Can Uprising Be Sustained?

The numbers coming in are confirming it, young people finally collectively made their voices heard as voting members of "We the People." Liberal filmaker Michael Moore calls it the "Slacker Uprising." I call it an example of democracy working, when people put their democracy to work.

MSNBC reports:

Young Americans can finally shake off their reputation for civic apathy. Young people appear to have voted in higher numbers than ever before, preliminary reports show. And analysts say this demographic’s heavy tilt toward Barack Obama was a determining factor in his historic victory.

An estimated 24 million Americans ages 18 to 29 voted in this election, an increase in youth turnout by at least 2.2 million over 2004, reports CIRCLE, a non-partisan organization that promotes research on the political engagement of young Americans. That puts youth turnout somewhere between 49.3 and 54.5 percent, meaning 19 percent more young people voted this year than in 2004, estimates John Della Volpe, the director of polling for the Harvard Institute of Politics. And that’s a conservative estimate, Della Volpe says.

“It looks like the highest turnout among young people we’ve ever had,” says Della Volpe, adding that 12 percent more Americans in the overall electorate voted. The youth share of the vote also rose to 18 percent — a one-percent increase over the last three presidential elections.

//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27562023/

Despite being outnumbered by the "Gray Panthers" (65+) voters aged 18-29 made up 18% of the total voting population, while to just 16% for senior citizens.

Blog here and be proud of your generation....The question is will it last?

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Overall, higher, but not record turnout

Many expected an amazingly high voter turnout, but as CNN's head pollster and National Journal columist Bill Schnieder reports, record voting numbers never really materialized.

"Just over 208 million American citizens were eligible to vote this year. Edison Media Research estimates that more than 130 million people voted for president, either in person or by mail. That's 62.6 percent of all eligible voters.

That is 2 points higher than the 60.6 percent who turned out four years ago, according to a report by the Center for the Study of the American Electorate. The 2008 election continued a steady trend of higher voter turnout since 1996 (51.4 percent in 1996; 54.2 percent in 2000). But the 2008 figure is not exactly a quantum leap. In fact, it's slightly lower than the 64 percent of eligible voters who turned out in 1964 and the 67 percent in 1960."

Schnieder goes on to break down the numbers, in which he sort of downplays the young vote. This is the old adage, "Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics." While the percentage turnout of 18-29 year olds went up from 17-18%, what Schnieder sees that as a minimal increase, he does not take into consideration the rage of age 18-29 is the smallest category calculated and that there are less people living in that category than any of the others. It is also the first time in electoral history (since exit polls have been calculated) that the youngest category of voters turned out at a higher rate than their more populous groug of grandparents and their Gray Panther friends.

www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/pl_20081112_6998.php

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Activist Michael Moore's film 'Slacker Uprising' cronicles a 42-day, 62-city tour in 2004 designed to get the young vote out in what he called his attempt to remove George W. Bush from office.

Moore writes:

My goal was to help turn out a record number of young voters and others who had never voted before. (That part was a success. Young adults voted in greater numbers than in any election since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote. And the youth vote was the only age group that John Kerry won.)

What I encountered during the tour and the filming was both inspiring and frightening, so I thought, hey, this might make for a funny and enlightening movie! Each night, thousands would show up to volunteer in the Slacker Army against Bush. This drove local Republicans nuts. In one state they tried to have me arrested. At two colleges, rich donors offered to donate more money to the college if they would ban me from campus. Nearly a half-dozen universities kept the Slacker Uprising tour off their campuses. But there was no stopping this movement. By the time we got to Florida, 16,000 people a night were showing up.

It was clear that young people were the ones who were going to save the day -- just as they are (now known, clearly were) in this year's election.

Michael Moore is a lightening rod. But love him, or hate him. Agree or disagree with him, this is a film anyone who studies government and politics should see. You can download the film for free here.

It seems to me a movement can not just be against something or someone as it was in 2004. It has to be FOR something, or someone as it was this time.

/slackeruprising.com/