Jane Flemming Kleeb is most famous in Nebraska recently for being Scott’s wife. Most people also know she was the brilliant Executive Director for YDA, and a few people know she is still currently the go-to-gal for the Young Voter PAC. But did you know she has a blog?
And this week she knocked one out of the park:
Young voters are not mythical unicorns; we don’t just show up out of nowhere nor do we just live in a candidate’s dreams. Any candidate who wants a young person’s vote must target us, talk to us about issues we care about and then have a field and messaging program to get us to the polls or caucus.
In a recent article on CBS.com, “Could A “Hidden” Youth Vote Propel Obama?”, old stereotypes and old political thinking shone through with every political professional interviewed.
One university professor restated old comments about young people being cynical. Over 75% of young people volunteer on a regular basis. We turned out to vote in record numbers in 2004 and 2006 with the largest increase in voting of any age group.
It is not a pipe dream that young people will show up for Obama. However, if Obama makes the same mistakes as other candidates in the past including Dean, that is assuming because we come to a rally or visit a website that we will turn out to vote, than young people may stay home (and will probably be “blamed” if Obama does lose).
However, if Obama’s campaign, or any of the candidates for that matter, target young people with the same amount of resources and time as they do any other age group or constituency group than young voters will show up.
I suggest you read the rest of her blog here.
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