OUR TURN: WILL YOUNG VOTERS TURN OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS?

THE YOUTH WILL VOTE, BUT MAYBE NOT INTELLIGENTLY
FROM: THE GREENVILLE (SC) NEWS [link]]
PUBLISHED FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2004

In August, longtime rocker Alice Cooper said, "Rock is the antithesis of politics. Rock should never be in bed with politics."

According to hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, MTV, WWE, and a host of A-list celebs, that's not true. They mobilized to encourage the under-35 crowd to cast their votes on Nov. 2 mostly for Sen. Kerry.

Democrats are doing a fantastic job at simultaneously selling the politics of fear while creating an element of "cool." On Nov. 2, these targeted voters will cast their votes many for the first time because Pearl Jam said so.

Unfortunately for under-35s in this election, voting rationale will be more about star power instead of candidates and issues.

To my under-35 brethren, let me add one other thought from Alice Cooper. "If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."

Whether that's true or false is up to you. Just know what you're doing before you vote.

TAFT MATNEY, 31, LIVES IN GREENVILLE AND IS THE PRESIDENT OF A LOCAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS FIRM.