Youth Politics

So here we are, the day after the election. Obviously, Obama was declared the winner. Was it a close race like a lot of others predicted? No not really. Maybe earlier in the night when the first polls were just closing and the votes had only just begun being counted could the race have been considered close. Seeing as how Obama won some 70ish more electoral votes than he needed, I’d have to say the outcome was not too close, and I had never expected it to be close.

With that being said, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Virginia, my home state, go blue. I watched Virginia very carefully throughout the night, and somehow knew that this election, Virginia was going to change. It had been showing signs of change already. In 2006, Virginia did once again elect a Democrat, Tim Kaine, and that for me was somewhat of a foreshadow of things to come.

Early in the night, Virginia seemed to be holding its ground, and some of my Democrat friends were worried that Virginia may not be changing this time. Here’s how the precincts looked early on in the night.

However, Virginia is typically determined by the two counties at the very top of the state, Loudoun and Fairfax. Fairfax has been voting Democratic for a while now, so it didn’t surprise me that the county was declared a blue region. However, Loudoun, where I live, has been red for the longest time, and probably for as long as the state has been red. So, I was pretty surprised when I saw a 53-47 Obama victory in my county.

Essentially my vote mattered a whole lot more than most other people’s. Sure everyone’s vote counts, but let’s be honest, Obama was declared victorious only moments after the polls closed in California. Did they really have to painstakingly count the votes there? Probably not.

In reality Obama did not necessarily need Virginia to win. He won a lot of the battleground states, and I attribute that to excellent campaign management. Obama has an extremely coordinated grassroots campaign that was highly effective considering the global current events. You could maybe attribute some of it to luck, but in the end it looked like McCain was just not winning too many Independents voters and even disillusioned some of his own party.

For now though, we’ll see what the next four years brings.

Ok so today was the first day I’ve ever voted. I must say it was pretty anti-climatic, but that’s good I suppose. I went when there was no line, and the people at the front gave me “sample ballots” for how to fill out a Democratic ballot and a Republican ballot. I didn’t need them, but took ‘em anyway because well… I guess maybe I thought they’d feel better about themselves if I did so.

In any case, I noticed a lot more people holding only the blue sample ballot (Democrat) than the green one (Republican). Could Virginia become a blue state this time around? We won’t be able to see anything until the polls close at 7PM EST. You bet I will be paying close attention as to what happens in my state, as it’s a bit more exciting when you’re in a supposed battleground state. Virginia has been historically red, so perhaps that could change this time around?

In any case I hope everyone eligible to vote that is reading this has voted or will vote before the polls close. I would hate to have my vote go completely unopposed

Today is election day. I’m sure a lot of you will have voted by the time you get around to reading this. As of this post, I have not gone to vote yet, but rest assured I will.

It’s time to put aside all questions, doubts, fears, or whatever you may have and pick someone, whether it be Obama, McCain, a 3rd party, or someone who isn’t running at all (not recommended). No more speculation. Want to see who wins? Go vote, and we’ll find out soon enough. If you want to give any shout outs to a particular candidate, feel free to do so.

I will update with my experience at the polls and with exit poll reports. Oh how I hate exit polls….

Conservatives will tell you that the media is quite biased against them in general, and I would tend to agree. There are simply more major news sources that are liberally biased than conservatively biased. I suppose it doesn’t help when a show like the Daily Show gets Barack Obama as a guest a few days before the election. And yes, I did watch to see how it would go. It was much more endorsement than funny I’d have to say, but overall it was entertaining to watch.

The reason I bring this up is because well, a LOT of younger folks actually get their news from parody shows such as the Daily Show. Should they be? Well…. technically it makes little sense to do so to be completely informed as the main focus is comedy. However, a lot of younger voters are influenced by these types of shows and it is a pretty good platform for advancing a political idea.

So why is the media so biased against conservative ideas? I’m not exactly sure. I also am not sure why conservatives are more easily mocked. Perhaps it’s because we have a Republican president right now? That’s definitely part of it I think. Are there other reasons? I’m sure, but I’m hardpressed to come up with a good answer. If anyone has any suggestions as to why Republicans have a big disadvantage in the media, feel free to let me know.

Perhaps someone needs to create a show that pokes fun at liberal views. They probably exist… somewhere, but I can’t name one off the top of my head. In any case I will continue to watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report because they air late in the evening and I’m bored during those hours.

I’m a bit distracted right now with personal issues, so I haven’t been posting as regularly as I usually do.

We’re on the home stretch of the election season with voting only six days away. I want to commend all of those in college or otherwise out of state who turned in their absentee ballots to vote in this historic election. I have a feeling the youth turnout will be much bigger this time around, and I am pleased that I know so many of my friends who actually took the time to receive their absentee ballot, fill it out, and turn it in.

For those youths and others who are not out of state and can vote on November 4th, make sure to do so. Remember, not voting is the equivalent of accepting the elected president, whomever it may be. Sure everyone does have to accept the candidate who wins, but those who don’t vote I don’t believe get the right to say, “no I didn’t want that guy”, because by not voting, you automatically accept that others know what’s best for you.

I for one, will make sure to make my own decisions and not have anyone else tell me who should be the next president. If you feel the same way, definitely make it out to the polls. I look forward to seeing a much higher youth voter count this election season, so make sure to get out there and vote!