Tuesday, July 20, 2004

P Diddy's Doing it!

P Diddy launches voter drive from Yahoo News:

P. Diddy Launches Black, Youth Voter Drive

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Music and fashion mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has made a fortune selling records and T-shirts but now he's found a new thing to market: voter turnout in the upcoming presidential election.

The creator of Bad Boy Entertainment and Sean John clothing on Tuesday launched Citizen Change -- a campaign he hopes will attract a record number of minority and young voters to the polls on Nov. 2.

"The forgotten ones will ultimately decide who the next president is," Combs said. "According to the latest polls, Bush and Kerry are neck and neck. We will make the difference. We will be the deciding factor."

Combs said his target audience, the nation's 42 million 18- to 30-year-olds and minorities, has the power to decide the outcome of the race between Republican President Bush and his Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

His campaign will include a line of "Vote or Die" T-shirts, an album, a voter registration push in cities and campuses nationwide, and television commercials on outlets like MTV and Black Entertainment Television.

Combs declined to say how much the effort would cost, but said, "It's a lot more than I thought."

Bush won the 2000 election after gaining a slim majority of electoral college votes, even though Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote. Civil rights leaders have complained that many blacks in places like Florida, where the vote was contested, were disenfranchised -- something they say tipped the election to Bush.

Black voters typically support Democratic candidates but minority groups and especially young voters vote in lower numbers than other groups.

Combs said his was a nonpartisan effort but many advisers are Democrats, including political guru James Carville, a key strategist for former President Bill Clinton.

Also check out: P Diddy launches voter intiative on BET

P Diddy meets with Young Republicans

P Diddy electrifies conventioneers.

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