Recently we have been posting a lot about the California College Republican’s race. With those posts in mind, I’d like to talk about youth in the Republican party, and why GOP leaders feel comfortable letting the youth vote go to the Democrats, every time.
It wasn’t always like this. There was a major youth movement for Reagan, and, before the 60s, conservatives on college campuses were not the endangered species they are today. But since the youth of America decided not to trust anyone over 30 and “speak truth to power” (whatever that means), the GOP has decided to give up on us. Aaron Marks, founder of NexGenGOP, after grading the major RNC Chair candidates writes:
The lack of substantial and comprehensive plans for increasing the Republican Party’s appeal to young voters from the majority of the candidates for RNC Chair is rather frightening. Despite the fact that the surge in the percentage of the youth vote received by Barack Obama played a huge role in his victory, most of the RNC Chair candidates seem content to preserve the status quo — working with College Republicans, Young Republicans, and other existing young Republican groups and folks while failing to [reach out] to new young voters. If the Republican Party wants to win elections and be the party of the future, our next RNC Chair is going to have to do much better than that.
Marks is right, even though I support Michael Steele and not his candidate (which is besides the point), the GOP’s faliure to engage young voters only helps the stereotype that Republicans and conservatives are just old white dudes, that push “worn out dogmas,” as Obama said in his Inaugural address.
College Republicans on a state and national level spend most of their free time helping Republican candidates win elections, and they do a pretty good job, but, many of those same candidates fail to reciprocate. CRs don’t only need more funding, they need to know that their opinions matter to party leaders, and that the GOP recognizes that we, young conservatives, are the future of the party. Stronger support from Republican leaders will bolster the CR and YR movements, and make new young voters feel comfortable associating themselves with the party of Lincoln, Goldwater and Reagan. The ideas we believe in are not tired, “worn out dogmas,” but, the principles that make our country great. The GOP can be reinvigorated by the energy and innovation that young people bring to the party, and that our first principles are meant to inspire, if only they pay attention and let us take part.
-Featured on #TCOT Report, thanks #TCOT Report people!
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