Young Conservatives Ashamed of GOP

In an effort to rally a young Republican base after the 2008 presidential election, when Democratic Party identification among voters ages 18 to 29 was at its highest since 1972, Michael Steele announced that his new communications strategies were going to be "off the hook" and "beyond cutting edge." Part of this approach was a redesign of the RNC website, which features a blog by Steele. When it launched, the blog was titled "What up?" but after considerable media mockery, it was changed overnight to "Change the Game." Now it's simply called "Steele's Blog." But has Steele and the national Republican Party really reached out to their young base and asked them "What up?"

Spend some time talking to college Republicans and you might find that the new GOP strategy really hasn't been that "off the hook." At a Columbia University College Republicans (CUCR) meeting, 21-year-old Learned Foote says proudly, "I hate Republicans." He is a conservative but doesn't align himself with the current GOP. Before moving to New York to attend Columbia, Foote lived in an evangelical household in the Midwest. Despite growing up in a Republican environment, he came of age during the abuses of the Bush era, and this undoubtedly informed his politics. He believes adamantly in the classic Goldwater conservative ideals of small government and limited spending, but feels like he hasn't seen them executed in his lifetime. "[The Republican Party's] allegiance to these ideas has been shaky in the past, never ideal, and horrendous in the past few years. I cannot wrap my mind around the bailouts exercised under George W. Bush...and I'm concerned by certain portions of the Patriot Act," says Foote. He also seems to have little faith that if the Republicans were in office right now there would be real change either. "At the moment, most Republican leadership recycles talking points in response to the Democratic agenda."

Derek Turner, communications director of the CUCR, expresses a similar dissatisfaction with the party. "There are far too many times where I am embarrassed of the Republican Party," he says. "[It] is definitely in disarray.... We are in the midst of soul-searching." Unfortunately, this soul-searching is playing out on a national stage, in which the Republicans with the loudest, most reactionary voices seem to make the strongest impression. Most recently, moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava, who has been criticized for her prochoice views and support of gay marriage, dropped out of the race for an open Congressional seat in New York's 23rd District. Scozzafava was pushed out by third-party candidate Douglass Hoffman, who was running on a far more conservative platform. After Scozzafava's departure, Hoffman was quickly endorsed by the Republican National Committee. This fueled a national conversation about the role of moderates in the 'new right.' Right-wing activist Richard Viguerie took the opportunity to call out Scozzafava for being an "establishment Republican" and rhetorically forged a path for what he believes is the future of the GOP. On his website he triumphantly states, "Tea party activists are the new GOP."

But contrary to Viguerie's analysis, the far right's domination of the media landscape doesn't necessarily mean it represents the Republican Party writ large. While these college Republicans represent a small, particular demographic--living in blue states--as politically active young people, their ideas and intentions should be important to the Republican Party, especially when evaluating its future. Kevin Preskenis, 19, chief of staff of the Georgetown University College Republicans, wants the party to rein itself in from extremist rhetoric and instead focus on building a more concrete ideology. "We need to bring our party back to common sense and practical, pragmatic solutions for a lot of the problems we have right now." In addition, Turner feels that in order for the GOP to regain power in the 2010 elections and eventually win the presidency in 2012, the "party [needs to] prove itself to be both ready to provide solutions, ready to go into action, as well as be applicable to today's times.... We need to be focusing on our own party instead of trying to bring down the president."