Youth to Power

“Michael Connery has written a spirited and saavy guide to the ‘Millennial’ Generation that is reshaping progressive youth politics. If you want to understand the ideas, action, spirit and people building the progressive majority of our future–read this book!”–Katrina vanden Heuvel

Nearly half of today’s young voters under thirty—the Millenial Generation—identify themselves as Democrats, and they voted overwhelmingly Democratic in the 2006 election. Since youthful voting habits are a strong indicator of future party loyalty, we may be seeing the beginnings of a boon for the Democratic Party, which may ultimately lead to a progressive resurgence in American politics.

In combination with their progressive ideals, the Millenials are both civic-minded and entrepreneurial, having come of age in a world marked by an unprecedented revolution in technology. Using their unsurpassed social and technological skills, they have fostered a community spirit that is beginning to reverse the decades-long decline in civic engagement that was famously recorded by Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone.

Youth to Power: How Today’s Young Voters Are Building Tomorrow’s Progressive Majority examines how today’s young people are combining technology with a vigorous social spirit to revive progressive politics. In addition to recounting the history of youth politics since its emergence in the 1972 election, as well as showing where the progressive youth movement still lags behind its more organized conservative counterpart, the book also offers an insider look at the major figures and organizations of the progressive youth boom, and identifies strategies that the Democratic Party can use to capitalize on its new advantages with young voters.

Michael Connery was a co-founder of Music for America, an organization that had great success getting out the youth vote during the 2004 election. He currently blogs about progressive youth politics at Futuremajority.com, and is also a weekend front-page writer at MyDD.com, as well as a contributor to TechPresident.com and the Huffingont Post’s “Off the Bus” blog.