What do I have to do to get through to the younger generation?

I think at the end of the day, it's easy for people to want to help support his message by engaging in activities that raise awareness to what he is saying, yet not so easy to get them to register and vote when they have no trust for that system.

Look at the mockery the GOP has made of the primaries thus far with whole counties of votes diassapearing.

Let,s be happy in the least they are helping to get his message out to others.
 
No one responds to nagging or preaching.
Ppl only want to emulate ppl they envy.
Don't Worry/ Be Happy, and you will have many followers ...
 
Honestly, if all the supporters who claim to support RP would just show up to vote, he would have won several states already. (And their excuse to themself would have been - Oh, just my vote would not have made a difference.)


I am 19 and I have a 30 something year old co worker who really likes Ron Paul, but does not plan to vote because "Her vote doesn't matter".


THIS is the problem.

There is almost no way of convincing someone to vote if he or she really believes one vote doesn't count. :( It is a simple multiplication problem: One apathetic non-voter multiplied by a few hundred thousand like minded individuals equals a lost election.

I've argued this point with friends and co-workers until I'm ready to tear out the last few strands of hair on my poor ol' bald head!
 
There's a lot of things that young people like myself probably get discouraged from.

-One vote doesn't count
-Add to that, all the election fraud
-Voter registration comes off as tedious


It's something that definitely needs to be worked on. Bringing voter registration forms and mailing them in as well as dragging them with you to your caucus/primary locations is probably the best option.
 
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Those are the true Paultards, IMO. They know (or should know) what needs to be done, but they don't do it anyway. It doesn't matter how much you care about your candidate if you won't even sign up to vote for him.
 
I've found seniors to be an easy sell. Go for what is most important to them. I start by pointing out the shape of social security and medicare and how they keep pushing the age limits back and not giving cost of living increases because they have raided the trust fund. Then I tell them that RP wants to end foreign aid and use that money to shore up these services.

Romney said he will raise the age elibility for Social Security and Medicare =P.......................................................
 
I think this is a common misconception.

I think apathy is often misused to characterize what is truly a sense of helplessness and/or hopelessness, or in other words, a feeling of insignificance. I don't think it's a matter of people not caring, but more often it's a matter of people having lost faith in the system as a whole. Some may view this as a negative thing, and I suppose in some ways it is, in a certain light--such as when it gets between support for Ron Paul, for instance. Loss of faith eventually leads to outright rejection, however--and I consider that a net positive. The only question is how long will the system without faith continue to sustain itself absent that faith; or what contrived crisis will come next to herd rally the fearful masses into participation.

This may be true in some cases, but most people I speak to say things like, "regardless of who gets into office, nothing ever changes." I think this fits the definition of both apathy and hopelessness.
 
Ron Paul is bringing people out to his rallies but son of a bitch - they can't spend 2 minutes filling out a registration card.
I think this bit is key, most of the individuals in that age bracket that I've spoken with don't view it as a couple of minutes one day and an hour tops (maybe longer if part of a caucus) another. "Voting" is this big abstract thing (sometimes even for those who have done it) because of the rhetoric that surrounds it.

As to the level of cynicism, they do not have and for the most part have never had a political party that represents them or that they can respect.
Think of all the shady things that have gone on already in the GOP this cycle, think of Ohio and how they changed the rules (totally legal) in a way that cut all but the establishment candidate out of the local race after early voting had already begun.
Their whole political experience has been of profound corruption from both parties (you don't have to break the rules to play dirty when the system is set up this way, think of Newts special voting), on top of that there is the more and more intent push towards "party loyalty" (loyalty oaths in VA anyone?) and it really cultivates a sense of burn out. They see Paul stand up and say that "you have to go along to get along" is what's wrong with politics and that truth speaks to them but then they see/hear how they have to be involved in the party (often for a decade or more) and be friendly/respectful to those who are already in power there and that if they don't do these things they can't expect change... and honestly that's when many of them give up on using political parties to change things because for many it feels like being asked to go along to get along, it's like being told "the only way to solve the problem is to become part of it."
Any wonder they've no desire to do it?


