Politico Panel Discussion With Rosario Dawson

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 | 8:56 AM

By Sarah Scully
Tuesday morning in New York, MTV assembled a diverse panel ranging from Hollywood to DC to discuss the impact of young voters on the election with an audience of college students from NYU, Pace and Hofstra. The end result was a refreshing examination of the myths surrounding demographic voting blocks and a frank conversation about concerns that are not often addressed in the media. Politico's Chief Political Correspondent, Mike Allen, moderated the discussion that started off with a rather dry analysis of data on young voters from HuffPo's Hillary Rosen but quickly picked up speed as the issues of education and race came into play. Rosario Dawson, in particular, brought the conversation to a more personal level with stories about her own experiences and concerns as a Latina voter. She spoke to why the Hispanic community votes on issues rather than party lines and provided a genuinely concerned ear for questions from the audience. Dawson proves that a movie star can speak as well as any Washington pundit on political issues and her work with Vote Latino is one of the best examples of civic activism in this election cycle. The Daily Show's Larry Wilmore, as expected, brought the levity, stating: 'It's not that republicans are racist, they're just not brother friendly," but he also offered some serious advice to Republicans about speaking to social and religious issues to better reach middle class black voters. Tim Russert scion Luke relayed stories from the field of encounters with both idealistic and skeptical college students, grinning and enthusiastically nodding just like his late father. "Juno" writer Diablo Cody added a few witty gems to the conversation, conveying her shock that her cheeky film about the alienation of teen pregnancy was heralded by some as a testament to conservative values. "If I had known I wielded that kind of power, I would have written a movie called 'Don't Vote for John McCain.'" Lone conservative, Alex Vogel held his own with facts and figures to counter the notion that young and minority voters are an overwhelming Democratic force. The occasional partisan jab aside, the panelists, each in their own way, propelled the argument that citizens are moving away from partisan identity and embracing the independent view, which makes for a greater challenge for pollsters and campaign strategists but perhaps also a more honest democratic process.