Young Republicans feeling left out

[underpants]

Source: MSNBC

Mods that was the headline on the msn.com main page


Young Republicans, blue about prospects ahead
Gen-Nexters are feeling left out of the party

David All glanced around Top of the Hill bar and saw the future of the Republican Party. It looked dim. A who's who of young conservatives had gathered, but they were few, and they were frustrated.

"When Reagan was president, I was 9 years old, doing cannonballs and watching 'Rambo,' " says All, 29, who prominently displays the requisite grip-and-grin photos of himself with President Bush in the office of his own L Street consulting firm. He recalled that first Republican presidential debate of the 2008 campaign, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California; it was a veritable Reagan love-fest, with each contender claiming to be more like the conservative icon than his opponents. They sounded like old fogies and intoned the icon's name at least a dozen times.

"You don't hear Barack Obama going around saying, 'I'm John F. Kennedy.' He's saying, 'I'm Barack Obama,' " All says. "There's a reason for that. He's inspiring an entire generation, and it's a generation that's trying to change the world in 160 characters or less through text messages."

Still, many of the party's newbies are preparing for the worst. Matt Lewis, 33, is hoping a trouncing in November will force the old guard aside and give his generation a shot. He was one of the committed young conservatives who came to Washington during the Bush administration, eager to push the politics of limited government and compassionate conservatism. He worked for the Leadership Institute, which teaches youngsters about the principles of classic conservatives such as Edmund Burke and Frederic Bastiat, as well as William F. Buckley Jr. and Barry Goldwater. He now blogs full time at the conservative Web site Townhall.com.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25790713

---

Good read. Mostly annecdotal stuff but clearly the McCain campaign is dropping the ball with even these true believers.

[phantom power]

1. A 9-year-old watching Rambo says something about the YRs....

[mikeytherat]

19. "I was 9 years old, doing cannonballs and watching 'Rambo,'"

It sounds like he still is. Except at 29 he's doing flip-flops and worshiping The Gipper.

mikey_the_rat

[ieoeja]

29. Actually, if you go to the link and read the paragraphs before and after that statement...

... you will find that sentence refers to the fact that he was too young to follow politics at the time. Regarding the I-am-Reagan statements made by this year's candidates, David All said, "I don't even know what means."

[yardwork]

34. He's doing belly flops and worshipping money.

[Frank Cannon]

61. When I read that, I thought "cannonballs" was slang...

for some sort of street drug, like rock cocaine.

[silverojo]

38. Not to mention, it says something about the parents. n/t

[Virginia Dare]

43. Some of us were unsuccessfully trying to make a living..

when Saint Ronny was president. I had a college degree and was making less than a living wage.

[Blue_Tires]

64. fwiw that was one of my favorites at age 9, too

and i'm about the same age

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. They can always enlist.

Fucking cowards. :grr:

[truedelphi]

18. That was my immediate response as well

What else can you say aboutt hem.

Let them enlist - or maybe we should tax everyone who supported the Iraqi war at ten times the going rate. These people are the ones who wanted it!

[underpants]

33. I wonder if any of these "kids" went through the Heritage Foundation Iraq staffing program

you know all the best and brightest in the RW world sent their resumes to the Heritage Foundation and then they were selected to go over to Iraq and take jobs from the "Bathists" and such. I understood that it was a fast track to Repub party status. I wonder if any of these "kids" did that.

[Quantess]

58. Thanks for filling me in on a loathsome factoid.

Yuck.

[underpants]

63. Long WaPo article about it here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48543-2004May22.html

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Well, then . . . hey Kids! I have an idea for you!

Why don't you rebuild your lost party? Recreate it to an organization that has honor, respects the Constitution, has principles uncorrupted by money, power, and hubris. Why don't you start from the bottom and work up. You don't need these idiots who are running your party into the ground. Use your money to start again, work with democrats instead of against them, and make America great.

[knixphan]

27. ding ding ding!

We have a winner!

