresh blood"

But the Democrats ARE supporting things that will help people-health care, jobs, minimum wage increase. There is a distinct difference between not having the legislative power to do things and the lack of will to do things when possible.

[yurbud]

60. putting it terms of left/right divide is too kind: both parties are too CORRUPT

It aint ideology that makes politicians ignore the wishes of their constituents, it's money, the lure of lucrative corporate gigs after they leave office, and if those don't work, the threat of releasing the photos of what they did with that poor goat.

[Ash_F]

63. I personally have come to associate right wing-ism with corruption.

To me, liberalism is about justice, fairness and equal footing. If you are taking bribes than you are behaving antithetically to my view of the philosophy.

[yurbud]

74. in one sense, you are right. Right wingers take bribes as a matter of principle. Unfortunately...

Too many Democrats say one thing and take money to do another.

In a lot of cases, they don't even say another. They say the right things on gay rights, abortion, guns, and immigration and hope you don't notice that they are selling us down the river to Wall Street.

Education is a disturbing example. Wall Street wants to privatize public K-12 education and divert our taxpayer dollars into their pockets, and Democrats are practically climbing over Republicans to do it--especially Obama and his Secretary of Education.

[RBInMaine]

84. Thanks for the TeaLeftism. Yawn.

[Vietnameravet]

103. Neither will I..

sick and tired of trying to help people that don't want to help themselves.
We fought for health care reform and to rebuild the middle class and now we have a problem getting them to get off their asses and vote??!!! Tea party has no such problem..

[Thinkingabout]

2. Votes do count, voting is important, TP votes and we don't like TP ideas.

[villager]

3. Many here will insist this is a rightwing poll that can be ignored, and we're on the cusp of a great

...victory!

Policy never matters -- only cheerleading!

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. They haven't figured out yet how their slacking off in midterms effects the stuff they claim to care

about. It's beyond me how they can get so animated for presidential elections, and not realize how important it is to build on that.

[treestar]

22. Exactly

It is immature. People should look at it as adult responsibility.

I am going to be on my 18 year old family members. I have late 20s one too. But she's a grown up and will be in that 23%

[Tarheel_Dem]

30. I'm proud of my nieces & nephews. They've taken the responsibility seriously. I hope it continues

even post Obama. When he's not on the ballot, youngsters have a tendency to slack off.

[treestar]

111. Maybe POTUS can do a few campaign speeches

To remind them we need a Dem Congress!

[Tarheel_Dem]

117. Let's hope they have a midterm strategy. I know that Urban radio can be counted on to GOTV.

As for other sectors, let's hope they have a game plan.

[theHandpuppet]

53. +100

Well said.

[Tarheel_Dem]

57. One day they'll wake up and ask WTF happened? When you've got idiots like these.....

telling them that Obama is the devil, it gives them the perfect excuse to slack off (as if they really needed one).

[Proud Liberal Dem]

102. Don't forget the younger Paul as well

He is trying hard to make himself look "hip" enough for young people to vote for him.

[Tarheel_Dem]

116. I predict EPIC failure.

[RKP5637]

5. The gov. is what people make it, so not voting just allows anything to happen and one

becomes an asswipe.

[GOPee]

24. Just a thought, but isn't nonvoting a strong indication of an opinion just as strong as a vote?

Maybe they believe there isn't a viable alternative in the choices on the ballot. I see this opinion on this board all too often. Perhaps, they just practice what we preach.

Kids are often mirror images of what we are, and listen to our meaningless rhetoric as a reflection of our true beliefs, not just political jousting. Then again maybe they don't give a s#it..

[RKP5637]

44. I think that's quite true, they pick up on what they hear. I also think a lot of people

don't give a sh** about the country anymore, they are so removed from government, there is so much money involved. It's really hard to believe anymore ones congressman really gives a F about them. I'm not sure where the US is headed anymore, all I see is more and more money running the country for their vested interests, not we the people, and many crooks have found there are great profits to be made through the political system in this country. One first step would be to get the money out of politics, but I have no idea how that is going to happen.

[alp227]

6. I'm a "younger voter" and WILL send in my ballot this November.

Frustrating the cognitive dissonance is between people my age who complain complain complain about the system passively.

[No Vested Interest]

33. Don't forget primaries, if there's one

scheduled in your state.

