Young voters have power, author tells students

The group's short-term goal is to defeat President Bush.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A co-author of a book that documents the successes of young people who win or swing elections says those voting for the first time could decide the November presidential election.
Mattie Weiss of Minneapolis, one of 12 co-authors of "How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office," says the book details the importance of persuading young people to get involved in politics and making real change in this country.
Weiss, 25, is a member of the League of P---ed Off Voters, an organization based in New York City with the immediate goal of defeating President Bush.
She spoke Wednesday to Youngstown State University students at Peaberry's in Kilcawley Center.
"We can use youth numbers to swing this election," Weiss said. "Also, we can work toward the future. The short-term goal is to get Bush out of office. The long-term goal is to get good young people in political offices."
The names of the book and the organization are more for show and attention than anything else, Weiss said.
"Actually there's a lot of stupid people of color and women in political office," she said. "But most of the stupid people in office are white men."
Group's strategy
Unlike other organizations working to oust Bush from the White House, her group uses a different strategy, Weiss said.
"We go to bars, clubs and basketball games, places where young voters hang out," she said. "We send good-looking people out to bars to talk to people about politics. It's been met with great success. Door-to-door campaigning doesn't work."
The league is concentrating its efforts in the presidential swing states, particularly Ohio and Florida. Weiss said she has made stops in numerous Ohio cities including Cleveland, Akron, Bowling Green, Akron, Kent, Columbus and Toledo.
The book was published in May by Softskull Press, a left-leaning company in Brooklyn, N.Y. The league is distributing copies in swing states. The first printing was 50,000 copies.
The book documents 20 success stories from the past five years of young people who have swung or won elections, mostly on the local level.
skolnick@vindy.com