[Big_Mike]

97. And while we're doing this

Let's recreate our party, and get rid of the corruption. I say turn all the pols out every 12 years. Our government was supposed to be run by the citizenry, with serving in government only short stints of public service, not life at the trough.

[wtmusic]

4. A new-twist on the "history will prove us right" meme

"a generation that's trying to change the world in 160 characters or less through text messages"

Those Democrats, they don't get the big picture. In the year 2525 won't they feel like fools!

[meegbear]

5. Interesting ...

"You don't hear Barack Obama going around saying, 'I'm John F. Kennedy.' He's saying, 'I'm Barack Obama,' "

It's true; that "I'm me" instead of "I'm just like him" that does resonate. Sucks being a young consecrative (but we already know that.)

[opihimoimoi]

6. Too Late....Caught at the Pub Trough early in feeding time...the headlights reveal

a scurrying for the bushes...

Too Late guys... its too late...

Obama has unleashed TRUTH, Reality, and Reason upon the Nation...

Nefarious crap has gone on long enough...

[Runcible Spoon]

7. awww boo-hoo.

:rofl: Get OWNED Young Repukes! Oh, yeah, and FUCK YOU for paying ANN FUCKING COULTER $30,000 to come "speak" at my alma mater :puke:

[Arugula Latte]

8. Dear Young Republicans,

For years, your party vilified anyone who wasn't to the right of Strom Thurmond, and played the politics of viciousness and slander. In the process, your people ran our country into the ground. Instead of making US the minority party, you have made yourselves the minority party. You need to take a good long look in the mirror. Oh, and, by the way, I hear the U.S. Military needs more recruits. What are you waiting for?

[silverojo]

39. I'll tell you what they're waiting for

They're waiting for Mommy to clean the crap out of their undies, after the mere THOUGHT of enlisting caused them to lose control of their bowels.

[hadrons]

9. There's always military service dudes .....

Oh, that's right these are Young Republicans

[SpiralHawk]

62. Republicons serve themselves, not America. So they will not enlist...

...just make a lot of noise about 'patriotism' and wear a flag lapel pin made in China...

Ptooey on the republicon chickenhawks...

[CatBO]

10. Young Republicans are pathetic creatures

To be "young" and to already self-identify with greed, bigotry and corruption is sad. I don't call greedy, corrupt, bigoted kids "young Republicans". I call them thugs and bullies.

Let's hope these thugs and bullies mature a bit and learn something eventually.

[OnionPatch]

67. Yep. Young Republicans are the most despicable.

Older Republicans might have a few excuses for clinging to the GOP hateful political mindset, mainly they're set in their ways and perhaps they witnessed a few decent Republican presidents (Eisenhower, for example.)

But to be young and already hating the world and already adopting these self-serving, elitist beliefs.....well, like you said. It's pathetic.

[Tempest]

11. HaHa

Phil Gramm called and said to stop whining.

Sucks to be you.

[KillCapitalism]

12. This should not be a surprise.

Gen X and Gen Y are the age groups that have been getting fucked the hardest by the GOP. No wonder we overwhelmingly vote Dem.

[silverojo]

40. Amen to that!

Yet another Gen X Democrat. :D

[Fovea]

13. Nothing quite like The Corps

to make you feel like you are a part of something bigger than yourself.

And, as a bonus, not smarter than yourself.

[Maestro]

14. Cry me an effin river you losers!

These idiots are part of the reason whey we are in such a mess.

[anonymous171]

15. Once conservatives go back to being about "limited government"

they might actually be worth listening to. They will still be wrong though.

[Chulanowa]

69. Except for one problem...

By "Limited government" they mean doing away wit the legislative branch, putting the judicial in the pocket of an expanded executive, and shredding every department of the government that isn't authorized to shoot people.

Limited government = military dictatorship

[Ken Burch]

16. Can Republicans actually BE young?

They all look like they have the souls of rich cranky retirees in Arizona.

[Runcible Spoon]

17. All hope is not lost for them. Their unoffical reps Heidi and Spencer are going to Iraq! YAY!!!

:puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke:

[Ken Burch]

50. Why does that picture make me thing of this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMVql9RLP34

(Of course, after hearing that and reading the really creepy comments below it on the You Tube board, you can cleanse your soul by listening
to this: )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAVIL7AoAt0

[Blue_Tires]

65. barbie and ken?

