With more war and no healthcare, can we POSSIBLY hold the youth vote?

[Ken Burch]

Or even convince the youth to continue voting?

In this last month, this party has told everyone under 35 that their lives mean nothing to it.

Given that we owe our last two victories to young, progressive idealists, why would anyone think it was a good idea
to crush their hopes?

No amount of big checks or praise from "respectable" pundits can ever make up for the loss of the young people who actually thought this was going to be a different time.

And we'll lose them forever if the draft is brought back.

[IndianaGreen]

1. but, but, they are getting a mandate to purchase insurance

and those opting for Medicare will have to pay a hefty premium.

Everything is peachy! The people don't own the government, the corporations do.

[timeforpeace]

24. No worries, we had em at Cash For Clunkers. Throw in Cash For Old Appliances, they're ours forever.

[tridim]

2. You're jumping the gun.

Relax, the details aren't available yet.

[IndianaGreen]

5. brought to you by the same people that said the war would be over by 2011

sure....

[tridim]

6. Why are you talking about the future in the past tense?

And of course, they never said the "war will be over in 2011", you just made that up.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

7. I thought I stroked out there for a minute.

[Generator]

3. I say maybe we get a draft going

get them in the streets, oust Obama's ass and get a real Democrat in there. If there are any left on earth that can't be bought out.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

4. You want a draft?

[Lilith Velkor]

25. We have to send kids to die to teach them that sending kids to die is wrong.

[amandabeech]

12. I think that a draft would end both wars and end all speculation about any others.

Last time that happened, we got Nixon and Nixon.

However, there were lots of good jobs then for everyone, and the silent majority didn't have to worry about getting sick or losing its jobs.

Now, everyone has to worry about everything. Except the rich and sorta rich.

Maybe we'd end up with an FDR this time, if there are any more like him left.

[Sebastian Doyle]

8. Maybe it's all tied together?

The real message from the corporatist party.....

If you're over 55, we'll let you buy into medicare (at least until we find a way to destroy it)

If you're under 55, join the Imperial Military and fight for the glory of the pipelines and poppy plantations. You'll have healthcare - if you live long enough to need it. :grr:

[Ken Burch]

9. I believe the old phrase was "Bread And Circuses".

n/t.

[Kdillard]

10. Wow so without knowing the details you jump to hyperbolic conclusions.

We needs to see what the CBO says and we need to get the details but it seems that is too much to ask for on DU.

[Sebastian Doyle]

11. We'll never hear what the CBO says, unless it supports the results the corporatists want.

Don't believe me? What was the CBO score of HR 676? If one was even done, there were never any results released, to my knowledge.

Because if there were, the debate would be over, and the insurance whores could suck it. And they KNOW damn well that would be the case.

[frazzled]

13. If you give them free wi-fi

God, you are hysterical: "In this last month, this party has told everyone under 35 that their lives mean nothing to it." Good lord.

[Ken Burch]

18. That's what escalation means

We don't give a damn about the young if we're willing to send them off to a war that we know is unwinnable. This will turn out to be only the FIRST 30,000, and it will turn into the restoration of the draft. Those who drink the "we have to be hawks to win the presidency" Kool-Aid will end up breaking the hearts of all the young.

[frazzled]

22. I think you're stuck in a time warp

The draft was from my generation. And we were the ones who didn't trust anyone over 30.

There will be no draft. There is unlikely to be an escalation of the escalation. This isn't Vietnam.

There are legitimate reasons to have concern about Afghanistan and the recently announced plans. But hyperbole and hysteria are not contributing to the discussion.

[amandabeech]

26. You're right about the draft.

However, there is no guarantee that this won't keep escalating. We are involved in a country with a huge number of internal problems that will make it very difficult to stabilize in any way that suits us. We can't be sure how this will play out.

[polichick]

14. Nope - and every other category will be low in participation too. nt

[Perky]

15. Of course we can

where the Hell are they going to go?

[Ken Burch]

16. They may just give up and go away

As an earlier generation of young voters did after the party unfairly blamed them for an early 1970's electoral defeat that was, in fact the work of the party regulars who cut our presidential ticket loose for no reason.

[amandabeech]

27. A lot of us stayed and worked again in 1976.

McGovern was right about the war, but he wasn't a particularly good candidate. I don't think that he would have won if there'd been an all out push. Not in '72 when our involvement on the ground in Viet Nam was winding down, the economy had not collapsed and Watergate was not a household word.

Now, if the election had been held in '74, McGovern or someone else committed to reform might very well have won, party support or no. Of course, everyone in the party could rally around, "Nixon is a Crook," while not everyone saw the Viet Nam War as an evil proposition.

[polichick]

17. Why should they bother when Dems are pissing away their future...

...the same way Republicans did??

[jefferson_dem]

19. Honestly, young voters don't really give a rip about healthcare.

The war, jobs, gay rights are a different story.

[polichick]

20. Not true - many can't get career jobs right out of school in this economy...

...and they no longer quality for their parents' plan.

[girl_interrupted]

23. Not to mention trying to pay their student loans

housing costs, car loans, credit cards, cost of living expenses going up. Add more money for medical coverage to the list, it's a bit overwhelming. I think they do care a lot. They ran a poll where young adults may like Obama as a person, but not his policies, so much anymore.

Someone posted the poll on DU. I was really surprised and insulted by some of the responses..."Kids are dumb"

They weren't too "dumb" when the youth went and voted for Obama in a big way.

And yes, the escalation in Afghanistan is worrisome to a lot of young people too...spending the money for war in these economic times, instead of spending it at home, is very troublesome too.

[Ken Burch]

21. Well, I did mention the war as well

And actually I think you may be wrong about the healthcare thing,

[Vidar]

28. No reason why we should.

[freddie mertz]

29. It's already gone, I suspect.

Sad.

[old mark]

30. I doubt there would be much of a "youth vote" anyway - it was pretty

amazing they bothered in '08, and I am sure their attention span is too short to carry over to '12, or even '10. I am sure they moved on to other interests by now.

Actually, the last time we had a draft, we had a lot more young people interested in politics - to end the draft.


mark

[Vinca]

31. It's gone beyond the youth vote. They better start worrying about the geezer vote, too.

[treestar]

32. There isn't more war

And no more than the youth who voted in 2008 expected.

Less war in Iraq = more war in Afghanistan, but we knew that.

How do we know the youth aren't perfectly OK with the health care? They are the least likely to be concerned and to have lines drawn in the sand over it.

[Drunken Irishman]

33. I don't expect it to be any different than 2008.

Not like the youth vote was this dynamic group last year.

[Jennicut]

34. I am 33. Not really in the youth vote anymore but I do have friends in their 20's.

They are more patient and have a bigger attention span then most people give them credit for.