ROCK THE VOTE!!- Common Joins President Obama

Source: BVBlackspin.Com

It wasn't long ago that rapper and actor Common, who has a reputation as being one of the more progressive and socially conscious members of the hip-hop community, wanted nothing to do with politics.

"I wasn't really into politics. Any politicians I'd see on TV I'd turn the TV off because it all sounded the same to me," Common said during a conference call.

But when Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president, that all changed. Common said he found that Obama was addressing the issues that really mattered to him and people in the communities like Chicago where he grew up, so he supported Obama's successful run for president two years ago.

Now just three days away from crucial midterm elections for the House and Senate, Common is at it again, performing at two get-out-the-vote rallies in Chicago on Saturday and Cleveland on Sunday, urging people to go out and vote for Democratic candidates. It's part of an effort to energize that young base of voters that carried Obama to victory in 2008.

Lynda Tran, a spokeswoman for Organizing for America and the Democratic National Convention, said Obama has framed the election as a choice betweenprogress and regression:

"It's a very clear choice about whether we can keep moving the country forward or moving progress forward by supporting Democrats or whether we want to return to those failed policies that got us in to this mess in the first place," Tran said.

Change, Common said, is a journey. And he believes Democrats are more equipped and more willing to take that journey than Republicans:

"I'm in full support of getting our people out to vote for our Democratic candidates. I'm in full support of Barack Obama and his movement," Common said.

"We have seen it with the running of Barack Obama that he has brought out people that usually wouldn't be interested in anything political, including myself to be honest. I've noticed in my campaigning and observation that young people are engaged and interested in participating in this election because it's a build up to continue to move towards the things we want and the things we need for this country," Common added.

Still the polls, while not perfect, are telling a different story. Just a few years after Obama's campaign energized millions of new voters, many of those same young people are disaffected or not planning to vote in Tuesday's elections.