Headlines: February 29, 2008

by Brian Kelly

Quote for thought: “We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birth-day of a new world is at hand.” - Thomas Paine, Common Sense

And today’s headlines and stories:

1. Latest Research Reveals Huge Disparities Among Young Voters - From WireTap Magazine: “College students are voting in record numbers and making their issues heard in the 2008 primary season. Young people without college experience — who constitute close to half of the 18- to 29-year-old electorate and are more likely to be youth of color — are notably absent.”

“If social science research can be sure about anything, it’s the fact that education is positively correlated with many civic engagement outcomes — including voter turnout rates. In the 2004 presidential election, 27 percentage points separated the turnout rates of the college-educated (61 percent) and youth who have no college experience (32 percent). This gap has persisted since 1972 and it continues today. New CIRCLE research found that one in four young people with at least some college experience voted in the 2008 Super Tuesday states, compared to just one in 14 non-college youth.”

2. Why Voters Aren’t Motivated by a Laundry List of Positions on Issues - and article by Joe Brewer and George Lakoff, The Rockridge Institute; posted on AlterNet. “How politicians communicate has more influence than policy details. Why else would the public accept destructive practices like domestic spying?”

“There is a faulty view of voting behavior — widely held by political strategists on the left — that people already know what they want. All you have to do is conduct a poll to find out where they stand on the issues, then build a platform of positions that accords with the polls, and they will vote for you. Missing from this view is the importance of cognitive policy — the ideas necessary to understand what the issues are and how they should be addressed. It is the ability to understand where a candidate is coming from that makes public support possible. Endorsement quickly follows when this understanding combines with a sense of shared values.”

3. The Roosevelt Institution’s 2008 Essay Contest: Finding Progressive Voices for the 21st Century - Firstly, the deadline on this is March 8, 2008, so if this interests you, get your butt into gear! The Roosevelt Institution and The Nation Magazine are co-sponsoring an essay contest about what a new major New Deal-like reform program would look like in 2008. Here’s the description:

“The Nation magazine and the Roosevelt Institution are teaming up to explore what relevance FDR and the New Deal have for the 21st Century, and how today’s college students understand the social contract. We are looking for essays of 600 words or less that answer the following question:

In the 1930s, FDR’s New Deal established a new social compact between government and its citizens. That compact has frayed greatly in the face of economic globalization and the seeming triumph of free-market thinking. What relevance, if any, do you think New Deal politics have today in meeting the challenges of the 21st century, especially globalization and climate change? Let us know in 600 words or less.

The top essay or excerpts will be published in The Nation, and the author will receive a $500 cash prize. The top five essays will be published on Student Nation and the Roosevelt Institution homepage.

The deadline for submissions is March 2, 2008. Please send your essay to essays@rooseveltinstitution.org, subject line “New Deal Essay;” when sending, please include as an attachment and in the body of the email.”