[muntrv]

93. Please revoke their passports once they arrive in Iraq.

:evilgrin:

[Tansy_Gold]

28. I know a lot of those rich cranky retirees in Arizona

And you're correct. Young Republicans will grow up to be just like them, unless they grow smart.


Tansy Gold, grew smart ;-), is not rich but is not cranky either

[boomerbust]

20. Here is an organization

That will gladly accept these Gen - Nexter Conservative Young Pukes
THE FEW THE PROUD THE MARINES

[guitar man]

21. most of them wouldn't make it

I'd bet just about all of their powdered and pampered little asses would be crying for their mama after the first day of boot camp. ;)

[Cheap_Trick]

22. Boo fucking hoo

go piss off you little losers.

[MaineYooper]

23. "Energy is a big winner for us if we can communicate it well."

Typical repub.

Forget the fact that energy policy and reality have gone to hell in a handbasket under W's watch. All that matters is if they "can communicate it well."

sheesh

[librechik]

24. Admit it, YRs--they're just not that into you.

and until you have your own multi-billion dollar corporation, they won't be.

[Maine-i-acs]

25. They just wanted to join 'the winning team" when they came of age.

Too dense to think for themselves, they went running with the pack at the time. They did not realize that the people in charge of the party now are simply taking everyone they can for everything they have, and using whoever they want for whatever they want.

The 'old guard' will simply cash out and do consulting till they check out - fat, dumb and happy till the end. They could care less what the true republicans are going to have to contend with as a long-term minority party.

[LiberalFighter]

26. If they all got together and circle jerk each other they might not feel so lonely.

[silverojo]

42. What do you mean, "if"?

That's probably their favorite hobby! :rofl:

[muntrv]

94. They do. It's called the CPAC convention.

[billyoc]

30. lmao, "Young republicans"?! You're 29, you fucking dick.

:rofl:

[underpants]

31. LOL

well ...considering the company... they do look quite young

:rofl: indeed

[billyoc]

32. You know? These "young" D's and R's are supposed to be for high school students!

Maybe college students at most. What, is this guy still in the Boy Scouts too? :eyes:

[yardwork]

35. They never grow up.

[girl gone mad]

36. Typical Republican..

Bush's "misspent youth" lasted well into his 40s.

[JI7]

52. compared to their Presidential Candidate

most of the party would be considered "young Republicans"

[EFerrari]

57. And 33!

Good grief -- that puts McMore in his prime. :wtf:

[HopeHoops]

37. "Young Republican" = "Cannon Fodder"

Well?

[underpants]

45. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[Cha]

41. Tell them to come on over..

they don't have to be stuck in a fucking time warp.

[SquireJons]

44. I wonder...

"which teaches youngsters about the principles of classic conservatives such as Edmund Burke and Frederic Bastiat,...as well as William F. Buckley Jr. and Barry Goldwater. "

I wonder if they mention that Buckley advocated legalizing weed and Goldwater repudiated much of his entire career later in life.

[muntrv]

95. Goldwater was not opposed to gays in the military, saying "You don't have

to be straight, just shoot straight."

[BreweryYardRat]

46. Boo-FUCKING-hoo.

Either these pricks were brainwashed as kids, or they signed on in the hope of fucking everyone else over and raking in money.

[Doctor_J]

47. brainwashed

their parents blared hate radio & Fox "News" during their impressionable years. They may never recover, but someone has to work as corrupt lobbyists and Media Whores.

[nxylas]

66. There's always hope

I grew up in a RW household and up until the age of about 16, my politics were those of my parents. I think I'd grown out of it by the age of 29, though.

[Dulcinea]

90. Same here.

But St. Ronnie, and then later Bill Clinton, turned me into the Democrat I am today.

