Frank

It is not news that young voters between the ages of 18 and 29 hardly turn out at the polls. And even though this age group makes up almost a quarter of eligible voters, only 24 percent cast a ballot.

Initiatives to motivate this subculture are not news either. P. Diddy, Mariah Carey, Ludacris and even Paris Hilton tried to educate young people about the power of their vote in the 2004 Presidential election with the Vote or Die campaign. (I won't even mention that the last two didn't even register to vote in the 2004 election.)

But now that the 2008 Presidential contenders are once again vying for the limelight in front of this idle age group, new projects are driving young, technologically-savvy people into the world of politics. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have begun to employ YouTube debates as a tactic to approach usually apathetic voters to their cause. The tactic actually makes complete sense: During the summer of 2006, YouTube was one of the fastest growing websites on the Web and was ranked the 5th most popular website on Alexa, far out pacing even MySpace's rate of growth. 100 million video clips are viewed daily on the website, and an additional 65,000 new videos uploaded every 24 hours. Candidates from both sides of the aisle have used YouTube as an outlet for campaign advertising, earning them a new way to reach voters for the 2008 election.

But, the Democrats have gained the upper hand in this method. Perhaps they have had it for a while though. In 2006, a video clip of Republican Senator George Allen making allegedly racist remarks was continuously replayed by YouTube viewers during the campaign. He was not reelected.

More importantly, however, is the fact CNN is partnering with YouTube to air Presidential debates in which candidates fielded questions submitted by users of YouTube. These debates, completed by both Republicans and Democrats, are being hailed as the "most democratic Presidential Debate ever" because the use of technology is able to aggregate questions from a wide range of constituents.

This wide range includes formerly immobile young voters, but now the candidates are coming onto their turf and making politics more accessible. YouTube users between the ages of 12 and 17 are the dominant group on the website, but eligible voters between the ages of 18 to 30 certainly come in second, so by developing this new media source, parties are taking over the reigns from the 2004 Vote or Die campaign by making politics hip to this demographic.

The Democrats have a little extra motivation in reaching out to these YouTube users: In the 2006 mid-term elections, young adults voted for the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate in races for the House of Representatives (58 percent versus 38 percent), the Senate (60 percent versus 33 percent) and governor (55 percent versus 34 percent).

Maybe that motivational fact is what is making the difference clear between these two political parties. The Democrats were the first to hold a CCN-YouTube debate in July and have continued without fail. But for the Republicans, asking for their participation is like asking the candidates to send their kids to Iraq, Michael Moore-style. Then again, Republican candidates do not even bother showing up for a GOP forum sponsored by AARP recently. Candidates Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani skipped the event, citing "scheduling conflicts" and the "crush of scheduled debates." Those three plus John McCain were also absent at a debate on minority issues last month in Baltimore.

CNN finally announced a rescheduled YouTube debate for November 28, originally planned for September 17. Rudolph Giuliani and Senator John McCain have signed on for the two-hour forum, but Mitt Romney drug his feet on the issue. Apparently the candidate has called the YouTube debate demeaning, and has been rather contentious about being "grilled by the likes of a crudely animated snowman or a woman speaking from her bathroom" according to an article in the Washington Post. Both he and Giuliani originally canceled claiming the date could not be saved because they would be concentrating on raising money for their campaigns at the end of the third quarter.

True, more debates have been held this election cycle than the number voters saw in the stretch leading up to the Iowa caucuses in late January of the 2000 campaign, but debates are an important way for candidates to display their qualifications for office. When they fail to show, it is certainly not helping their party look organized or ready to make changes after one of their own has directed the country into a miserable state of affairs. Some in the GOP have backed away from committing the format, but Republicans have a new chance to connect with young voters and they need to take advantage of it.

Either use YouTube as a means to reach a potentially influential voter group, or continue lying down and let the Democrats gain ground in a vital race.