Dems Fight For Pennsylvania's Young Voters

Obama And Clinton Press For Youth Vote In Aging State

(AP)  Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are hustling for the youth vote in Pennsylvania as if they've never heard this is a state where the old hold sway.

Campuses in the cities and mountainsides are alive with political activism, stirred most notably by Obama in student registration drives aimed at replicating his success with young voters dating to the Iowa caucus in January.

How motivated are his youthful supporters? So motivated that Alyssa Beasley, 20, endured an encounter with the DMV so she could switch her driver's license from New Jersey and register to vote at the same time.

And how high are their expectations? In Beasley's case, very.

"I feel like my entire hope and dream for America lies on this man's shoulders," she said on the tree-lined campus of the Jesuit-run University of Scranton.

That heady courtship is matched by a vigorous effort on Clinton's side. Altogether, the April 22 primary is becoming more of a can't-miss event for the young instead of just another why-bother one on the political calendar.

Doug Jones, 19, got so caught up in the excitement that he registered as a Democrat to vote for Clinton, even though he'll probably vote Republican in the fall.

"I'm not doing it out of sneaky and scheming motives to down the Democratic nominee," said the University of Scranton student. "I'd like to take part in the process."

Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation in the percentage of people 65 and older, a group that has favored Clinton elsewhere and appears strong for her here.

Obama is counting on a big showing from the state's nearly 700,000 college students on more than 150 campuses.

The Illinois senator has received the support of about 60 percent of voters aged 18-24 in competitive states, exit polls indicate, and his advantage with that group doesn't appear to be waning in Pennsylvania.

The question is whether that will be enough to prevail in a state where polls have found Clinton consistently ahead, if by shrinking margins.

"We have a long way to go in Pennsylvania and maximizing the votes of young voters is critical if we're going to be able to close the gap," said Sean Smith, an Obama spokesman.

Pennsylvania makes voting easy for students from other states because it only requires 30 days residency to register. However, no one who voted in an earlier primary elsewhere can vote again here.

Mia Prensky, 21, of Harrisburg, said Obama supporters have been on her campus at Bryn Mawr College - a women's school with stone buildings nestled in Philadelphia's wealthy Main Line - handing out stickers, distributing information about the Iraq war and encouraging students to vote. They struck a chord with her.

"I still don't really like the fact that Hillary voted for the war," she said.

In Philadelphia, where more than 100,000 college students live, Obama volunteers with voter registration forms in hand have been on campuses and at train stations around Philadelphia's bustling University City district, encouraging their peers to register.

Among them was Seth Dean, 23, a University of Pennsylvania student who said he decided in January to register as a Democrat in Pennsylvania. At home in Florida, he was a registered independent.

"I kind of thought from the beginning it was going to be kind of a long, drawn-out fight and it might come down to Pennsylvania, so I just made a tactical decision," Dean said.

Aside from Obama's strong base among black voters, young voters are probably his strongest group, said Scott Keeter, director of survey research for the Pew Research Center.

"I cannot recall another candidate in the past couple of decades that had such consistent support from young people," Keeter said.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found Obama leading Clinton 51 percent to 42 percent among likely Democratic voters ages 18-44 in Pennsylvania, but trailing nine points overall.

Obama's campaign ran an ad in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg before the state's March 24 registration deadline aimed at drumming up new young voters. It cited his opposition to the Iraq war and his plan to help loan-burdened college students.

Additional efforts by Obama to reach young voters in Pennsylvania include a text messaging program that allows supporters to communicate with each other and receive information about events, said Sean Smith, a campaign spokesman.

Facebook co-creator Chris Hughes has been in the state training people how to use the social networking site for outreach, Smith said. In all, the campaign has more than 50 student chapters in Pennsylvania.

During a recent Obama rally at Penn State University in State College, more than 20,000 people crowded onto a campus lawn to see him, many of them students wrapped in blankets against the cold.

Clinton's campaign also is after younger voters with registration drives, rallies and about 30 student groups. "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera is among celebrities who have campaigned in Pennsylvania for Clinton, as has the New York senator's daughter, Chelsea.

The campaign says it is reaching young people who are not in college as well as students.

One of them is Ashley Langdon, 23, a waitress in Allentown who said she would like to go to college but can't afford it. Langdon said she's hypoglycemic and has struggled to pay emergency room bills because she doesn't have health insurance.

"She has the experience and the knowledge to help clean it up a little bit better, rather than Obama," Langdon said of Clinton.

"He's kind of new. He's fresh. He's got outstanding ideas, but who knows what's going to happen?"

More than 235,000 people have registered as Democrats in Pennsylvania since last year. State authorities estimate nearly 10 percent of the 4 million registered Democrats are ages 18-24 and about 20 percent are 65 or older.

