If polls prove youth to be the progressive swing demographic, isn't it in a whole lot of peoples' interest to make sure we get the resources we need to come out as powerful as our potential?

Hear, hear! Now that the "conventional wisdom" that young people don't vote has been turned on its head, folks who have resources to invest in the movement seem to be taking the youth vote for granted.

I just posted about this entry on the YP4 Blog.

Yea, its too bad that campaigns aren't focusing their resources on such a strategic population. Quite disappointing. Unfortunately this forces us as young people to organize ourselves - which is empowering at the same time. Young folks have been turning ourselves out in the past elections without a whole lot of campaign assistance. Imagine how much our numbers would grow with a little campaign invested "love." We all have a lot of work to do. I have a lot of work to do!! Foo, YOU have a lot of work to do!! "Love," Alicia

y'all wanna see the change, y'all gotta fund the change. nice mattie - i hope you not only have this blog here but personally email it to many of the funders we have all been building relationships with over time, its not too late for them to reconsider their funding strategies. promises won't get votes, and from where i'm sitting, promises won't protect votes! xoxo amb

Mattie, Good for you! Great blog - I will help you get this up the chain. Thanks for all your hard work!

If you want the youth progressive agenda to have a seat at the table, then you need to back a progressive candidate for president: McKinney/Clemente. Rosa Clemente is the first person on a Presidential ticket from the Hip-Hop generation. For more info go to http://www.votetruth08.com

Yeah, its pretty sad. Unfortunitly I think this day and age camaigns are more about money. Its not realy the fault of the organizers, its just the way things are. Even the candidates who do care about the younger voices, who cant afford to contribute money, have to cater to some special interest or they'd never stand a chance. It least thats how it seems to me. I think Obama is going to to do the best he can to get things moving in the right direction. He seems to genuinely care about what the voters want, as opposed to McCain who seems stuborn. I have worked with the DNC and Obama campaign a little and I haven't contributed much money, but I still feel like my voice is being heard with them. Nice blog. I am giong to the best I can to inspire people to vote this election, and to make an informed decision.

Is anyone else concerned about the massive amounts of young activists and organizers that have been diverted to this election...and will probablynot return to community work? This is not in opposition to the very relelvant points mattie makes- credit (and resources) are inded due to young people, we're carrying this election and we can carry many policy decisions after the elction..BUT i don't know if it's strategically better to frame this argument around the election, as oppose to demanding resources for our the ongoing work that we must take up before, during and after november 4. All that being said, i think you already make this argument mattie- let's invest in the future!!

Dear Mattie, You are an terrific writer and accomplished activist. Your bio blows me away -- I'm not sucking up, I mean it. And I agree with you on many points. Given your experience and notable accomplishments in the field, I'm sure you are more informed than I about how youth organizing could use more paid staff, funding, and clearly media attention. But "where's the love?" Come on. It's something of a cold hard world and it is in many ways what you make of it. If you feel you're not getting enough attention, then realize it's a self-service world, and help yourself. Did I hate it when I was your age & younger and middle-aged people would say crap like this? Yes I did. But I think it's true. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm 44, a full-time working mother, and apparently one of the demos the campaigns are fighting over even more now, thanks to the (inane) addition of Sarah Palin to the Rep ticket. I'm also a graduate of a liberal arts college (Wellstone's) where my every need was taken care, and the real world is quite the opposite and it was a bit of an adjustment. I disagree that youth issues are ignored by the Obama/Biden campaign. The economy is a youth issue. Education is a youth issue. Health care is a youth issue. Tax policy is a youth issue, even if youth aren't paying taxes, their parents are. Choice is a youth issue. Pay equity is a youth issue. Energy policy & alternative energy development is a youth issue. The war is a youth issue. The environment above all else is a youth issue. I can't honestly think of an Obama/Biden platform issue that doesn't impact youth and isn't important to the future of this country, youth. As for organizing, as a veteran of several campaigns -- mostly Dems even though I was for years an Independent until Nader pushed me over the edge -- every campaign I've volunteered for hasn't had enough paid staff to take organize adequately at any level, demographic, region, etc. When I say I'm a veteran, I don't mean some "leader" or ensconced insider. Far from it. I've been a low level, anonymous foot soldier walking into offices, small and large, initially shocked and disappointed by the chaos & disorganization. At the same time I've been thrilled by the outpouring of people of all ages, who want to help and stick it out despite being or feeling almost ignored by both young & senior staff, who I think are usually overwhelmed because there simply aren't enough of them. (Overwhelmed doesn't nec mean ineffective.) Young people can easily choose from the buffet of campaign opportunities -- show up at rallies, vigils, marches, go door knocking, write personal letters to swing voters, phone bank for campaigns and MoveOn, write letters to the editor and be published, spend countless hours sorting flyers from boxes of thousands into rubber-banded stacks of 50 for literature drops. There's no shortage of basically manual labor and it's all important. As a middle-aged adult, I also have the personal resources to contribute money, host parties and hound my friends to write checks. Have other people young & old done more than I as contributors or volunteers? Absolutely. I don't think I've done enough, I'm not sure I ever will. But I try and I applaud every one who does whatever they can at whatever level they can. Unfortunately Palin is sucking up WAY too much media attention as the new "rock star" candidate with a soap opera back story. But her star is fading and the more people learn about her "governance" the more they distrust her, thank goodness. It pisses me off that if we watch MSM TV, we get to see her trot out her same lame ass speech verbatim across the country and answer almost NO questions to the press, because she is basically an under-informed, inexperienced, corrupt, ignorant radical. Whereas Joe Biden is out there every day actually thinking and talking and making sense and getting almost no press coverage compared to her. But I'm hopeful this will shift ever more over the next 45 days. Thank goodness Obama has managed to inspire more young people to register, come out and vote than ever before. For the first time in ages I have hope. The Bush "win" in 2000 made me furious, the 2004 election literally broke my spirit and my heart for years. I now have hope for the future of my 5 year old son, and yours. And I hope that it IS youth, not women, that are the deciding factor in this election, since it seems youth, in favoring Obama & Biden have more sense than the women who are enamored with "maverick" / unstable John McCain and "refreshing real person" / unable Sarah Palin. Keep the faith. Thanks.

