Kids for Kennedy

Posted at 3:16 PM on March 28, 2006 by Bob Collins

It's still early, but I've been puzzled by the apparent lack of interest -- and I realize that's a broad generalization -- by many candidates in mobilizing the campus forces.

I'm not sure exactly why that is although the "young people" who were supposed to influence the election of 2004 ended up mostly taking a pass and reinforcing the stereotype.

So it's interesting to read in the Mankato State University newspaper that Mark Kennedy was working the crowd this week.

I don't know anymore whether college campuses are DFL or GOP turf, but Kennedy's going to find out.

Michael Bruner, a member of the College Republicans, said "I think students across the board are going to play a huge part in the elections coming up."

Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on what issues end up dominating. Health care? Good luck selling that one on campus.

In 2004, 51.6% of people under age 30 turns out to vote. That's relatively lame, although it was 10% higher than the previous election.

But listen to the comments of Ivan Frishberg, outreach and development coordinator at the New Voters Project, in an online chat at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Over the long course of this campaign, I don't think either party or either candidate made an exceptional effort to reach this population. Young people were clearly enegergized on both sides and I would expect that to continue. We all know that elections have winners and losers and most of us have the good fortune to experience life on both sides of that.

The good news about this turnout for the long term is that voting is a learned behavior, and the masses of young people who have been newly engaged in the political process are much more likely to keep civic participation as a part of their lives from here on out.

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