Generation Y voters packed the National Building Museum Wednesday night for the 15th anniversary of Rock the Vote, dining on burgers, barbecued beef and potato salad while raising $680,000 to encourage voter turnout and increase awareness of Social Security reform and other issues among the under-30 set.
“Fifty-one percent of you voted in 2004 — a manifestation of what our liberal democracy is all about,” former Rep. Jack Kemp, the nonpartisan group’s Republican co-chairman, told the crowd, hastily adding that he of course meant “small l and small d,” as his counterpart, former Democratic National Committee chief Terry McAuliffe, nodded in agreement.
Honorees included Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, whose “political rock star” status was reaffirmed with cheers and ovations, and former President Bill Clinton (who accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award via a pre-taped video). The rock group Black Eyed Peas also received an award for helping to promote voter registration during the 2004 election.
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