What I have had success with is putting things into perspective, and keeping the involvement threshold I suggest in pace with the individual I'm talking too.
For example if someone isn't registered to vote then getting them reg'ed and to the polls is where I focus (anything more involved I leave alone until they're comfortable with that step). Part of this is to make sure they know two key things how little time it actually takes & second that being involved in the political process isn't an either/or choice with other action. (Put another way "you can vote on Monday and protest the entire political system on Tuesday, that's totally legitimate")
Most of the youth I've met who have any interest in the political system at all find compromise exceedingly distasteful. So it's important to show them how acting strategically isn't making a deal or supporting 'the lessor of two evils'. It's no coincidence that "Hope" and "Change" got Obama a great turn out from the youth vote.
I'm sure the folks reading this thread know many ways Paul will provide more real change than any of the establishment candidates ever could/would, what we need to do to get more youth participation (based on my own anecdotal experiences) is provide avenues of involvement which promote, as opposed to require, enthusiasm.

A few more technical notes, you can change party online in many (most?) states, you can even register to vote in some AFAIK. Get those web addresses and pass them out to the young voters you know, send them in a text or e-mail "take two minutes now to register via this link. Let me know when you're done/if you need any help :) Thanks!"
Make it a mini social event, if you arrange to go with a group of them they're more likely to show up. Filling out forms is a lot like homework, you can know it is important and even mean to do it but it's easy to say "I'll take care of it right after ____" until it's too late.

Go for what's most important to them, the issues that connect to how they live their day to day lives, "Ron Paul is the only candidate who voted against SOPA and who supports laws that would keep the government from reading your texts without a warrant as they can now" speaks a lot more to the average youth voter than "sound monetary policy is key to the economic well being of our country".

Also, and this is the source of my greatest success, go after the "super delegates" among the youth you know. For example my sister is highly social and quite well esteemed among her social circles. So rather than talking to 40+ people about Paul I've talked to her about Paul, focusing on the issues that speak most to her and emphasizing why this election is an opportunity. Then asking her to talk with her friends about it. Because honestly her friends will listen to her more than they'd listen to me even if I said the same exact things.

I know everyone is different so your mileage may very but I hope some of this proves useful to other supporters here :)
 
THIS is the problem.

There is almost no way of convincing someone to vote if he or she really believes one vote doesn't count. :( It is a simple multiplication problem: One apathetic non-voter multiplied by a few hundred thousand like minded individuals equals a lost election.

I've argued this point with friends and co-workers until I'm ready to tear out the last few strands of hair on my poor ol' bald head!

me said:
Isn't it worth the few minutes it takes to cast your vote just in case it could make a difference? Come with me let's do it together.
It won't convince everyone but considering how close many of the states have been this cycle even a 25-33% increase could be enough and an average of 1 in 4 isn't unattainable. :)
 
When America was young everybody knew that participation in government was more than just civic duty. Representative governance is a blessing. The general thought was that if you did not participate, then you had to live with the consequences.

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." - Pericles, 430 B.C.
Participating in local politics is still critical if you would like to have a say in your governance. Elections are won in the primary/caucus process. Become a delegate for Ron Paul. Reminding people that they must participate in government if they want a voice will likely be a chapter in Ron Paul's book of legacies.
 
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Participating in local politics is still critical if you would like to have a say in your governance. Elections are won in the primary/caucus process. Become a delegate for Ron Paul. Reminding people that they must participate in government if they want a voice will likely be a chapter in Ron Paul's book of legacies.

Just signing up isn't enough.

BECOME a delegate, by putting the work forward and looking up the GOP rules for your county, district, and state, and get a cadre of your family/friends to come out and support you.

http://ronpauldelegates.wordpress.com/
 
I work with alot of people younger than myself and I have children that fall into that early/mid 20's age group and here is the problem I'm having - I can't get them to do anything for themselves or are so fed up with the system (already) that they don't even try. Here's a couple of examples...

