Endorsements don’t affect vote

I am writing a response to the Editorial Board’s piece titled “Rock(y) the Vote” from Feb. 1. I agree that celebrity endorsements are not that important, but I think that you missed an important point, and also gave too much credit to these public announcements. First of all, to say that Chuck Norris was “obviously a major reason why Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucus” is a complete overstatement, and my hope is that it was meant as an exaggeration. Iowa is well-known for having a large evangelical percentage in its socially conservative Republican electorate, more so than most states, with about 60 percent of GOP voters identifying themselves as evangelical. Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, has obvious appeal with this group, as he is the most consistently social conservative candidate in the GOP race. “The Huckster” simply had to get out and show who he was and he was able to pull off a still surprising victory.\nHowever, my main point is that while most people are going to ignore the celebrity endorsements, there is still the problem that a lot of our young people are not very politically knowledgeable. At the beginning of his first term, less than half of young people knew who Dick Cheney was. That number has changed vastly since, and it has come with an increase in political involvement and community engagement. That is the precise sort of movement we need in our country to make it more democratic and a better place for us all to live. We have an opportunity unlike any other in our country’s history, and whether it is in creating a more sustainable economy, a less poverty-stricken world or a society free of discrimination, the fact of the matter is that it all begins with greater political involvement of young people, especially those in college. It is not whether you are a liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, Socialist or Libertarian, or anything else, but rather it matters that you have an opinion and that you are willing to listen and engage in political conversations for everyone’s betterment. But as young people, it is our duty to get more involved and shape our future political scene today by getting out to the polls!