Warning: The source material for this post (the video below and a transcribed excerpt from the video) contain explicit language that is not safe for work and which may not be suitable for children.
Rock the Vote claims that it is a nonpartisan organization. But you should take a look at their latest web ad on health care reform, featuring Californication’s Eva Amurri and Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford, and judge for yourself:
Just so we’re super clear, this is the pledge — transcribed verbatim from the video — that Amurri and Gilford are asking young Americans to take:
We pledge ourselves to the health and liberty of young Americans, and to government for the people. We pledge to educate ourselves; to stand against those who fight us with mind, body, and spirit; and to never fucking you if you are against us. We will vote against you, work against you, and once again, in case you forgot, never ever, never ever, never ever, never ever fuck you.
I have added emphasis to illustrate the significant differences between the video pledge and the print pledge that appears on the RtV website:
We pledge ourselves to the health and liberty of young Americans. We pledge to educate ourselves and to stand with those who fight for us and against those who do not. We demand health care, and we are willing to hold out for it.
Given these huge discrepancies between the video pledge and the print pledge, you would almost think the folks at RtV know how inappropriate their web ad is. Ya think?
More beneath the fold…
There are so many layers of this to peel back that I don’t even know where to begin.
Okay, I’m not going to lie: I know exactly where to begin. RtV describes itself as a “progressive” advocacy organization, but I wonder what exactly is so progressive about encouraging teenagers and young adults to objectify themselves and use their sexuality as a political tool. And I do mean teenagers, not just college-aged young adults. Friday Night Lights has consistently been marketed to teenagers, and by using a star from that show in this ad RtV is demonstrating that it is marketing this message to teenagers as well.
Heads up, parents of America. The organization that is using a celebrity popular with teenagers to market a message encouraging them to use their sexuality as a political tool is the very same organization that is planning on
working with educators, artists, elected officials, and students to offer an engaging [high school civics] curriculum that demystifies the political process and empowers young people even before they can vote.
Yes, the people who have now brought you “F the Vote” are coming to a high school civics classroom near you.
Aside from the impropriety of the ad’s content, it employs the tactics that were perfected by the Obama campaign to dupe Generation Y into supporting policies that amount to intergenerational theft. In a previous post I linked to an article by Dick Morris, in which he points out that “health care reform” will actually cost young Americans the most while benefiting us least. Ed Morrissey (Hot Air) explores the same theme. By supporting ObamaCare, RtV is actually violating its own pledge (either version) to work for the “health and liberty of young Americans.”
This post wouldn’t be complete without exploring the connection between Rock the Vote, the Democratic Party in general, and the Obama administration in particular. Did you really think there wouldn’t be a connection?
Just take Jehmu Greene (please, take her). She served as RtV president from 2000-2005. In 2004 — while she was RtV president, mind you — Greene served on the Democratic National Convention’s Credentials Committee and after the convention on the Commission on Presidential Timing and Scheduling. Prior to her RtV presidency, Greene worked for the DNC as Director of Women’s Outreach and Southern Political Director.
But the connections go deeper than that. Hans Riemer is RtV’s Political and Issues Director, but in 2007 he also served as the National Youth Vote Director for Barack Obama’s primary campaign. Riemer is credited with RtV’s reorganization prior to the 2008 election, which enabled RtV to engage in unprecedented voter outreach. RtV mentions the election of Barack Obama twice in its list of 2008 achievements.
The moral of this story? While RtV may try to mask itself behind the very thin veneer of non-partisanship, it’s clear from the loyalties of their leaders and the content of their latest web ad that they are anything but non-partisan.
Rock the Vote is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which means that — because of its tax-exempt status — it is prohibited from engaging in either direct or indirect partisan political activity. But given RtV’s ties to the Obama administration and the Democratic Party, you shouldn’t hold your breath for an IRS investigation into RtV’s activities. Hope and change!
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Others who are covering this story include NewsBusters, Sister Toldjah, Atlas Shrugs, and YID With LID.
From the Rust Belt 
Trackbacks
[…] As discussed in a previous post, Rock the Vote bills itself as a non-partisan organization to increase youth voter turnout — but it’s anything but non-partisan. Jehmu Greene, RtV president from 2000-2005, has been active in liberal Democratic politics before and after heading up the organization. RtV’s Political and Issues Director, Hans Riemer, was the National Youth Vote Director for Barack Obama’s primary campaign. […]