This country definitely needs change! We need to elect a President that is wise, knowledgeable, visionary and be able to prove to the world that he or she is capable of resolving conflicts via non-violent means. Based on the first presidential debate, I am convinced that neither McCain nor Obama will be able to bring the change we desperately need. Stay tuned and my analysis is on the way!

I've thought a lot about this post and agree that many young activists and organizers have left organizations and movements (that work towards but then most importantly through and past election day) to work for campaigns in the lead up to November 4. It is worrisome that they might not return to community work (and also that many of the EDs and staff of organizations working towards sustainable long term change may leave these orgs to work in a Presidential administration) – but it may be that they do return; that those that were diverted, as well as many more young people who weren't in this field to begin with, return to this work, newly interested in and committed to working in and for the communities they live in. A diverse young staff has been hired and intentionally sought out by the presidential campaigns. This gets a new generation and cohort of young staff politicized, learning about government, and engaging with neighbors, becoming aware of the passions and concerns of their fellow citizens. Working and being a part of the momentum of this exciting election may get them and keep them interested, so that they may consider running for office for the first time, for example, and they are reinvigorated to be activists and organizers – buoyed by the hope and proof of this election season that people standing up for what they believe in can and will make change. Or at least we can hope so. (Thanks, Mattie and Tsedey for this great conversation!)

The suggested questions to ask today: 1. Have you wondered why some members in Congress voted NO for the war in Iraq while the majority voted YES in 2003? 2. Were all the public officials given the identical information before they cast their vote? 3. Is this an act of patriotism and courage or rather an act of inhumanity and betrayal when we send our troops to a war that could have been prevented, but broke out anyway based on the wrong reason? 4. Do you agree with Obama wanting to go after Osama Bin Ladin and have him killed? Can justice be served without killing Osama Bin Ladin ? 5. How does Obama benefit personally and politically when he takes out Payday Loans?

This is what I agree with you on: 1. We need to stop the potential loss of thousands of jobs. 2. We need to stop the loss of a viable financial option by voicing your opinions to the legislature, before a nationwide ban becomes in effect. Now, tell me how to go about voicing my opinions to the legislature effectively. Let's go step by step, one step at a time. Will it work?

Just wanted to respond to this by saying that this is possibly one of the best brief summations I have ever read about why people volunteer on campaigns, as seen through the eyes of one "foot soldier" volunteer. The comments not only effectively capture the mood of campaigns in general, they also have given me a little jolt of adrenaline for this one as I suffer through the endless drivel of sound bite political advertising. Gives me an excuse to focus on what's really important and tune out the garbage. I especially love the variety of backgrounds and ages responding to the blog in general. It just goes to show that Paul's message is pretty universal in it's appeal.

I loved the article and I must say I enjoyed reading comments as well. I never used to read others comments but in this article it made me to read it and I am happy to say that I did it.

Because "community organizers" fill a variety of roles within a broad range of professions, it is very problematic to have a Vice Presidential candidate who feels as though it is ok to mock the back bone of community involvement and civic engagement in this country. Sarah Palin stands as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee because of community organizers who worked within their communities and handbags nationally on civil rights and voting rights issues to ensure that women and minorities were given their equal rights and a seat at the table. The contribution of all those that work daily to educate, empower, and mobilize people to become engaged in their community should never be mocked. Understand that when Mrs. Palin makes light of the work Barack Obama did on the south side of Chicago wholesale handbags , that she is making light of the work being done every day by thousands of teachers, social workers, laborers, grassroots community educators, and Jane and Joe citizens all across this country and the world, and that I find unacceptable.