[mitchum]

48. Fuck them; they should jump off a cliff

[Lone_Star_Dem]

49. While this is interesting, it's not just the young R's who are disillusioned with their party.

The Gen-Xers are suffering from foreclosure, shrinking 401Ks, inflation and downsizing in the workforce. I know more than a couple who are wondering if they're going to be doomed to work for the remainder of their lives with no hope of retirement.

And the Republicans are offering up nothing better than McCain as the savior. A politician who has historically failed to inspire the majority of Republicans, and in many instances been a target of their disgust and dismay. If I had a quarter for every time I've heard a Republican say they hate him, I'd never have to worry about my own retirement.

It's nice to hear some of their anger and disappointment directed at their own party for a change.

[Hugabear]

51. Bwahaha...let the GOP die a slow, lingering death

Today's youth isn't stupid. They can see the GOP for the racist, homophobic, elitist, fundamentalist party that it is, and they want no part of it. Young Republicans? Pretty soon that will become an oxymoron!

[Ilsa]

53. Do those idiots think anyone is going to buy into Bush's "Compassionate Conservatism" ? nt

[msanthrope]

54. Shorter YR--"No free p.... for us, McCain means we'll have

to pay to party......."

[intheflow]

55. Wah!

They should come over from the Dark Side. O8)

[Jim Lane]

56. Were these disgruntled young conservatives enthusiastic about any of McSame's rivals?

Without going to the trouble of reading the article, I'm wondering if there was any groundswell among this demographic for one of the other candidates. Ron Paul seemed to strike a chord with a lot of college-age voters, but people steeped in Edmund Burke might be less enthralled.

The one whose ideology was closest to traditional conservatism was probably Duncan Hunter. Did they like him?

[Joanne98]

59. They are going to have to get real jobs next year! NO MORE MONEY!

For them. Boo hoo!

[Loudmxr]

60. Wow you give them a "get out of war free"' card and this is how they repay you

But seriously folks. These guys should look to Hagel, Lugar and (God forgive me) LaBoutlier. :puke: (I knew I couldn't hold it) Conservatives that at least believe In America as a pluralistic democracy with a tri-chameral government. :patriot:

[EstimatedProphet]

68. There is no reason to believe these twits would do any better

They don't get it. Conservatism didn't fail because it was led by a bunch of old fogies. It failed because it is flawed, and their new generation griping won't amount to anything more positive than the previous new generation that came in under Reagan. Even Goldwater was young once.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

70. kick

[DogPoundPup]

71. Young Republicans worry about McCain's appeal

Source: CNN

From cyberspace to college campuses, many young conservatives are worried that Sen. John McCain is not appealing to their generation.

Sen. John McCain says he knows how important young voters are.

At a town hall meeting in Ohio this month, a student told McCain that Republicans were a dying breed on his campus.

"I understand the challenge I have, and I understand that this election is really all about the people of your generation," McCain said.

Many young Republicans said Sen. Barack Obama, the 46-year-old junior senator from Illinois, is inspiring voters their age, but McCain, the 71-year-old Arizona senator who has been in office since the early '80s, is not.

Eric Pearlmutter, a member of the Young Republicans at the University of Southern California, said the roaring enthusiasm that follows Obama is missing among conservatives his age.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/24/young.gop/index.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

72. Then he needs to stop yelling at them to get off his lawn.

[Auggie]

80. ROFL!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

73. He should offer to send them to exotic locales for spring break.

Like Iraq.

[The_Casual_Observer]

74. The republicans don't have anybody to run, now or 4 years from now.

bush has ruined it for them for the next generation.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

75. Fine by me.

I mean, I love to see karma work in realtime.

[muntrv]

76. Republicans a dying breed on college campuses? That's because you

actually have to USE YOUR BRAIN on a college campus.

[niceypoo]

83. I have seen Republican students flee from class...

...upset from the professor going over the syllabus. Reality and young republicanism just don't jibe very well in college. Educated people tend not to vote republican.