I'm in Ohio, which has a primary in early May.
Not much hoopla about it, though many incumbents are being challenged and challengers for incumbents are being chosen.
Not to mention a few ballot issues as well.

I'm thinking of going down to the board of elections today, to vote early and have it checked off my to-do list.

[alp227]

35. aah yes my city holds an election this June i think for mayor's primary nt

[jwirr]

47. Thank you and I know I was ranting and lumping a whole group into one for that I ask forgiveness.

[geek tragedy]

11. "there's no point in voting for either party"

You are on the wrong website.

[treestar]

25. What funny

These are the same people who complain about corporations. Not voting helps those corporations continue

[upaloopa]

15. Maybe when us old folks were young in the sixties

we thought we could make a difference in our lives. Maybe that's why we were anti war, pro civil rights, pro feminism, and anti establishment. Maybe that's why hundreds of young people had their heads cracked in Chicago in 1968. Maybe that's why so many of us worked for Gene Mc Carthy and Bobby Kennedy.
Yea we can't fuckin see the change going on around us! Maybe we are so stupid to think there is something we can do.

[shawn703]

8. And guess which group of people the victors will think they can ignore?

If they had a turnout rate of 100%, maybe legislators wouldn't be so quick to make harmful changes to financial aid, for example.

[jtuck004]

9. The ones with the least money, and those who don't pay up. n/t

[geek tragedy]

12. No, they ignore the idiots who think that voting doesn't matter

and that both parties are the same.

[geek tragedy]

10. Just like every other mid-term in history.

Young voters collectively pat themselves on the back if they manage >50% turnout in presidential years.

Then flake during the midterms.

Then complain about politicians not caring about their concerns.

[HooptieWagon]

13. I firmly believe that mandating a "None of the above" on ballots...

...would increase participation. And if "NOTA" gets a plurality of votes, then both parties shall nominate new candidates. In many cases, not voting is merely laziness or apathy. But a sizable portion, IMO, reflects voter dissatisfaction with all the candidates.

[Dawson Leery]

16. We need compulary voting (Australia) with the option of "none of the above".

[Blue_In_AK]

26. I agree with that.

I was really surprised when my Australian son-in-law told me about compulsory voting. In Alaska some people have suggested that at least being registered to vote should be a condition for receiving a permanent fund dividend check. I don't know if that would work, but it might.

[FrodosPet]

55. Cool! A fresh class of prisoners to feed the private prison industry!

Six months sentence for missing a primary, 12 months for missing a general election, 1 year 364 days for missing a Presidential election. That should get some people to the polls and some CCI stockholders paid.

Or we could do it with fines. Will the fines be based on people's income, and hit on their taxes, like the ACA?

Can you turn in a completely empty ballot, not even marking "None Of The Above"?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

105. Pay people to vote.

Make it a $100 tax credit to every person who votes in a general.

[onehandle]

17. No kidding. nt

[liberal N proud]

19. They must enjoy having distrust cynicism

If they don't vote is will be because they are too fucking lazy to get out and change things and willing to by cynical.

But if the Democrats want to counter that, they should work hard to demonstrate to them, this is the way to take ownership through GOTV.

[FailureToCommunicate]

20. If only we had the Aussie system: above 90% turnout always...

Compulsory voting.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23810381

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/jul/04/voterapathy.uk

And furthermore


Edited to add an optomistic route to increase turnout:
http://www.rockthevote.com/about/about-young-voters/how-to-mobilize-young-voters/

[brooklynite]

31. You realize that in a compulsory system, Republicans would have to vote too...

[ancianita]

83. But Democrats outnumber Republicans in registration nationwide.

[brooklynite]

88. ...many of which are disaffected Republicans

[SpankMe]

40. The constitution would have to be changed for mandatory voting

I've seen interesting analyses that mandatory voting laws would be unconstitutional. They are said to violate the first amendment and possibly the same privacy rights that were asserted in Roe vs. Wade, believe or or not.

A constitutional amendment would be required.

[groundloop]

46. Compulsory voting laws would also violate GOPers right to free speech (lies and vote suppression)

[treestar]

112. And the election is on Saturday

A better day with more people likely to be off work. Or we should close everything on Election Day. Make it a big deal.

