Statement: Generation Opportunity President Calls on North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue to Apologize for Call to Suspend Congressional Elections, Which Would Deny Americans The Fundamental Right to Vote

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Generation Opportunity, a national organization engaging young Americans ages 18-29 to encourage greater participation in the democratic process, is calling on North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue to apologize following a comment she made today at a Cary, North Carolina Rotary Club in which she suggested that Congressional elections should be suspended.

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As reported by the News and Observer, Governor Purdue made the following comment: "You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things. I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that. The one good thing about Raleigh is that for so many years we worked across party lines. It's a little bit more contentious now but it's not impossible to try to do what's right in this state. You want people who don't worry about the next election."

In response, Generation Opportunity President Paul T. Conway has issued the following statement:

"Elected officials in both parties should understand that they work for and were hired by the people, and that voters have invested their trust in them. This is a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy. The suggestion that a citizen's right to vote should in any way be taken away is a disservice to every American, to our men and women in uniform who are fighting all over the world to defend that right, and to every organization that is working to encourage more citizens to become involved in the electoral process. We call on Governor Purdue to apologize for her statement and to retract her comments in full."

Generation Opportunity, which has more than one million fans on one of its Facebook pages "Being American", has seen a strong reaction to this statement by numerous fans. Click here to see in real time the response from citizens in North Carolina and young Americans in the rest of the nation.

ABOUT GENERATION OPPORTUNITY

Generation Opportunity is a non-profit, non-partisan 501 (c)(4) organization that seeks to engage everyone from young adults, to early career professionals, college students, young mothers and fathers, construction workers, current service men and women, veterans, entrepreneurs and all Americans who find themselves dissatisfied with the status quo and willing to create a better tomorrow.

Generation Opportunity operates on a strategy that combines advanced social media tactics with proven field tactics to reach Americans 18-29. The organization's social media platforms – "Being American" on Facebook and "The Constitution" on Facebook – have amassed a total fan base of more than 1.5 million. Both pages post links to relevant articles and reports from sources ranging from the federal General Accountability Office (GAO), to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Brookings Institution, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, and The Heritage Foundation.

Read about Generation Opportunity here; visit "Being American" on Facebook here, and "The Constitution" on Facebook here.

For our Spanish-language page – Generacion Oportunidad – click here.

CONTACT:
Matthew Faraci
202-997-1636
EMAIL

SOURCE Generation Opportunity