Clarifying My Statements About the Youth Ball
I'm loathe to lend this topic any more real estate on Future Majority, but I feel obligated to address a common misconception that has arisen - on and offline - due to my piece about the inaugural youth ball.
For reference, the offending paragraph is quoted at the beginning of this recent blog post.
It was not my intention to imply that Obama staffers were any less deserving of tickets to the inaugural youth ball than any other youth organizer. To my mind, the tickets should have been distributed in an equal fashion, and limited to the venue's maximum capacity. In my personal experience of the ticketing process, and events I witnessed at the ball itself, this was not the case. That, however, is not the fault of any Obama staffers at the event, many of whom found themselves locked out of the ballroom like myself, or even kept out of the hotel altogether, as many attendees were.
My beef is soley with the PIC for their organizing failures, not with Obama staffers, organizers, or volunteers. If anyone thought otherwise, or read what I wrote as accusatory or diminishing to the work they did this election cycle, you have my apologies. The last thing we need right now is young, engaged Obama supporters and independent youth organizers pointing fingers at each other.
2008 Youth Vote in Context
The following charts and graphs are meant to contextualize the unique role that young voters played in the 2008 election, and their increasingly important role in a winning electoral coalition:
2008 Youth Electoral Map

2004 Youth Electoral Map

Youth Vote Partisan Advantage: 2000 - 2008

Youth Vote Historical Support: 1976 - 2008

Breaking News
Rock the Vote:
You free tonight?We have all sorts of events going on across the country tonight and this weekend. To find an event near you, check out live.rockthevote.com. If you’re in Philadelphia, you can check in here to ...Think Progress:
Self-Styled Budget Hawk Mike Pence Defends Spending $560 Million On Unnecessary Weapons ProgramRecognizing the need to cut spending in light of record budget deficits, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major cuts to a number of big-ticket weapons programs last year that the Pentagon ...The Caucus:
The Big Day: Chelsea Clinton's WeddingThe Caucus is in Rhinebeck, N.Y., for the former first daughter's wedding day. "We don't know who we're looking at," one bystander complained. "Seriously, I want to see Oprah."The Plum Line:
Weekend Open ThreadSo what's happening? Who won the dawn?Political Wire:
A Bible for the Tea PartyKen Vogel notes that a three-year old book, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, has become a bible for the Tea Party movement. The thesis: "Poorly funded ...
Featured Video
Recent Blog Posts
-
Today is a national tragedy. Tomorrow will be a national tragedy. The day after tomorrow will also be a tragedy for America because eighteen veterans kill themselves every day- a figure that ...by: AndrewforCongress | 0 comments
-
Left, or right, one thing that every politician- at least rhetorically- can agree upon is that we should improve our schools. America used to have the best primary school system in the world; ...by: AndrewforCongress | 0 comments
-
The arms race. A time in our Nation's history when we were on edge. We were racing to the top, to be the world super power and make sure we defeated the USSR. The times were hard, some sloppy ...by: ColinCurtis | 0 comments
-
Michael Swartz, a writer for the Baltimore Examiner, recently wrote up a response to my offer to drop out the race if Hoyer pushes H.R. 1826 (Fair Elections Now) through the House of Representatives, ...by: AndrewforCongress | 0 comments
-
I am throwing down the gauntlet: if Majority Leader Hoyer passes the Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826) out of Congress, I will drop out of the race. This bill, which focuses on removing the ...by: AndrewforCongress | 0 comments
Blogroll
- Ablogistan
- Apophenia
- Bad Subjects
- Burnt Orange Report
- Campus Progress
- Campus Vote
- College Democrats
- Culture Blog
- The Daily Background
- The Daily Taylor
- Ezra Klein
- Everyday Citizen
- For Which It Stands
- Generation Next
- Got Democracy
- It’s Getting Hot in Here
- Kevin Bondelli
- Kid Oakland
- Kossacks Under 35
- Left in the West
- Liberal College Kid
- The Low Post
- Matt Ortega
- Michigan Liberal
- Michigan Youth Political Alliance
- Millennials Changing America
- Open Left
- Penn Progress
- Planting Liberally
- Policy Farm Team
- Political Teen Tidbits
- Prose Before Hos
- Pullman Progressive
- Pushback Network
- The Raw Story
- Rethinking Youth
- Rock the Vote
- Scoop 44
- Tapped
- Think Youth
- Young Democrats
- Young MO Politico
- Young People For
- Young Philly Politics
- Young-Politics
- Youth and Politics
- YouthinkLeft
- WireTap
- Wonkette
If you have a blog written by or for young progressives, and you would like to be listed, contact Mike.
Young Progressives
- 21st Century Dems
- Black Youth Vote
- The Bus Federation
- Campus Climate Challenge
- Campus Progress
- Campus Wellstone
- Center for Progressive Leadership
- College Democrats
- DNC Youth Council
- DMI Scholars
- Forward Montana
- Future 5000
- Generation Change
- Generational Alliance
- The League
- Kossacks Under 35
- Lose the Label
- Minnesota Youth Caucus
- New Era Colorado
- Oregon Bus Project
- Progressive U
- Roosevelt Institution
- Run For Office
- Students for a New American Politics
- Swing Semester
- USSA
- Washington Bus
- Young Democrats of America
- Young Elected Officials Network
- Young People For
- Young Voter PAC
Cultural Capitalizers
- All Ages Movement Project
- Billionaires for Bush
- Drinking Liberally
- Free Culture
- Head Count
- Hip Hop Summit Action Network
- Ironweed Films
- Justice Through Music
- Laughing Liberally
- Lokahi Outreach
- National Hip Hop Political Convention
- ONE Campaign
- Progressive Book Club
- Rock the Vote
- Screening Liberally
- Vera Project
- Youth Movement Records



















