Rock the Vote: Good or Bad? Where did the youth vote come from?

In an editorial this Sunday, the Washington Post’s Catherine Rampbell attempted to explain why, despite years of outreach to young voters, 2008 is the first year that turnout is expected to be up. She credits Barack Obama for both his appeal and organizing strengths, writing that “where Rock the Vote has gone wrong, Barack Obama has gone very, very right.” This dis of Rock the Vote has some folks up in arms; Future Majority’s Mike Connery writes that Rampbell simply “got the youth story completely wrong,” and mentions that Rock the Vote is preparing a response. We’re curious to see it, along with more analyses of why this is the year the youth vote woke up.

One of my favorite Blogs, Wiretap, one of our constant links, already wrote a response.


When I was in undergrad the professor's use to stress that we must know our past to know our future, it is the same here. We must know where we have come from to make sure that we continue to succeed, and we can't let people dismiss our efforts. It has taken a lot of work, time and energy to get where we are going.