progressive

Lauren Forcella, of the Orange County Register, has written a nice article where she asked a panel of millennials about their opinions on the state of humanity and what we face in the next decade. She intends to interview more young people and post their responses soon. I was struck by just how progressive their answers were.

"Let's stop lying and hating each other and instead support each other. World peace starts here." said one student. Another said, simply, "We need more love." There were comments about homophobia, racism, and prejudice in general.

One panelist offered up an opinion on college - how college without vocational and practical training can still leave you without the vital knowledge your new job may require.

Others spoke about the environment, waste, the food industry, and there were several more "let's be nicer" style comments. I agreed with pretty much all of them. It made me wonder...are all millennials this progressive in their views? I thought surely they wouldn't be in my rural hometown.

Today, I asked a few randomly chosen kids at school about their opinions on issues and about the next decade. Several of the answers were really surprising for me.

I noticed that most responded negatively to questions about President Obama...but, still, many didn't have any problem with gay marriage, believed in working with other nations to solve problems, and believed Iraq was a mistake and a mess.

What got to me was that these students agreed with the President on so many issues and yet didn't support him personally. Of course, there were a few areas where they were actually conservative...things like gun control and sportsmanship got strong responses. It seems like they're scared of losing these things that play such huge roles in their lives.

I guess most millenials are progressive, naturally. There are many who don't pay enough attention to politics or public policy to realize it, though. There were only a few people who were truly conservative in their views.

I think next time I'll take a camera with me and throw something together with their responses.

As Democrats approach the end of their first year of the 21st century in control of both Congress and the White House, we are reminded of a hard truth: progressive change is much more difficult than conservative retrenchment.

Throughout history change has always faced an uphill battle against the seductive forces of fear, hatred, dogma, and tradition. In fact, major progressive change is so difficult and occurs so infrequently that such victories are historical outliers. As Mike Lux points out, only four or five decades in the history of the United States have proved to be fertile ground for such change.

Some believed that the 21st century would be different, that the proliferation of technology and the internet would be a panacea. However, this view ignored those aspects of this century that make change more difficult. While it is true that the internet has enabled more public participation and government transparency and allowed people to compete with the media power of corporate television and radio, it also allowed people to self-select their news, information, and facts. No longer can a Walter Cronkite turn the tide of American public opinion against a war with a single statement. The internet is a value-neutral platform and it spreads conservative messages just as effectively as progressive ones. Life expectancy is dramatically longer than in the past, slowing generational change and keeping old prejudices and fears alive (this is where conservatives will convince themselves that I am arguing for death panels as a progressive conspiracy). Change today will be just as difficult as it has been in the past.

Also extinguished a year in is the naïve belief in bipartisanship, that we can convince Republicans to join with Democrats to do the right thing for the American people. Bipartisanship only exists when there is a Republican in the White House, and such bipartisanship has had devastating consequences (see Iraq War, Bush's tax cuts to the wealthy, deregulation).

Republicans view government as a zero-sum game. Health care is not a service for the American people but a battle to be fought for political gain. Helping the uninsured and those who have had the American dream shattered by health care costs is nothing compared to the potential to recreate Waterloo. The conservative platform is dogma, with their evangelists castigating those who do not show proper devotion to the faith. To them, legislation is but a chessboard where black and white move their pieces through amendments and procedures to ultimately topple the opponent's king.

Change takes time. The Presidency, control of the House, and a 20 member majority in the Senate is not a sufficient condition. Democrats need candidates that are not just electable but also effective, as well as the courage to believe that standing firm for our ideas can actually be a winning strategy. We need to enlarge the electorate by putting serious effort into engaging Millennials and minorities. Progressive victories have proved us to be on the right side of history--ending slavery, universal suffrage, the New Deal, and Medicare--and we need representatives that will make the right decision now and not worry about whether history will move fast enough to prove them right before the next election.

Change requires sacrifice and effort, new strategies, more profiles in courage, and a dream that will never die.