[muntrv]

86. The syllabus must be heavy reading for them, as is.

:evilgrin:

[Historic NY]

77. Get off the lawn.........no minimum wage for you bums.

So I ask what kid wouldn't like to make a few bucks but has an old fart like him oppossed to it. Maybe they should vote for the Democrats.


http://www.mccainpedia.org/index.php/Minimum_Wage
http://news.aol.com/elections-blog/2007/01/24/john-mccain-votes-to-filibuster-minimum-wage-hike/

<snip>
McCAIN OPPOSED A MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

McCain Voted Against a Clean Minimum Wage Increase for Working Families. McCain voted with the Republicans in 2007 to stall a clean minimum wage increase for working families—before bowing to public pressure and voting to pass the final bill that included tax breaks for businesses. He even voted to completely repeal the minimum wage laws in 45 states and allow the other five states to opt out of any future minimum wage increases above $5.15 an hour.

McCain Called Connecting the Minimum Wage Debate to Senate Pay Raises ‘A Clever Ploy.’ When the Senate was debating a minimum wage increase in 2006 and the Senate’s many pay raises over the past decade were brought up, McCain called the comparison “a very clever ploy.” He defended his opposition to the minimum wage increase, saying he had foregone Senate pay raises, “…sometimes to the dismay of my family.” However, McCain’s 2005 personal financial disclosure reported that his family held assets worth between $27 million and $42 million, which generated income between $1.8 million and $4.6 million. Clearly his situation is not comparable to that of working families making the minimum wage.

But McCain Supported Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest Americans. McCain voted for a budget reconciliation bill in 2005 that included a $60 billion tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, with more than three-quarters of the benefits going to families with $100,000 or more in annual income.
<snip>

[tularetom]

78. Nothing for them to worry about - he has no appeal

[cobalt1999]

79. LOL. I was thinking the same thing

What appeal?

[nam78_two]

81. They should-morons.nt

[Lint Head]

82. Appeal? What appeal?

His skin is a peeling.:dem:

[Deja Q]

85. A banana peel?

Appealing a charge?

Emma Peel!

?

[Deja Q]

84. Well, Young Republicans should stop looking for him in their Happy Meals.

[paparush]

87. Maybe they'll all study abroad in Czechoslovakia.

[onager]

89. The Czech Republic? Not damn likely.

I was in Prague last month. The Czechs have an attitude I read/heard repeatedly: "We were occupided by the Nazis for 7 years and the Communists for 40 years. We don't much like authoritarian governments, thank you very much."

They would probably deport the Junior Fascists as soon as they started spouting their right-wing voodoo.

The Czech Republic is also a close contender for the title of Most Atheistic Country In Europe, which wouldn't go down very well with the right wing's Fundie fellow-travellers.

Combining their irreligion with their distaste for authoritarianism, the Czechs recently told the Vatican to get stuffed. The Roman Catholic Church wants to take over Prague's beautiful old St. Vitus Cathedral and make it a working church again. The Czech government responded that the Cathedral is currently being operated as a museum and they plan to keep it that way.

In Prague's Old Town Square, the statue of religious reformer Jan Huss (burned at the stake by a previous Pope) may be the most censored artwork in history. During the Nazi occupation it was covered with swastika banners, during the Communist era it was frequently draped in plain black cloth by the authorities.

If this was meant to keep the populace from getting any bad reformist ideas, it didn't work out very well. During WWII the Czech underground killed Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich. During the 1968 "Prague Spring," Czech citizens in Old Town Square attacked Russian tanks with Molotov cocktails and sometimes, with their bare hands.

[lib2DaBone]

88. No More Starbucks?

Where will young Republicans meet? How will they cope with the fact that there are no more free lattes? They can always gather in the basement of the gymnasium and huddle around a worn out TV as they watch Faux News and hear reports of bank failures due to Reagonomics and corruption. Ahhh.. those were the days.....

[meow2u3]

91. STP to Young Republicans: my self-inflicted gunshot wound bleeds for you

:sarcasm:

[BeHereNow]

92. Ship their lonely asses to Iraq.

That will take their minds off of themselves.
BHN

[UTUSN]

96. HaHAH!1 Note to young Rethugs: Think "Sugar Daddies"!1 n/t