Kinda ties in with the increase in Keith Olbermann's ratings

What would graph 1 look like if normalized for changes in US demographics? As the US population ages and the mean age shifts upwards, the "youth vote" will appear increasingly under-represented.

It is going to get better and better for the dems, too. The fact is that, as Republicans gain more and more control of state governments, support for universities decreases, cost to students increases and burden for middle class families increases.

In MO, this year, the Republican legislature had a short-fall of requested support of 150 Million. At the VERY SAME TIME, they voted to cut taxes for OUT OF STATE companies by 150 million. A direct transfer of taxing from out-of-state companies to families of MO students. I was appalled.

If the final number crunching bears them out, George Bush has apparently motivated young voters to vote in higher numbers and to vote for Democrats in way higher numbers.

Sounds wrong to me Kevin. A poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard says college students APPROVE of Bush 61 to 32 percent.

Link

"Most students polled say President Bush is doing a good job so far. The war in Iraq was also supported by most college students polled, with war supporters outnumbering opponents by a 2 to 1 margin, or 66 percent to 30 percent. Respondents approved of the job Bush is doing, with 61 percent approving versus 32 percent disapproving."

So about 25 percent of the voters increased their support for Democrats by 10 percent. Do the math.

Maybe not all that much of an accomplishment.

POed Lib

Bet you didn't hear much on the relationship of higher college costs and the costs of cutting taxes for out-of-state firms from the weak-kneed Missouri press. And Missouri with its top-rated School of Journalism. Sheez!

Al's survey is from May of 2003. Pretty funny.

Al, that poll was taken in April of 2003. While it may show a trend, I suspect a more recent poll might show something different.

I'm new here, so forgive me for not being disciplined enough to avoid arguing with Al, but that link is from, um, May 2003.

George Bush has apparently become rather less popular since then.

Of course it's from 2003. Al is a troll. he's not here for discussion, really. Really, he's not.

I know that my 19 year old is kind of nervous about a conflict in Iran, and a Draft.

The part of the city I live in, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a skater-punk. All over the place I'm seeing Gravel 2008. Accordign to my 20-year-old it's because "he singlehandedly stopped the draft and we aren't in a mood to die."

Mike Gravel in 2008

That "Fair Tax" thing is kind of a surprise from a Democrat. The rest is pretty much standard.

a Recent Gravel appearance

A lot of these kids know somebody, or know somebody who knows somebody who went off to Iraq.

Being treated like cannon fodder will get people motivated.

I think the Idiot Prince has done wonders for ACLU membership, too.

A young person aged 18 to 30 who votes for Bush and the Republicans is like a chicken who votes for Colonel Sanders.

Bush is goiing to saddle the young with mountains of debt, a polluted earth and enemies everywhere.

Al is a lying ox pecker who is to stupid to even be believably dishonest. Not only is his link from May 2003, but it ends with this paragraph.

With those approval ratings, Bush is currently the front-runner for college students' votes, but not by much, with 34 percent saying they will vote to re-elect Bush. The Democratic candidate, who is still to be chosen, is close behind, with the support of 32 percent of college students. Eight percent favor an independent candidate, with 26 percent unsure of how they'll vote.

god I hate it when I type the wrong to/too/two.

Anyway, Kev I want the blogging geniuses like yourself to(?) focus on the challenges of getting those young'uns registered and to(?) their voting precinct every election day.

I love that second chart. Look at how every age group in America is trending Democratic!

(yes, I'm joking. Slightly.)

The over-thirties whites in the South and the rural Midwest grew up in homes that feared blacks for all kinds of reasons and thus bought into the Dixiecrat Republican line that embraced it and took over political leadership. Democrats in the South and rural Midwest had to change their Party labels thus to remain in politics. But the under-thirties, thanks to school desegregation, etc., discovered blacks as pretty much like everyone else except perhaps that they wore cooler clothes. Since Dixiecrat Republicans thrive on fear of blacks, it's little wonder that kids who have grown up with blacks and found for themselves less to fear from them other than clotheswise would not buy into the notions imposed on them in their early childhood by their families and thus would be more inclined to vote for a cool young Democrat, black or white, as opposed to an aging Bob Barr-like Republican (or Libertarian as in his case now.) That, of course, isn't the whole answer, but it's a part of it that deserves consideration. Better and more education is an important part, too, for both whites and blacks as is the monumental achievement over the years of televised drama in showing blacks doing well in all manner of responsible circumstrances -- judges, school teachers, police officers, firefighters, business owners, down home family folks with lawns to mow and kids to pick up at school, etc. And the grandchildren of the aging racists are even more enlightened, if that is the word for it. White racism fueled by the Republican Party continues to win elections in the South and rural Midwest, but not by the margins of the past, as witness the recent Tennessee Senate vote. And it's the young people who are making much of the difference, no doubt about it. I'd be reluctant to say the nation has reached a tipping point in the matter just yet, but it does appear our nation is approaching one, thanks in significant measure to our young people. And the sooner the better.

