If You’re Young, This Conservative Thinks You’re Too Stupid To Vote

[Johnfromokc]

Conservobot logic at work:

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/06/01/y/

“I am not particularly enamored with (air quotes) ‘the youth.’” said Goldberg in an interview with the Daily Caller, “I don’t think youth politics is something very special or enviable. Personally, I think the voting age should be much higher and not lower. I think it was a mistake to lower it to 18, to be brutally honest

Interesting. Here's a comment after the article that differes with this right wing asshat:

I went to war at the age of 18. I was surely old enough to get my body/face destroyed by an IED, and then take a random bullet to the knee cap. But apparently when it comes to my ability to make rational thinking choices about which candidate would best represent the issues I most care about, I am utterly incapable of rational thinking.

And another:

Young people are fighting and dying for our country, but yet their too stupid to vote. He's just another arrogant GOP blowhard who's afraid young people will vote Democrat.

So - what say ye conservobots? Agree or disagree?

More proof that one must be something of a moron to be of the working and small business class and vote Republican.

 

[retro]

Goldberg is a dumbfuck... the voting age at 18 is just fine the way that it is.

 

[Accountable]

Then drop the drinking age to 18.

 

[Kyle B]

The voting age is fine at 18. And the drinking age should be lowered too.

 

[Kakapo Dundee]

The insurance industry will tell you that statistically, young people are a poor risk when driving. Their risk assessment and cause/effect processes are not fully developed. This trait makes them much braver as soldiers, but less desirable as drivers.

To competently vote, you need an indepth knowledge of what the parties stand for, what mistakes the parties have made in the past, and the ability to analyse their intentions and capabilities going forward. Sadly, a lot of young people can't do this..... but even more sadly, a lot of adults don't bother to do it either.

 

[Johnfromokc]

The insurance industry will tell you that statistically, young people are a poor risk when driving. Their risk assessment and cause/effect processes are not fully developed. This trait makes them much braver as soldiers, but less desirable as drivers.

To competently vote, you need an indepth knowledge of what the parties stand for, what mistakes the parties have made in the past, and the ability to analyse their intentions and capabilities going forward. Sadly, a lot of young people can't do this..... but even more sadly, a lot of adults don't bother to do it either.

Valid points KD. I have noted that here in America, many young people are far more politically astute than adults. Not all mind you - there are many brain dead youth who cannot tell you who the president, vice president and their legislators are. My own kids are far more politically enlightened than I was at their age, and they readily acknowledge that many of their peers are politically illiterate or simply do not care.

As you stated above, the number of adults that are politically illiterate is extremely sad. Here, millions are brainwashed by the corporate media and our ever popular right wing talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. These people take what these political entertainers say as absolute truth and are too intellectually lazy to seek out the facts of reality for themselves. That sad mental state is readily observable right here in this forum. The numbers of working class Americans who have been convinced to vote against their own best economic interests is astounding. This is the prime reason the United States still does not have universal health care like nearly all other industrialized nations.

All that said, we couldn't possibly be any worse off if more young people took an interest in politics. People like Goldberg fear that young people might actually wake up and demand a fair tax code, more affordable college education and universal health care - that is why he is against young voters.

 

[Kakapo Dundee]

I'm sure that the States is no different to the rest of the world in disliking minority interest groups. We've all seen the mess created when the two main parties are roughly equal. In our case, it's usually the Greens, the business bastards or the Maoris who will offer an endorsement............in exchange of course for legislation that disadvantages the majority.

 

[Jezzebelle]

I agree that if your country feels your old enough to die at war and fight for it, they should also feel you're old enough to vote and drink.

 

[Tim]

Then drop the drinking age to 18.

Why wouldn't you advocate for no drinking age requirement? Doesn't that infringe on personal rights?

 

[Accountable]

Why wouldn't you advocate for no drinking age requirement? Doesn't that infringe on personal rights?

I've got no problem with state & local gov't establishing age of consent/age of adulthood. I just wish they would exercise some consistency (make voting, drinking, etc all the same age). It was that way when I was younger, until Washington overstepped and threatened to withhold highway maintenance money if states didn't raise the age to 21.

