Tough political realities quiet youth 'Obamamania'

This is exactly why there will be a reversal of fortunes for the democrats in the 2010 and 2012 elections. The youth voters that helped elect obama are getting turned off by both his lack of follow through on the "change' obama promised, and they don't like watching "their guy" getting beaten to a pulp. All of this will return them to the bars, video games and Facebook for the next couple of elections.

article

CHICAGO – Young Americans showed their collective power when they helped vote President Obama into office. Inspired by his message of "change," they knocked on doors, spread flyers, voted for him by a 2-1 margin, and partied like rock-the-vote stars when he won.

Since the election, though, that fervor has died down — noticeably. And while young people remain the president's most loyal supporters in opinion polls, a lot of people are wondering why that age group isn't doing more to build upon their newfound reputation as political influencers.

"It's one thing to get excited about a presidential candidate. It's another thing to become a responsible citizen," says Jennifer Donahue, political director for the New Hampshire Institute Of Politics. She and other political analysts thinks they have yet to prove themselves.

Professors and students themselves also are noticing the quiet on college campuses, which were hotbeds for "Obamamania" during the campaign.

and this:

If he doesn't, Balchunis thinks that also could have negative ramifications for Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections, because those young voters will lose interest and won't bother to show up at the polls. That's what happened, she says, after her own young generation was initially excited about Bill Clinton when he was first elected president in 1992. Then, just two years later, Democrats lost control of Congress.

Maybe just maybe they are starting to wake up too. I'll tell you though I won't be terribly surprised if he gets a second term. Scum scrubs scums backs after all. Hang on all it's gonna be rough for many years to come.

What's funny is our distracted, apathetic culture is one of the reasons 'change' can't happen as fast as they want. Hilarious.

Hope and Change

As a teacher I think impatience is a distinct characteristic of the college-aged. They want change but get impatient when it doesn't happen fast enough to suit them. They need to learn perseverance in the face of challenges.

I wouldn't get too optimistic that many are going to vote Republican in the next election, though. The more likely recourse for the Obama followers among the young is that they will turn to someone further left.

reply to post by Sestias


Actually I think the most likely result will be that they return to their old ways and don't vote at all. Let's face it, they acted like it was a monumental effort to vote last year. Do you really think they'll handle their disappointment with any eagerness to vote again?

reply to post by burdman30ott6


If they can hate Obama enough. Yes.

But the reason people don't vote has less to do with apathetic populace and more to do do with a two headed dragon of a political system that most people cannot relate to.

This article is pure speculation and has no scientific basis at all. As the article states, campaigning is easy. But what do you do for issues?

Funny how one age group is selected out and picked on. Considering the amount of people who campaigned for both sides, which didn't solely compose of youth, are not being observed and counted on.

This year, data show that despite the onset of an economic recession during 2008, volunteering rates held steady at 26.4 percent compared to last year’s 26.2 percent. Additionally, more Americans are engaging in their community in less formal ways—2008 saw a 31 percent increase in the number of people who reported that they worked with their neighbors to solve a community problem, and 17 percent more people attended community meetings.

nationalservice.gov

They are still doign what they are supposed to do.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
This article is pure speculation and has no scientific basis at all. As the article states, campaigning is easy. But what do you do for issues?

Actually, the article does include scientific polling data.

Funny how one age group is selected out and picked on. Considering the amount of people who campaigned for both sides, which didn't solely compose of youth, are not being observed and counted on.

And the exact point of the article was what was happening to the youth vote, so - young people were singled out as the focus of the article.



Sorry, if subjects like this sometimes force one to become a little more introspective to the point they may question their own closely held beliefs.



[edit on 9/24/2009 by centurion1211]

The biggest problem he and the Democrats have is that youth voters elected a man much more than a broad set of policies. They voted for him for mostly superficial reasons and once he won, that was it. The final goal for many had been achieved and there was nowhere else to go. The only real unifying aspect of their vote was the anti-war agenda, which was bizarre considering his stances on Afghanistan during the campaign.

In the last month or two, the 'cool' factor has begun to quickly dissipate, leaving only political reality. For those 18-29 year old voters, that leaves primarily the anti-war agenda as a unifying theme and even that has collapsed now that it has become apparent to even the most casual citizen that the war in Afghanistan isn't ending anytime soon. No wonder, then, that the youth voting bloc is now largely silent. The two primary themes that brought them together to vote so overwhelmingly in his favor last fall are all but gone.

reply to post by nixie_nox


Oh of course one of the Obama shills is going to come out and cry foul when the content of a story contains negative context about the chosen one. I would expect no less on ATS. If not Nixie Nox coming to the man's rescue it would be Benevolent Heretic or Southern Guardian or Hunka Hunka.

What the Republican party has so failed to grasp so far is that gay bashing and pretending to want to outlaw abortion doesnt necessary appeal to someone who is trying to meet the cost of higher education or pay off related loans nor does it help with housing affordability and so on . Sure the Republican party looks set to make gains off the back of Obama health care plans but in the long terms the party won't win back the presidency or anything like that until it becomes less idealogical and more pragmatic .