Yesterday Craig wrote about the "Youth Disengagement Meme" and closed with the following paragraph:

Unfortunately, given the lack of funding for many progressive youth organizations, the communications efforts aren't there. By no means am I an expert in progressive youth infrastructure, but I do want to raise awareness of this. Because I have a feeling that the Corzine campaign's inability to engage youth on a peer-to-peer level is going to have some rough consequences, I believe we're going to be facing the "youth are disengaged" meme that will affect our preparations for 2010 and 2012. What are we going to do?

Last week Sarah wrote about the lack of youth outreach from the Democratic establishment. In that piece, she quotes Morley Winograd:

"There's been a missed opportunity here in showcasing the kind of youthful, optimistic, hopeful energy that greatly Obama benefited from during the campaign," said Morley Winograd. . ."But of course it does not at all mean that the opportunity has gone away."

Between 2004 and 2008 progressive youth organizations were building a strategy and infrastructure to turn out young voters and engage them in issue advocacy outside of elections. Major progressive donors seemed to realize the latent power of the youth vote and the need to catch up with the conservative funding machine that supports conservative youth.

Money came in to progressive youth organizations and they continued building on their earlier successes. In 2008 the work paid off resulting in the election of President Barack Obama and large Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate. Unfortunately, it seems that donors now feel like the mission was accomplished and the funding dried up.

There are some who argue that this is because of the financial crisis, but that is only a small part of it. There is still a lot of money being raised by candidates and PACs. It is that the donors aren't choosing to invest in the long-term as they had been for the previous four years.

Progressives can't take the support of young voters for granted, nor should they miss out on activating this powerful demographic when it comes to fighting for legislation or local races. As Winograd said, we are missing opportunities, and we will continue to do so until progressive donors recommit to building a long-term bloc of progressive voters.

Women’s Voices, Women’s Vote (WVWV) released a new survey on voting and civic engagement in the 2008 election (h/t Tom Manatos). The survey looks specifically at the “Rising American Electorate”, defined by those demographics that are increasingly progressive and populous--unmarried women, African American voters, Latino and young voters. These demographics were strong Obama supporters and voters. The survey totals 1,649 interviews, 337 of which are of young voters. While the youth sample size is smaller than other surveys on similar topics (as well as when compared to the over three demographics groups in the survey), it is the most recent survey of its kind to investigate the 2008 election. Let’s begin with some of the big findings on young voters.

• 79 percent support the Stimulus package that was passed by Congress and signed by President Obama
• Only 36 percent rate their personal economic situation as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good‘
• 77 percent feel that President Obama is speaking directly to them and the issues they care about
• 46 percent reported that they were absolutely certain they would vote in the 2010 election cycle.

The broad support for President Obama and the stimulus package probably stems from the fact that campaign promises were kept about college affordability and green jobs, especially given the fact that two-thirds of young people view their economic situation as ’just fair’ or ’poor’. And just two nights ago, President Obama addressed another issue that has found strong support from young people in other surveys--community service. The proposal, known as the Kennedy-Hatch Serve America Act would help “get the underemployed (primarily young people) working in communities badly hit by the recession”, argue Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanorek in a Washington Times Op-Ed piece. Peter Levine, on a similar line of reasoning, supports the Kennedy-Hatch Act, too:

The more advantaged half of the young population that attends college receives educational opportunities subsidized by the public. But those who do not continue formal education beyond high school find that almost all government-funded educational programs have age limits of 18 or 21. Working-class youth are basically subsidizing their more advantaged peers' learning opportunities with their tax dollars. Service programs such as YouthBuild, Public Allies, City Year, and the National Civilian Community Corps (among others) help to right this imbalance by offering opportunities to young adults who may not be on the college track.

This survey by WVWV finds that the Rising American Electorate is increasingly progressive, but warns that there are other forces at work to stop the momentum. This is perhaps true for African American and Latino voters who have taken socially conservative stances on some issues, such as gay rights. The Proposition 8 vote in California, which sought to change the state’s constitution to ban gay marriage, was supported by majorities of both African American (70 percent YES) and Latino voters (53 percent YES) of any age. Not so with young voters, who were the only demographic group against the proposition (61 percent NO). More broadly, Millennials are the most progressive cohort in decades, a finding from The Millennial Pendulum, already blogged about by FM co-bloggers Mike and Craig. And then add to all that the parity in political party identity, which favors the Democrats.