[Turbineguy]

27. That's the advantage of being young

you can suffer the effects of republican policies longer, whereas us older types will be deprived the benefit of suffering by dying sooner.

[Scuba]

28. Maybe if Democrats proposed some policies that appealed to younger voters ....

Living wage ...

Free education at public universities ...

Legalization ...



I don't think "not the Republican" is all that appealing to younger voters.

[Ash_F]

42. Exactly.

Stand behind a solid platform, and vocalize it, and they will come.

[RBInMaine]

85. Gee, let's see how much has been done or is trying to be done for younger people:

1) ACA let them stay on parents plans, did exchanges, and reduced college loan costs as a rider.

2) Fought HARD for the DREAM ACT and immigration reform, and still fighting for it.

3) Fighting to increase the minimum wage.

4) Fighting to address income inequality.

5) Fighting to reduce college costs further.

I could keep going.

All this about wanting absolute purity and perfection or it's just "not good enough" is a load of SHIT. A lot has been done for younger people and Dems are trying hard to do a lot more. But they're being obstructed by the TeaPublicans.

So enough of the glass-half-empty whining, and tell the young people to either get the hell off their asses and go and vote, or DO NOT BITCH ! Not ONE god damned word if someone is too lame and lazy to get off their ASS and go vote. It doesn't take much effort, and there sure as hell is ZERO excuse for not voting. They need to quit the pissing and moaning and go vote !

[Scuba]

87. You must like losing more than I.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

104. Nice ideas

But none of those things are going to happen overnight. There is already some movement in those directions but its not going to go anywhere as long as the Republicans keep ahold of the keys to the House (and possibly the Senate)

[Scuba]

108. So let's propose those policies and take the House and keep the Senate. Duh.

[WilliamPitt]

29. Pardon me for being blunt...

...but if this is you, then you are off to a bang-up job sucking at life. Listen, "Millenial," you just came down with the last fucking drop of rain. I have phlegm older than you. The blood, sweat and tears of better people than you or anyone you'll ever know has been shed not only to provide you with the right to vote, but to show you why voting is the most important thing you'll ever do with your life. You haven't been around long enough to be surly; I daresay you don't know what cynical is. Don't vote, and you'll find out, and I'll send you a big cake made of dog droppings with frosting that reads, "You Fucked Your Life And Mine: Eat Shit."

If all of you show up, things will change. If only half of you show up, the other half of you might as well light yourselves on fire and jump into the ocean. Decisions are made by those who show up.

[RandoLoodie]

34. Oh yeah,

that's plenty motivational.

gor blimey.

[WilliamPitt]

39. If enlightened self-interest isn't motivational...

...maybe this will do.

[RandoLoodie]

69. Well talking about eating dog shit because you don't vote

is sorta bombastic.

It says less about the "cynical millenials" than it does about the hyperbolic person who posits such nonsense.

YMMV

Tschüß!

[AngryAmish]

114. tells us more about that onion on your belt

[1000words]

32. This, of course, is the fault of the "extreme left."

So I've heard ...

[progressoid]

37. Yep.

After the election, anything that goes awry will be the fault of us apathetic ne'r-do-wells on the left.

[KamaAina]

36. They might as well vote repuke

[otohara]

38. They Want To Punish Obama

and the rest of us I guess...including their parents, grandparents.

[Android3.14]

43. Perhaps, just perhaps

If there were issues on the table that actually matter.
Public funding of higher ed.
A real energy policy designed to actually wean us off of foreign oil.
A living wage
Ending the drug war
Equal Rights Amendment

You know...real shit, rather than this bullshit.

I see folks here expressing disdain and reproach to younger folks for being uninterested in politics.

We wouldn't have a President Obama without them. Imagine if you had pulled out all the stops, donated your time and money, and the result is what we are seeing today. No energy policy. No living wage. No relief for school debt. No opportunity. More military state.

The reason the wackos on the right have so much influence relative to the size of their demographic is because they are younger than the old farts in the Democratic Party. The Republicans actually propose legislation that excites the GOP of all ages. All our party can do is propose legislation for old people pining away for the '60s.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704835504576059582025431402

Some of us have become the cliche of our parents.

[Ash_F]

49. Sorry proposing those would make the big mean Republicans yell at us on the TV.

Democrats want to win, but they love to cave.

You can't have both!