[ksh1022]

Obama cannot beat McCain. Do you think that Obama really will have enough of a base against McCain? He will have the blacks, the far left liberal nut jobs, and the young who don''t remember Mondale or Dukakis or Kerry mistakes. Indep. and Repub. will go McCain for experience and patriotism. Hillary''s base the tried and true working class Democrat will either write Hillary in or vote McCain. I know I won''t vote for Obama. I do not think that he is fit for the presidency. He belongs to a racist anti-American church and has no leadership experience. He voted "present" 130 times in the Illinois senate because he was playing politics and didn''t want to pick a side. Hillary is smart, strong, courageous, and capable. She knows Washington and has shown strong leadership in the Senate. Hillary has my vote.

[pepperwood2]

Yes there is a Horserace here in Penna. Hillary with her 35 years experience has all the Horses coming to her rescue. As usual Mr. Ed & Nutter have come out to take Lil Hillary by the hand, spoon fed her, and lead her around to the fund raisers which she looks forward to.

Here in Penna most of us are listening to their songs of praise showered upon Hillary. However, we can''t help but wonder which part of the Horse this talk is coming from.

[jt_lancer]

If there ever was a year when ''None of the Above'' should be on the presidential ballot, this is it!

[b-easy63]

EUREKA!!!! It turns out HRC DID actually sign a pledge agreeing not only to not campaign in Mi and FL but also agreeing to NOT seat the delegates. She signed it in the fall of 07.

http://www.democraticunderground.


com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&
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Now, of course she wants to renege, because what has occurred does not favor her. Sounds like someone just wants to cheat..er I mean... win..any way she can even if it means breaking her SIGNED pledge. So much for what that woman promises-- Hillary will lie, break promises, backstab or do anything to suit herself--NOT the country--but Hillary does it FOR Hillary, whenever following the rules or the law is not convenient.

[blackspirit3]

Hillary wants to garnish your wages to make you buy health insurance. Well, unless of course you are one of her voting too-poor-to-buy-my-own insurance. In which case Hillary will simply give it to you (probably by %u201Cgarnishing the wages%u201D = more taxes of those of us who can afford our own).

[blackspirit3]

TONY PERKINS A MCCAIN SUPPORTER - Tony Perkins is President of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council Perkins addressed the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), America''''s premier white supremacist organization, the successor to the White Citizens Councils, which battled integration in the South. In 1996 Perkins paid former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke $82,500 for his mailing list. SHOULD MCCAIN DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM MR PERKINS?

[blackspirit3]

The Keating Five were five United States Senators, who were accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

[blackspirit3]

IN 1992 THE CLINTONS WENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO FIX THINGS

- The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First president sued for sexual harassment.
- First president accused of rape.
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court

IN 2008 LETS SEND THEM BACK TO FINISH THEIR JOB

[blackspirit3]

Superdelegates need to mull over the high probability that if they choose Hillary for our candidate they will have chosen defeat come November. Hillary cannot attract the large numbers of young voters that Obama brings to the game nor can she garner the votes of independents, disgruntled Republicans, the more affluent and educated, and large numbers of minorities that Obama can %u2014 and these are all voters that our candidate must have to win in November.

[kansas1946]

Hopefully young people can see through most of the BS right here on this board. I have never heard such a bunch of nonsense. Not one word about issues, just blather. You young people, just weigh the issues and vote for who you think best represents your interests and the interest of this country. Block out the nuts.

[blkpresident]

Young Voters,

Vote smart. Make your vote count. America is at war in two hotspots around the world, so please be careful that the next Commander-in-Chief is able to handle the terrorist. Terrorist don''t respect or fear woman in their own culture, so they won''t be inclined to respect one regardless of her title. The next president has to ensure that America is respected and feared by our terrorist enemies to prevent them from destroying the land we call home. America''s foreign-policy cannot be a soft and weak one. The rigors of the presidency requires a strong man because terrorist don''t play softball, terrorist play hardball. Vote smart.

[rowdytexan2]

Vote straight young people! Vote Right! Don''t fall for pretty words and lame promises from a corrupt Chicago politician! He hasn''t passed a bill worth passing in three years! And he was a failure in Illinois for 7 years before that!

Just say NO to Obama the Scama!

[obama8years]

OBAMA TIES TO TERRORISM

The question is if we want a man in the White House who will regularly give his ear to the likes of a Reverend Wright, his and Sabeel%u2019s replacement theologies, and pro-terrorist propagandists like Ali Abunimah on a regular basis? In one sense, Obama could be considered the ISM%u2019s Manchurian candidate given his wide connections to ISM activists and campaign movements such as the Wheels of Justice Tour, Joseph Carr a.k.a. Joseph Smith, Hannah Mermelstein, Anna Baltzer and others.