An election may have just passed, but 2010 is already on the horizon. The WVWV report finds that young voters are the most likely demographic to “drop-off” their participation rate from the 2008 presidential election to the 2010 cycle, but the report doesn’t reveal the percentage of youth that intend to vote in 2010, regardless of the degree of certainty. Still, it is true that young voters, along with all voters, have lower voter turnout rates in non-Presidential cycles. Young voters did increase their turnout from the 2002 to 2006 midterm elections (PDF), but with the current recession and uncertainty about funding, GOTV and registration efforts will need to be efficient for 2010 in order to keep up the participation level among young voters.

Bumped. --Mike

Young Americans elected change on Nov. 4. Now who will turn the buzzword into reality? Electing the right people is just the beginning- we still have to fight for the right policies- like health care and living wages for all. Making change a reality requires a lot of people- not a lot of Obamas, but a lot of people behind the scenes.

Let me give you an example. Do you know who Charles Moskos was? Probably not. But you probably do know that the US military has a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for LGBT service members, and that when you finish college, you will pay back your student loans based on how much you earn. These were both ideas crafted by Mr. Moskos as a policy advisor to President Clinton. These are the people behind the scenes who influence major ideas and decisions- decisions that will eventually become the policies that govern our lives. So, how do we ensure that the next generation of influential policy advisors is waiting in the wings?

Our answer is the DMI Scholars program. Each summer, DMI Scholars brings together progressive minded college activists to intensively train on the policymaking process and analyze policies, while exposing them to the who’s who in progressive policy circles- a world that expands far beyond presidential advisors. DMI Scholars will become the future heads of think tanks, advisors to elected officials, grassroots campaigns directors and media commentators to collectively steer our nation in the right direction.

The program, poised to introduce its third cohort of Scholars this summer, will ensure that as baby boomers age out, the current cadre is ready to take up the charge of implementing real change. Interested college sophomores and juniors should check out www.dmischolars.org and apply to the 2009 DMI Scholars Summer Institute, to be held in NYC, August 1-15.

The first class of Scholars has now completed their training and internship, and are already beginning to change the public policy landscape in places like the US Senate Judiciary Committee and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Apply to DMI Scholars today. Tell a friend about it.

APPLICATION DEADLINE FEB 1 AT 11PM!! www.dmischolars.org

Many young elected officials (YEOs) are often asked why they ran for office at such a young age. For most of the YEOs in our Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network, it was that burning inside that said, “If not me, then who?”

For members of the YEO Network, running for office was not about politics. It was, and still is, about public service, and the dire need for more public servants on school boards and conservation boards, in state houses, the halls of Congress, and in governors’ mansions across the country.

American politics is in need of fresh faces and new ideas to fight the problems of our generation. Thanks to pioneers of justice who went before, we're not fighting the blatant Jim Crow laws of the past. Today, young leaders are on the front lines fighting more subtle forms of racial discrimination. They’re fighting for social and economic justice. Fighting for equality for all. Young people are working locally, fighting cuts to education funding, and globally, working to protect the environment.

Some of these young activists see the potential to make real change as public officials. In 2006, the YEO Network, in conjunction with its sister program, Young People For (YP4), launched the Front Line Leaders Academy (FLLA), a nonpartisan program that works to equip young leaders with the basic knowledge, skills and tools necessary to participate in the political process at any level, either as a candidate or campaign professional. FLLA includes classes and workshops led by YEOs or other campaign professionals to help young leaders to develop their leadership and political skills. Now the fruits of this labor are being felt nationwide. Meet four FLLA graduates who later ran for public office and won.

Ezra Temko, Newark, Del. City Commission
FLLA Class of 2006
Ezra Temko is passionate about environmental issues and about his hometown, where he has regularly attended city council meetings. He saw a chance to make a difference in his community, and in April 2008 became the first FLLA graduate to be elected to public office, and the first to become a member of the YEO network. Congratulations to City Commissioner Ezra Temko.

