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Students walking past Westwood Plaza Monday afternoon came face to face with a political maelstrom.

In front of a cheering crowd, left-leaning speakers lashed out against conservative positions on a host of issues, ranging from the Racial Privacy Initiative to the potential war in Iraq. But this was no Democratic rally. Rather, it was part of the allegedly nonpartisan Rock the Vote campaign.

If you haven’t been watching MTV lately, Rock the Vote is a nonprofit organization that attempts to lure indifferent and ill-informed Americans to the polls by linking voting with cool celebrities. A typical RTV ad will state, “P. Diddy rocks the vote because he cares about health care … Iggy Pop rocks the vote because he cares about social security … why will you rock the vote?”

Since its creation in 1992, the primary goal of the RTV organization has been to “empower people to change the world through voting” – at least on paper. But in practice, RTV has been a highly successful recruitment tool for the Democratic Party. Despite laws which disallow tax-exempt organizations like RTV from being overtly political, it has openly displayed its leftist political bias.

Look no further than the Rock the Vote Web site, rockthevote.org: a liberal propaganda machine firing on all cylinders. Individuals traveling to the site are whacked with hundreds of links to left-wing organizations, including NOW, Fight4Choice, ACLU, Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club. There is even a link which details Sting and Dave Matthews’ efforts to “save the environment.”

In contrast, links to conservative organizations are virtually non-existent, except for one link to the Republican National Committee (which is of course buried beneath the Democratic, Green and Reform parties).

The RTV Web site also issues “action alerts,” which state the allegedly impartial organization’s position on several heated political issues. Without fail, they are uniformly liberal.

Rock the Vote on the environment: “Sign a petition to save the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve … to learn more, read a message from West Wing star Martin Sheen (aka President Bartlett).”

Rock the Vote on campaign finance reform: “The campaign finance system is corrupted. … Pass comprehensive language for meaningful campaign finance reform.”

Rock the Vote on financial aid: “Help make financial aid available to those who need it. This year more than 43,000 young people will be denied financial aid due to 1998 government provision (which prevents convicted drug users who refuse to undergo 12 hours of rehab from receiving tax-payer-funded aid).”

Rock the Vote on the minimum wage: “Call for an increase in the minimum wage. Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate that, if passed, will increase the minimum wage by $1.50 between now and January 1, 2003.”

Rock the Vote on the Electoral College: “The Electoral College should be reformed to provide a more accurate presidential election that reflects the will of all the people.”

The RTV platform goes on and on.

But rather than acknowledge the organization’s obvious political slant, Rock the Vote founder Ricki Seidman (an ex-Clinton staffer) and current executive director Jehmu Greene have clung to tax-exempt status by repeatedly denying the existence of bias.

They can’t keep up the act much longer. Especially when rallies like the one held at UCLA seem to place more emphasis on propaganda than registration. How concerned can Rock the Vote be about voter registration when they hire rapper and voting advocate KRS-One, a man who admits he still rocks the couch rather than the polls every Nov. 5?

With its blatantly overt political agenda exposed, Rock the Vote should come clean and drop its tax-exempt status and nonpartisan label. At least then when it preys upon impressionable young Bono fans, it can do so honestly.