It's More Than Just the Youth Ball

A reader left a comment on Mike's post about the Youth Ball that I thought might be coming:

Yes, the way the ball was handled is inexcusable, but we can't let that influence our opinion of the current administration or what we're doing here. (Not that any of you are, I'm just making a point.) Let's face it, a youth ball is not President Obama's top priority. No doubt, it should have been someone's priority, and it certainly does send a message that our vote is a little unappreciated, but I personally didn't get involved because I need recognition from preceding generations. I don't care if they appreciate us or not! We are a force to be reckoned with, and thanks to this election, we are now stronger than ever. Let us remember this and all the other times we have been and will be disregarded and take it with us as WE become the elders. Let us remember to treat the generations following us with the respect we wish we had today. "That's not change I can believe in?" Screw 'em! Whether they respect us or not, the next generation is heading their way!

First, I believe that Mike, in promoting a diary with a video of President Obama's appearance at the Youth Ball, clarified that Obama shouldn't be held responsible for the failure.

But the point of Mike and Sarah's posts regarding the Youth Ball was more than just blowing off steam.

This failure is representative of one of the very few black marks the Obama team has -- the failure to learn "glue politics," which Mike Lux and Chris Bowers describe over at Open Left.

Glue politics is that below the surface relational aspect of politics that gets very little attention compared to speeches, debates, or ads, but is actually quite important- to a modest extent in getting elected, to a huge extent in governing. Relationships and a sense of mutuality between people in politics are the source of many of the political establishment's problems, but they are also important in actually getting things done.(...)

While I do some blogging, and raise money for different causes and candidates, and have produced my share of ads and mail and phone calls, I am at core a glue politics guy- keeping in touch with lots of different kinds of folks, helping people I think are doing good things, introducing folks from disparate communities, being a catalyst for interesting ideas that friends come to me with. So I have a pretty strong feeling about all of this, and it's an area where I feel like the Obama team doesn't do very well, for the most part. I think they have been so good at many of the big things, frequently able to organize around establishment players through their technological and inspirational ability, but that they discount glue politics at its core.

The Convention was a classic example. The big things the Convention needed to do message-wise got done, which means the Convention was a big success overall. I am thrilled about that. But a couple of levels below the surface, my sense was that a lot of key people- national and local electeds, organizational leaders, bloggers, even some money people- were feeling blown off. A personal example: I always spend a huge amount of time trying to get credentials for key progressive leaders who aren't normally taken care of by the party bureaucracy, and that role has always been respected by Presidential campaigns in conventions past, but it wasn't by the Obama folks this year. I honestly thought maybe it was just me this time- that my best friends on the inside had other fish to fry, that the outside progressive world I walk in just wasn't a big priority for them in general. But in talking to others the last couple of days of the convention, I got the sense that a lot of other really important folks were feeling the same as me.

Obama's problems with "glue politics" once again appeared yesterday. At the inauguration, thousands of activists and staffers with tickets were unable to get inside the event, and they are not very happy about it. Check out the comments on the Purple Tunnel Of Doom Facebook group for a few couple hundred examples. The problem continued last night, when several thousand more staffers and activists, all with tickets, were unable to attend inaugural balls. This is an epic fail of glue politics, and it could have not inconsequential repercussions.

Even as one of the purple ticket holders who was unable to attend to I don't want to dwell on what happened yesterday. Further, I doubt that this is an aspect of politics that many blogosphere denizens will view as valid, as it hints of patronage politics. However, the simple fact is that if this keeps occurring, it will cause the Obama administration problems in passing legislation, and during his re-election campaign. Simply put, they have to fix their problems in this area. Right now, the excitement over the trifecta is keeping a spirit of forgiveness afloat, but that won't last forever.

Lux and Bowers describe this on a macro-level compared to youth politics, but their lesson holds true.

Like I said in my reply to the reader, Mike's point -- and the argument of late on this blog -- is that youth shouldn't be expected to bide their time putting up with mismanaged youth balls and staffing the plethora of service initiatives this administration will surely launch. Yes, the initiatives are going to be formed around important work. And yes, it's vital, given the current times, that youth infuse this effort with energy. But there's more to do.

Youth should be included in policy discussions as well. We should have a seat at the table just as much as those that are older than us. FM has prolifically discussed the differences in values, temperament, and gifts between Millennials and others'. We need what Millennials have to offer, and we need it in more places than just Teach for America and Americorps.

We can't "wait for the world to change," as John Mayer might sing. The squeaky wheel does get the grease, after all. The progressive youth community, as America's future, should be enjoying a plethora of opportunities to get involved, to hone leadership and intellectual skills, in addition to tangible, up-front work of physically transforming our communities through volunteer efforts.

It's up to President Obama's political team to recognize that the youth community is one of many constituencies that worked hard to get the president elected. And the recognition shouldn't just come from the mouths of Obama staffers. A seat at the table would be welcome.