kansas democrats

About a week ago I was elected to be the new State President of the Kansas Young Democrats.

One of my first goals was to create the Kansas Young Democrats Alumni Association. I wanted to establish this to create a place where new Young Dems and past Young Dems can better connect.

The Alumni Association will be used to connect democrats young and old statewide to build a stronger party and a strong youth motivated organization.

The KYD Alumni Association will help to create a more sustainable organization and allow for a more active organization overall. The information collected will only be for the use of the Kansas Young Democrats and will not be shared.

If there are any questions please contact us at kansasyoungdemocrats@gmail.com.

Sign up today!

After years of floundering a group of young political operatives decided to take over the Young Democrats in their state, raise money, and become the youth outreach leaders in Kansas.

After seeing an alarming shift between red to blue among 18-29 year old voters in Kansas, it wasn't surprising that young political staffers thought there was room to grow.

Tyler Longpine ushered in a new generation of leadership with a slate of candidates who have worked on campaigns and hold leadership positions in the state's county party system. In a recent interview he spoke with us about his hopes for the future and enthusiasm for young voters in Kansas.

"Throughout a series of post-mortem discussions following the 2008 Election it became evident that the long term viability of Kansas Democrats would require a committed effort to develop and retain the next generation of skilled operatives and candidates," Longpine says. "With the right leadership I believe the Kansas Young Democrats can be a partner in a crucial and historic party building effort that prepares young activists for political and public leadership."

YD Labor Caucus Chair Chad Manspeaker agrees

"I'm excited about all of the people who got elected because they are young professionals and they will give us the organization that we've greatly needed. Some of the best political minds in the state are in this group, and if you put these people in a room together they won't just hang out we'll get something done... we're doers."

Already filled with big ideas - Longpine is eager to develop his relationships among the parent party infrastructure and explain the importance of youth outreach to the establishment in Kansas.

"The first objective is to develop the Kansas Young Democrats into a viable, solvent and professional organization. Restoring credibility and financial solvency now will enable the organization to engage in chapter development and campaign activity during the 2010 midterms."

The biggest change is in plans for candidates and helping with their connectivity to young voters. Manspeaker believes candidate outreach is two fold

"One we must reach out to candidates and teach them how to connect through social media in a meaningful way that builds relationships between candidates and constituents, rather than someone you see on tv. Candidates are real people, we should let them be! The second part is that is we must elect more young people, I mean, who better to be in touch with young people than young people."

Longpine is ready to work with the YD's to encourage more peer to peer outreach to young voters and when it comes to candidates outreach is key.

"Many candidates now understand the importance of young voters. However, Young Voters still present an organizational challenge if you're unable (or worse, unwilling) to incorporate emerging media, technology, and peer-to-peer communication into your campaign.

We've all heard the concerns from candidates and campaigns; young people are transient, young people don't have land lines, young people are hard to organize, etc. These are valid organizational obstacles that require creative means of outreach."

With many YD chapters across the country electing new leadership, it is essential to have the kind of officers that see a clear path for candidate recruitment and outreach to young people. I'm encouraged by Heartland chapters like the Kansas Young Dems and I wish all of the new leaders the best of luck as they move forward.

This week after the Kansas GOP primary I got a tip off about a piece in a local Kansas paper about the caucus and the comparable turnout. Understandably, there was immense turnout for the Democratic caucus and not so much for the GOP despite the fact that the GOP caucus was infinitely more convenient - being on a Saturday morning which wasn't plagued with a blizzard.

That said, while more people turned out at the Democratic Caucus - more young people also did. I can tell you there are no official numbers, no exit polls, indeed not much other than observable fact that more young people were present at the democratic caucuses.

The last line of the article is a gem:

"Everybody sees a fresh face," he said. "All these college people are really pumped up who probably aren't going to show up in November. It's one of those things that it's really interesting to watch."

The "he said" refers to the executive director of the Kansas GOP. All I could say when I read this was "You hope."

A local Kansas blog picked it up and (God bless them) discovered the youth vote themselves on this day. They mentioned that last week's KS Democratic caucus had

"more young voters participated in the 2008 Democratic caucuses than any other caucus in Kansas history.

I have no data to back this up and I don't know if its true but if it is - boy isn't that cool.

I watched all week to see how the comments from progressives and anti's would unfold, knowing full well that there is truly no youth outreach outside of the local university/college democrats in the state and hoping there would be evidence of an interest on the popular state blog. If there was enough enthusiasm perhaps Kansas is primed for some young voter action. Maybe the progressives there are interested in doing something about encouraging the youth vote.

Read the comments - they are priceless. One from what seems to be a Libertarian, one with more clarifying data about how young people turnout, and one from the KYD president who clearly has been swimming up stream like the many that have come before her.

The best part of this is the quote not included in the article is the Kansas Dem ED saying that he thinks the KS GOP is daring young people to get involved. If young people come out the way they did for the caucus there are quite a few races in Kansas that could swing to our favor. As a result, some of us are in cahoots about a potential state based youth organization for the Sunflower State. Seems they might just be ready.

The NBC Nightly News and the Today Show are about to do a piece on the new trend in western states turning blue. They were tipped off by a great piece in the Denver Post about organizations like Forward Montana and New Era Colorado.

"The descendants of the rebels themselves - today's Western youth - are leading the charge for a more Democratic West. If the trends continue, the Republican Party may find itself in a world of hurt."

So NBC is asking what is going on and is the movement in the west a trend or a blip. We talk a lot on here about numbers we see move in various communities. Mike just talked to us about Evangelical Youth dropping their previous support of the President like cold Prada such that its caused a drop overall in Republicanism by 15% nationwide. So many different people and groups and communities are leaving the GOP but it doesn't always equal big win. That said - a win is a win and by all accounts trending red to more blue means a beautiful indigo wonderland of progressivism.

ED of Forward Montana and renown blogger Matt Singer says its due in large part to

"young progressive voters reacting hugely against one party rule"

And how else do you bring the youth to the choices but by utilizing alternative forms of outreach. Such as hosting CANDIDATES GONE WILD!!! Advertised by asking FMT members:

Are you "sick of boring candidate forums? Wish that you could learn about the candidates, have a beer, watch some comedy, and mingle with hundreds of other community members all in one jam-packed evening? You're Gonna LOVE Candidates Gone WILD!"

And from what it seems - they did:

"By making policy process and voting more understandable, we think we can create an atmosphere where caring about issues is cool.”

My question for people in my neck of the woods is how this kind of outreach and this astounding progress out west will effect Heartland trends.

Clay Pope - Lobbyist for the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts says that they are just behind. He expects Heartland states like Oklahoma and especially Kansas to begin trending in the next 4 years, particularly after a Democrat takes the White House in 2008.

"Sometimes we're a little slow and cautious but it'll happen. I count Oklahoma in the South so I see it happening in Kansas and Nebraska sooner. In Nebraska as soon as this Senate race and it will continue in Kansas."

As the adage goes - its easy to get them to eat their vegetables when the only other choice is liver and gizzards. But I think they are all right - there is an excellent opportunity for both Western and Heartland Democrats to build a big tent and explain our values to Republicans that have become so disenfranchised by a narrow agenda and who have clearly been used and manipulated by the Religious Right.

What I fear most is that young people will only APPEAR to be a part of that dialogue. If we are the ones bringing the new folks to the progressive fun then I think we should have more of a seat at the table than the drop-in or line-item we receive now. After all we are the... future... majority...