[Pauldg47]

92. The article is one sided. The young Dems will win.....

.....they have to for America!!!!!

Now is the time we must roll over the kochs.....flatten them. Harry Reid please keep up your rhetoric....the young will circle the wagons around the Fox machine and the koch enterprises.....Do it now!!!! And keep it going !!

[Arkana]

52. Then my age group doesn't get to complain about who represents them.

You don't vote, you don't matter.

[groundloop]

59. That's exactly right. IMO if you don't vote you have no right to complain!!

Certainly President Obama can't please every Democrat in the country, but damn, this nonsense about "I'll teach them a lesson, I won't vote" is pure ignorance (and lazy). Hell, the GOPers would be thrilled if you don't vote, they go to a lot of expense to see to it that as many people in the younger and minority demographics as possible CAN'T vote. The thing that some people forget is that in elections you have to make a choice between 2 or 3 or 4 less than perfect candidates, choose the one who will most closely serve your interests.

[Xithras]

61. Young voters tend to support ideals, and not parties or people.

A focus on party politics tends to come with age and experience.

If there are no politicians running who are promoting their ideals, they're not going to vote.

[840high]

79. Pretty much what my grandson said.

[Nihil]

106. Or, to re-phrase slightly, ...

> Young voters tend to support ideals, and not parties or people.
> A focus on party politics tends to come with age and experience.
> If there are no politicians running who are promoting their ideals, they're not going to vote.

A focus on party politics tends to come as a defence mechanism in response
to repeated failures of trust.

When the ideals that you had are betrayed, time after time, by people who
claimed that they supported the same thing, you can defend your pointless
support of "the less bad option" by falling back to blind party politics.

That's the kind where you can defend "your guy" doing the same thing as you
were shouting down "the other guy" for doing just a few years earlier.

The kind where you don't have to admit that your faith in "your guy" has been
betrayed by their actions after the election because you can always pull out
some excuse or other for "why it didn't work out quite right".

The kind where you can ignore the insanity of doing the same thing as before
yet hoping for a different outcome this time.

The kind where you can gloss over the real differences, the real problems,
the real issues in society and the world at large by concentrating myopically
on an artificial distinction between two sub-groups of the majority in order
to preserve the profits & well-being of the rich, powerful, self-selecting minority.

The most active supporters of any extremist political party tends to be
the young & inexperienced as they have not gained the wisdom to see through
the lies, the inconsistencies and the hypocrisy of the leadership.

"Age and experience" can provide that wisdom but it can also provide the
incentive to ignore the wisdom so gained and fall back to the same mindless
partisan cheerleading that can so mislead the young & inexperienced.

[LiberalFighter]

64. It is incumbent on the candidates to get off their ass and have a good campaign.

That means having a good GOTV effort in addition to campaigning. And raising the necessary funds to make it happen.

[Vinca]

65. When they can't get contraception or access abortion services or vote the next time they try,

they'll be extremely sorry. It seems this is a continuing pattern which at least means they'll turn out in droves in 2016 to try regain what they've lost by not voting in 2014.

[Ash_F]

66. Democrats: "We'll finally stand in when Republicans really cross the line"

They should hire me to run their marketing. I wonder if they'll pay me a living wage?

[NorthCarolina]

71. Easy to break that cycle in the short term....

Add marijuana legalization to the party platform. Throw in full equality for extra measure. They'll turn out. It's that simple.

[herding cats]

73. It's probably too late for this, but what needs to be done is have legalized MJ be on the ballots

At state levels. Things like this are what makes the news and draws the eyes of a lot of young voters. Otherwise, there are some who just don't bother to show up unless it's a presidential election. In part because they think the office of the president has more power than it really does. If they understood the importance of the House and the Senate in the process, they'd show up at midterms, too.

[DCBob]

72. Gridlock in congress makes people feel that government is meaningless.

so what's the point of voting? But they fail to realize the huge negative impact it will have if the Rethugs take over.

[sakabatou]

75. *sigh*

We're going to get screwed in the midterms, aren't we?

[olddad56]

76. we get the government we deserve, so don't vote if you don't care about your future.

[november3rd]

118. Voters live in a democracy

Non-voters live in a dictatorship or some kind of autocracy.