Michael J. Makarski, Secaucus, N.J. Board of Education
FLLA Class of 2007
Michael Makarski didn’t know what progressive was, but he knew he shared the same ideals, values and positions with people who identified as progressive. Through FLLA, he found his passion was deeper than just campaigns and politics- he wanted to make a difference in his community. A product of the New Jersey school system, he wanted nothing more than to go back and change it for the better, from within. School Board Member Michael Makarski is now known for attending every school event in the area, with kids, parents and grandparents alike taking notice.

Anders Ibsen, Pierce Conservation Supervisor, Wash.
FLLA Class of 2007
A brilliant young man with a deep understanding of policy and the state of Washington’s unique political climate, Anders Ibsen found an opportunity to pursue his passion for his state’s environment and citizens’ health through the often-ignored Conservation District. Conservation Supervisor Anders Ibsen has made it his goal to increase public outreach, volunteer mobilization and aggressive lobbying for better conservation laws.

Kevin Killer, candidate for South Dakota’s House of Representatives representing District 27
FLLA Class of 2006
As a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Kevin Killer has seen the pain and the power of his community, but never lost his determination to make it a better place. Kevin recently won the primary election and is running in the general for State House, District 27. He is working to strengthen the education of tribal students and to improve the standard of living of his neighbors.

So what issues do Young Elected Officials fight for? What do they do? Why do they do it? Hear some of our current members who answered these questions during our 2008 National Convening.

Three years ago, the Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network was just an idea. Andrew Gillum, Director of the YEO Network, was several months into his position as City Commissioner of Tallahassee, Fla. He found he needed a network of other young progressive elected leaders who shared a passion for building communities that reflect values of freedom, fairness and opportunity. But there wasn't one. So he started it.

In just three years, the network has grown to more than 400 young elected officials across the country. In many instances, YEOs are the youngest persons to ever have served in their elected body or office, and as a result they are often treated as aberrations. Through our research with young progressive officials, we have found that most reached office after a difficult campaign and, once in office, found little support in navigating the political processes.

In the short term, the YEO Network provides an instant network of officials who relate through common experiences and challenges as young elected officials. Over the long term, the Network is filling a pipeline for state, local and national leadership for decades to come. The network gives young elected officials from across the country access to resources, and equips them with tools necessary to be effective. We're providing a deep bench of talented office-holders and candidates who are progressive leaders, and who will grow in their leadership roles as their careers advance.

For years the conservative movement has invested in the development of future leaders, especially at the local and state levels. They have provided young officials with formal leadership training and access to support networks and information that help them build and maintain power.

Young conservatives are also supported by community leaders, skilled organizers, think-tanks, academics, and media personalities that spend tens of millions of dollars every year to support them. This pipeline has advanced household names including Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, and Ralph Reed, and a powerful group of young conservatives who fill state houses, the halls of Congress, the executive branch, and the courts.

The YEO Network set its mission to unite and support progressive elected leaders ages 35 and under- exchanging ideas, developing leadership skills and connecting with policy development organizations and think tanks. YEO Network members are now supported and empowered to transform their political vision into progressive action.

Through national and local gatherings, monthly newsletters, issue briefings, and policy sharing forums, the YEO Network provides support mechanisms to young elected officials, with the ultimate goal of producing an enduring pipeline of well-prepared leaders at all levels of government.

The goal of the YEO Network in offering these programs is to provide YEOs with a community that they may come to for support on issues and skills training as well as personal and professional development. The Annual YEO Network National Conference and policy academies bring policy makers, community practitioners, and policy resources together in order to enable YEOs to turn personal and political values into progressive action. The Front Line Leaders Academy and Internship Program provide future young, progressive leaders with the training they will need to participate in all levels of government.

The importance of the YEO Network on the front lines of the progressive movement is clear. Our members aren’t taking no for an answer. They aren’t accepting the status quo.

Young elected officials will be the ones to change our country.

Here is a clip of the recent 2008 YEO National Convening.