 

[MoonOwl]

I agree that if your country feels your old enough to die at war and fight for it, they should also feel you're old enough to vote and drink.

Indeed.

 

[acctnt shan]

LOL thinking back on when I was 18... fairly certain I joined the Democrats with a subconscious knowledge that it would piss my parents off...

I certainly did not take the time to research the different candidates thoroughly and understand where they stood on various issues. It just never seemed to matter much to me... hell, half the time the President does very little differently than what his opposition would have done, because both parties end up getting pushed towards the center of the political spectrum. "Peer pressure" from the American struggles of that time tend to show themselves in decisions made by each President, regardless of how those decisions conflict with their personal ideologies and promises.

Anywho, there are people in their 40s and 50s and so on that don't bother researching candidates either... and I've known plenty of dumb adults too... so I think changing the voting age is pointless. If we're deeming the "transition" age from child to adult as 18, then just stick with it.

 

[Johnfromokc]

I created a separate thread for this video, but it's too good not to share here as well as it speaks to the power of today's youth. This 12 year old Canadian girl explains the fractional reserve banking system and how it is screwing over Canadians. This is the same banking system we have in the united States - if a child can figure this out, no wonder conservatives are worried:

New thread here - http://www.offtopicz.net/showthread.php?84383-12-Year-Old-Canadian-Girl-Explains-the-Fractional-Reserve-Banking-Monopoly

[video=youtube;Bx5Sc3vWefE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Bx5Sc3vWefE[/video]

 

[Tim]

Something else to consider...

If the voting age was changed to 21, you have now removed the voice of all Americans 18-21. Politicians would no longer need to worry about any decisions they make regarding that age bracket.

Just because an age group may not be "mature" enough as a group to make perfect decisions, it doesn't mean we should take away their voice.

 

[Accountable]

Something else to consider...

If the voting age was changed to 21, you have now removed the voice of all Americans 18-21. Politicians would no longer need to worry about any decisions they make regarding that age bracket.

Just because an age group may not be "mature" enough as a group to make perfect decisions, it doesn't mean we should take away their voice.

It was that way from the beginning until the 26th Amendment in 1971.

 

[Tim]

It was that way from the beginning until the 26th Amendment in 1971.

Just because it started out that way doesn't mean it was the right thing.

Do you believe it should still be at 21? Or did the founding fathers get it wrong?

 

[Accountable]

Just because it started out that way doesn't mean it was the right thing.

Do you believe it should still be at 21? Or did the founding fathers get it wrong?

Then drop the drinking age to 18.

This idea of 2 or 3 or 4 different ages to acknowledge competence is ridiculous. I say choose one age - 20 is as good as any - for all adult privileges: driving, drinking, voting, joining the military, marriage without parental consent, all of it.

It's kinda stupid in the US that we say 18 is mature enough to vote, fight for your country, marry, live alone, start a family, etc etc etc ... but not mature enough to drink a beer.

Consistency is all I ask. Scientific studies on brain development would place the age for developing good decision-making skills, such as considering consequences and thinking long-term, closer to 21 than 18. But if we do that how are we going to get someone to enlist for no more reason than the Marines have a cool uniform?

It's an arbitrary number. As long as it's arbitrary, one number is as good as another. Just make it consistent.

 

[Minor Axis]

I agree that if your country feels your old enough to die at war and fight for it, they should also feel you're old enough to vote and drink.

I tend to agree with this however some very interesting statistics seem to indicate that raising the driving and drinking age would be a good thing. It has to do with a teenager's brain and the ability/inability to evaluate risk and generally act responsibly. This is not a blanket accusation, just a statistical one.

 

[Johnfromokc]

It was that way from the beginning until the 26th Amendment in 1971.

This is the way it was from the founding of the nation until 1919. Damned liberals!

 

[Jezzebelle]

I tend to agree with this however some very interesting statistics seem to indicate that raising the driving and drinking age would be a good thing. It has to do with a teenager's brain and the ability/inability to evaluate risk and generally act responsibly. This is not a blanket accusation, just a statistical one.

That's fine with me. I totally agree with Acct. Everything should just be the SAME age (21 or 18 or whatever), if you're not responsible enough for a car... you're not responsible enough to make the decision to sign up for war.