Greetings from Harry's Bar in San Francisco, where we are toasting the youth of New Hampshire as they -- like their cohorts in Iowa last week -- have declared themselves full partners in the civic life of our country with another whopping voter turnout. Thanks to their participation, the race for president is officially wide open on both sides, meaning that our California primary votes may actually make a difference in choosing the leader of the free world.
This young voter turnout matters, not just for individual campaigns, but for the reinvigoration of the political process. As pollster Celinda Lake describes in my recent book Campaign Boot Camp: Basic Training for Future Leaders, when a young voter makes the same choice 3 elections in a row, she tends to vote that way disproportionately over her lifetime. Young voters chose Democrats in 2004 and 2006; now in 2008 Democrats are trying to seal the deal as Republicans try to break the pattern. This means 2008 is not just a campaign for voters in this election, but for future elections as well. The more competitive the 2008 race is, the more young voters the campaigns will target, and the more reinvigorated the political process will be.
With their emergence as the swing voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, young voters will soon be targeted in Nevada and California as the campaigns move West. The Presidential candidate who wins the hearts and minds of the young -- and the young at heart -- here in the West will be he or she who appeals to the populist streak that runs deep through the fastest-growing, most diverse region in America, from the coastal civil libertarians to the rocky mountain ranchers.
We young (and young at heart) Western voters expect the presidential candidates to reach each of us with innovation and inspiration. Here are some DOs and DON'Ts for coming West:
DO show up!
DON'T count on or concede any inch of the West. Every caucus and every primary matters.
DO reach out to young people and empower them with leadership roles in your campaign.
DON'T assume that Iowa and New Hampshire were flukes -- this generation is engaged and will vote.
DO tell us how you will protect our individual freedoms and promote the common good; spur a green economy; invest in 21st century education and job skills; be passionate and practical about immigration; address our health care, infrastructure, water and land use needs; inspire us to service; and, bring our troops home from Iraq safely, honorably and soon.
DON'T waster our time or insult our intelligence with personal barbs, grade school taunts or swift-boating.
DO campaign with tech-savvy Internet outreach strategies.
DON'T let ads and emails replace person-to-person contact, especially in inner cities and rural areas where we have yet to bridge the digital divide.
DO visit us often to raise funds from donors at all levels of giving.
DON'T use California as your ATM - spend some of our money here campaigning to us.
DO spend money on radio and TV ads to enhance visibility and viability.
DON'T forget ethnic media - we'll look for you on Latino, Native American, Asian-Pacific Islander and African American community publications, radio stations, and other media outlets.
DO send us your precinct captains and campaign ambassadors.
DON'T assume that we will rubber stamp the other states' results - campaign on your dreams for our future and let us savor our Western imprint on the national race.
Follow Christine Pelosi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sfpelosi
Also - please - talk to your mom and have her get a spine to stand up to Bush.
If the Democratic Leadership won't stand up the Republicans - why would we keep electing them?
We can just cut out of the middle-people (Democrats) and just go to the Republicans as the source.
PS: Ask your mom to impeach Bush/Cheny.
Another DO/DON'T
DO: Have Principles
DON'T: Compromise those principles, setting that remainder "OFF the TABLE"
.
There has to be a third party
a disgusted non fan of of election ploys, fallacies and hijinks
HRC onstage in Iowa surrounded by elder statespeople
vs.
HRC onstage in NH surrounded by future statespeople
DON'T try to rationalize refusing to uphold the rule of law and Oath of Office by not impeaching Bush and Cheney.