Redeeming the Youth Vote

By Brian Fanelli, WireTap. Posted July 21, 2004.

As November inches closer, reporters and pundits everywhere are predicting a close and spirited presidential race. Young voters, like much of the country, have been polarized over the war in Iraq and a sluggish economic recovery. Until this month.

Since earlier this year, Newsweek Magazine has been polling voters between the ages of 18-29. GeNEXT polls, as they are called, are meant to be a representation of young voter's attitudes toward the candidates. This month, for the first time in the history of the polls, GeNEXT found that more than half of the youth they polled (55%) disapprove of the president's performance. More specifically, 60% of young voters say they don't like the way the president has handled Iraq and 56% of the same voters are displeased with Bush's plans for healthcare, the environment, and education.

All the more reason, then for conservative and Christian groups in America to start cranking up their efforts to get conservative youth voting. It may seem obvious, but much of these efforts are being made through fundamentalist Christian organizations, groups who believe in re-electing a president who is pro-life, anti-gay marriage, and unafraid of biblical references in his speeches. This year, many of them are using the same tactics as the non-partisan and openly left-leaning groups doing voter registration and mobilization.

Take the Christian Youth Project, for example. The group formed this year, and clearly has a conservative agenda, although they do not explicitly endorse Bush. Instead, they couch their goals in broad sweeping language, describing the left as "the anti-God, anti-family left' and the right as "the quiet majority.'

The coalition describes the media as a mouthpiece for Democrats, and predicts a saturation of negative coverage towards George Bush in the mainstream news near the election. They are currently fundraising to run a newspaper ad in battleground states that attacks Senator John Kerry's record in the Senate, accusing him of voting too liberal. According to the group's website the Project is also planning a "highly targeted and sophisticated strategy in 10 of these states to identify newly eligible Christian youth and help those in the military or in Christian colleges apply for absentee ballots, and turn out voting-age Christian high school students and new graduates."

By enlisting an army of "new young citizen leaders' the group is clearly taking cues from groups like The New Voter's Project, the State PIRG-sponsored grassroots youth voter mobilization effort to date, and the veteran Music Industry darling, Rock the Vote.

Speaking of Rock the Vote, 2004 has also seen the arrival of a new non-profit Christian campaign called Redeem The Vote, which borrows heavily from the RTV model, using music to raise voting awareness. Redeem the Vote also claims to be non-partisan, asking open-ended questions such as, "You finally have the chance to save the world. What will you do with it?'

The group has yet to directly attack John Kerry or the Democrats but Redeem the Vote founder, Dr. Randuy Brinson did recently appear on the Pat Robertson show, as well as a slew of other "Family-oriented' programming. Vince Lichlyter, the lead singer of Christian rock band Jonah 33, recently accompanied Brinson in an interview with "Family News In Focus' radio program.

"If Christians don't step up in their term, as far as the voting goes, and make their voice be heard," Lichlyter told their audience, "I think the church in general, as a whole, is going to feel the effect."

Jonah 33 is not alone in their concern about the effects of a Democratic win. Building 429, Down Here, Jeremy Camp, The Katinas, and others have agreed to help Redeem the Vote encourage young people to register and vote at different religious festivals and concerts across the nation.

Brian Fanelli, 20, is a peace and global justice activist. He is also a student at West Chester University majoring in comperative literature with minoring in creative writing and journalism.

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