Dean to Kossacks: focus on the kids
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| Also listed in: Campus Progress Blog |
DNC Chair Howard Dean just gave a rousing address here at Yearly Kos to the 1400 minions and hundreds of members of the media. He focused in large part on the importance of progressives appealing to young people. He noted the 20% increase in youth turnout between the last two midterms and noted that voting patterns get locked in for life at a young age. He admonished activists to always focus on the young as an investment in the future. He also rather comically pointed out that "there are white kids running around malls with pants around their ankles" as evidence that the hopes of the civil rights movement have been achieved. And Dean pointed to the long enduracne of civil rights leaders as a reminder that activism is a lifelong commitment.
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That increase was achieved by nonpartisan groups like the New Voters Project spending just $40 million. Partisan campaigns spent nearly $4 billion in 2004, so imagine if they spent just 1 percent of that on young voters. The impact could be huge. Thankfully campaigns are starting to realize how crucial a constituency young voters are and three presidential candidates have hired full-time youth outreach directors. (Shout out to Emily Hawkins, a former CP staffer who is now one of those youth outreach directors.)