Okay, I followed rnc's link. It goes to a site that documents a confrence sponsored by a group I'm not familiar with. THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AUTHENTIC HISTORY, REAL NEWS & THE FIRST AMENDMENT Sponsored by American Free Press & The Barnes Review Saturday, June 21, 2003.

Senator Mike Gravel...stated that the American democratic system is not working, and there ought to be a move that represents the people's interests rather than the interests of the few, the power elites.

I have barely begun to consider who to back for the primary. Is this supposed to be bad?

Gravel - wtf?

Am I supposed to be interested in some eldely politician's vanity campaign. I think not!

I am convinced that Jon Stewart deserves as much credit as anyone

Keith G - I only brought him up because I am seeing a lot of 17-20 year-old skater punks, who have no desire to get drafted, embracing him right now. 13 1/2 months before the first primary vote is cast. To be honest he has never been on my radar.

Haven't you been saying for a month now, Kevin, that all demographic groups in 2006 increased their support for Dems by 5%? Would this make the actual shift smaller than it appears?

Kevin wrote: Final numbers won't be available until spring, but they estimate youth turnout at 24% in the 2006 midterms.

It isn't empirical evidence by any stretch, but anecdotally - didn't you people vote? I live half a block from my polling place, and I saw a lot more young people than usual. Before the election, at least once a day a young person knocked on my door, and they were always Democrats. Some were in dress shirt and tie and some had dredlocks. Some were from ACORN and some were from Move-On and some were from specific campaigns. All were quite passionate.

(Disclaimer - I live in the Missouri State Senate district 10, the most liberal in the state, so I am pretty insulated from Republican campaigns).

Did anyone else notice this, or is it simply attributable to living in an area of perpetual activism? Sometimes it's hard to tell when you live where apathy is absent.

Uh..Global....

Did you scan that entire link? You would not have been welcome at that conference. It seemed like a collection of Waffen wanna be's.

I used to think that rnc was just a pain. Actually, it's much darker.

Damned insidious bastards. I should have scrolled farther.

About your question...I can't be of help.

I live in the same voting precinct as Jeff Skillings, James Baker III, and the late Kenny Lay. Not a lot of grass rooters here.

An activist from ACORN would be shot on the front lawn and fed to the squirrels, an especially vicious breed of born again blue haired squirrels that feast on other's nuts.

Young voters are not only increasingly voting Democratic but they are also much more likely to identify as liberal or progressive. Anyone interested in youth politics should check this research paper:

http://media.pfaw.org/pdf/cav/YouthVote.pdf

Okay, I followed rnc's link...

You really need to work on your research technique, assuming you were actually interested in an answer. Follow the link back up to the root, or do your own search on the name of the group.

I used to think that rnc was just a pain. Actually, it's much darker.

Interesting comment. Care to elaborate?

rnc, when a group increases its vote for a party from 50% to 60%, that's a 20% increase, not a 10% increase. (10/50 = 1/5 = .2)

Also, keep in mind that in a 50/50 nation, these smallish gains in various demographics are what make up the margin of victory.

A young person aged 18 to 30 who votes for Bush and the Republicans is like a chicken who votes for Colonel Sanders.

Perhaps KFC hired Kilcullen. All you have to do is understand the culture and then you can manipulate the chickens in it to exploit whatever it is you want from them.

This is anecdoqatlly confimrd by the students in the classes I TA, who are fucking sick of shipping off their friends to a war that, on a very basic level, doesn't make any sense.

I'm sure some wingnuts will console themselves with data suggesting that cons breed more than libs, and that we'll all soon be extinct between poor fertility and abortion.

... It won't address how all of those red state kids end up voting Democratic, but when did the mouth breathers ever move beyond parroting rush's lines?

not all that much of an accomplishment. rnc at 1:33 PM

In Wisconsin, the Republicans put an anti-gay amendment on the ballot. It passed, but college students came out in force against it, electing Democratic state legislators and boosting the total for Democratic Governor Jim Doyle.

What a bunch of doofuses.

rnc wrote: "Maybe not all that much of an accomplishment."

Two points:

1. In this closely divided electorate, it doesn't take much to swing an election from one side to the other.

2. Once set, voters tend to maintain their political affiliations all their lives.

So yes, this was quite an accomplishment by George W. Bush to drive young folks into the Democratic Party.