I have three younger folks that I work with in Massachusetts. They are all favorable towards Ron Paul and love his ideas. But, and this is what REALLY got me. I told them that the deadline for Ma. was approaching. I told them how to register. I texted them for DAYS reminding them. In fact, I did everything but go and fill out the damn forms for them - every one of them missed the deadline because they "forgot" or some other poor excuse.

Another example...
My own daughter - the one who wasn't old enough to vote in 2008 (but is now) who did the Ozzfest Paulination with me and who spread slimjims all over northeastern connecticut with me and stood outside the town hall on voting day in a cold rain in 2008 holding a Ron Paul signs and talking with other voters as they entered the voting area - THAT daughter, has no intention of voting. I'm trying to get her back on the straight and narrow. Not sure what happened, what made her so cynical of the process that she won't even try, but man - this one hurt.

I see this crap all the time though. Ron Paul is bringing people out to his rallies but son of a bitch - they can't spend 2 minutes filling out a registration card. It's frustrating as hell. I can lead them in the right direction but I can't drive to town hall and fill out the forms for them and I really feel that if I even went to the trouble of bringing them the cards, they wouldn't bother to vote anyway because they couldn't be bothered to fill out the registration card in the first place....

I would have encouraged them fill out the form in front of me....or I would have filled out the form knowing their info and asked them to sign it...and I would have mailed it myself.
 
I would have encouraged them fill out the form in front of me....or I would have filled out the form knowing their info and asked them to sign it...and I would have mailed it myself.

This is what we have to do.

BUT WHYYYYY.

If everyone who has given money to Ron Paul just SHOWED UP to their caucus or if in a primary state, to their unit/county conventions we would be the "Party" by WIDE margins.
 
I work with alot of people younger than myself and I have children that fall into that early/mid 20's age group and here is the problem I'm having - I can't get them to do anything for themselves or are so fed up with the system (already) that they don't even try. Here's a couple of examples...

I have three younger folks that I work with in Massachusetts. They are all favorable towards Ron Paul and love his ideas. But, and this is what REALLY got me. I told them that the deadline for Ma. was approaching. I told them how to register. I texted them for DAYS reminding them. In fact, I did everything but go and fill out the damn forms for them - every one of them missed the deadline because they "forgot" or some other poor excuse.

Another example...
My own daughter - the one who wasn't old enough to vote in 2008 (but is now) who did the Ozzfest Paulination with me and who spread slimjims all over northeastern connecticut with me and stood outside the town hall on voting day in a cold rain in 2008 holding a Ron Paul signs and talking with other voters as they entered the voting area - THAT daughter, has no intention of voting. I'm trying to get her back on the straight and narrow. Not sure what happened, what made her so cynical of the process that she won't even try, but man - this one hurt.

I see this crap all the time though. Ron Paul is bringing people out to his rallies but son of a bitch - they can't spend 2 minutes filling out a registration card. It's frustrating as hell. I can lead them in the right direction but I can't drive to town hall and fill out the forms for them and I really feel that if I even went to the trouble of bringing them the cards, they wouldn't bother to vote anyway because they couldn't be bothered to fill out the registration card in the first place....

I got my parents and all of my brothers on board with Paul except one - my youngest brother just doesn't care. He's never had a job where he worked more than 15 hours/week and my parents pay for his college and all of his other expenses. He doesn't believe there will ever be a draft and a SS bankruptcy is decades beyond his range of planning. The only thing he cares about is the next chance he'll have to play video games. It could be the same for a lot of kids - they just haven't experienced the affect of government in their lives, yet.

My memory must be going bad. I thought I met your daughter in 2007 and she was like 9 or 10.
 
To be fair, the entire voting system we have constructed is fundamentally flawed and they are right to some degree to be cynical. Votes in some states count more than others, and the system, by design, inevitably becomes a two party system in which we have minority rule, as the majority of votes are not cast for a specific candidate or party, but against another. There are much better systems of voting out there, but good luck changing that.

That said, the youngins have historically had very low voter turnout for a very long time, so I don't think it's anything new.
 
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