[YOHABLO]

78. Let's be honest it's not only the 18-29 year olds. People are comfortable ''enough" >

They don't see how voting will make a significant change in their lives. Perhaps if they had some ''skin" in the game .. like, say, mandatory military service, now that might make them pay a little more attention. I think most people in this age group are more interest in getting laid and playing with their electronic gadgets.

[dawn frenzy adams]

80. WHY DO ABOUT 98% OF POLLING SEEMS TO FAVOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?

SO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS...


(1) COST THE TAXPAYERS BILLIONS BY SHUTTING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT

(2) REFUSED TO EXTEND UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR 3 MILLION

(3) BLOCKED ALL ATTEMPTS TO CREATE JOBS

(4) BLOCKED VETERANS BENEFITS FOR 22 MILLION VETERANS

(5) THROUGH MISINFORMATION AND OBSTRUCTION CONTINUE TO LET AMERICANS DIE FROM LACK OF HEALTH CARE. IN 2009 A HARVARD STUDY CONCLUDED 45,000 AMERICANS WERE DYING ANNUALLY FROM LACK OF HEALTH CARE. IN 2012, ACCORDING TO REUTERS 26,000 DIE YEARLY FROM LACK OF HEATH CARE. THE AMERICAN DEATHS RESULTING FROM LACK OF HEALTH CARE IS OBSCENE, YET THE REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO OBSTRUCT.


IN SPITE OF ALL OF THIS, THE POLLING FIRMS AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA ARE STEADILY PROPAGANDIZING THE PUBLIC INTO NOT VOTING. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS NEVER BEEN HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE TWO ILLEGAL WARS AND THE THEFT OF THE U.S. TREASURY THAT CRASHED THE ECONOMY IN 2007. THE QUESTION IS, WILL WE FALL FOR IT?

[brooklynite]

89. Point 1: You don't have to yell...

Point 2: the same media was reporting polo after polo with President Obama ahead in 2012. Wee they biased?

[blkmusclmachine]

81. I'm sure "Third Way" is dancin' in the streets about it!

[brooklynite]

90. That is beyond idiotic...

Whatever you think of "Third Way", they're Democrats and the Republicans hate them as much as they hate liberals.

[Ken Burch]

82. Then we have to fire them up.

Obama should be out stumping as often as he can, and possible 2016 candidates should be doing the same. These voters have a short memory and wewill have to remind them over and over what's at stake.

It's on the party to do its part to make people get out there. And that means talking about inequality, excessive corporate control of life, and the fight for privacy and freedom.

[6000eliot]

86. Asking kids what they are planning on doing in November should get a really reliable response.

[quadrature]

91. welcome news.

when young people realize what kind
of deal they get with the ACA,
they are not going to be happy.

[otherone]

95. They get to be under mommies control until 26

they want to live free, enjoy freedom, enjoy the ride

[quadrature]

96. That is true.

some will be happy.
some won't.

when they find out that paying
$100 a month gets them a $2500 deductable
and a 40% co-pay...well........

[otherone]

97. enjoy your day my friend

enjoy your day.. peace and low stress

[otherone]

94. End prohibition and the young will vote

but that would take political courage..

[truthisfreedom]

98. Fine. Like usual, we'll do it without the complacent youngsters with their noses stuck in their

iPhones. Screw 'em. It's up to us to get it right.

Rock.

[tularetom]

107. And we're surprised at this because…?

Turn on the news, check the op ed page of your paper, check out DU almost any day, and what do you see?

Will Hillary run in 2016?

Will Jeb Bush be the republican nominee?

Are Christie's presidential aspirations toast?

Will Hillary run?

Our liberal media have turned political commentary into a personality based gossip column, focusing on the horse race aspect of presidential elections.

When you only hear stories about a presidential election more than two years away, and you don't hear anything about the equally important congressional elections coming up in six months, you have to assume that congressional elections aren't very important.

[Upton]

110. Most Democratic politicians continue to oppose legalization..

Inslee in Washington and Hickenlooper in Colorado both opposed their states initiatives. You've got Gov. Brown telling everyone what he thinks about "stoners"...and then there's a member of the Kennedy clan playing front man for an anti legalization group.

I mean, what do you want young people to do..enthusiastically embrace this reefer madness BS? If Democrats want young people to come out in numbers, they'll have to keep up with the changing times....