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Volume CXXXII, Number 14 |
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An "Eminem Generation"
TODD BUELL
COLUMNIST
Two years ago, conservative columnist George Will spoke at Bowdoin. His speech was memorable both for the audience's misinformed questions and Will's patronizing responses. I recall that one questioner sardonically addressed Will as "Mr. Pulitzer Prize winner." This student then labeled our generation the "Eminem generation" and proclaimed that we would repudiate conservatism.
After attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this past weekend in Washington, D.C., and reading current news articles, I am convinced that George Will's impudent interlocutor was wrong. Roughly half of the conference's attendees were under the age of 25. These numbers represent a growing conservative movement among college students. Though young conservatives are loud on their campuses, it is less certain how effective they are in winning offices for Republicans.
Here are the numbers: The National College Republicans have more than doubled their membership in three years (full disclosure: I am the Secretary of the Maine College Republicans). They hired 40 field representatives during the last election cycle. They have twice as many chapters as the College Democrats.
The number of conservative campus newspapers and magazines has also increased in the same time period. Both Time and The Nation have taken note of this trend. The Nation noted that the number of conservative papers receiving funding from the Collegiate Network (a conservative organization that helps support the Bowdoin Patriot) has more than doubled in eight years.
Time profiled the conservative newspaper at UC-Berkeley, the traditional mecca for campus liberal activism. The California Patriot has taken staunchly conservative stances in favor of the war in Iraq and against abortion. The paper tackles campus issues too. When the University administration refused to distribute American flag pins on the anniversary of September 11, the paper criticized the University, which eventually capitulated.
The student body's response to the paper has been both hostile and receptive. The paper's Editor Emeritus, James Gallagher, told me that last year a chicano "empowerment group" likely stole large quantities of newspapers after The California Patriot revealed the group's racist founding documents. Gallagher said also that a conservative speaker was "shouted down" last year for speaking against the release of convicted cop killer and liberal cause célèbre Mumia Abu-Jamal. However, not all UC-Berkeley students endorse this intolerant attitude toward conservatives. This year two openly Republican candidates won a seat on their student senate.
Judging from the increase in conservative voices on campus, one might think that college conservatives were making a large impact on national races. College Republican leadership certainly acts as if that is the case. At CPAC, the CR's current national chairman said to a packed crowd that the CRs were the "unions" of the right in that they orchestrate "get out the vote" drives just as effectively as labor unions do for Democrats. A CR chairman candidate had a full bar in his suite and six "handlers" helping him when he tried to get my support.
However some say these claims of relevance and outward pomp are unjustified and self-aggrandizing. A good friend with Washington connections tells me that the CRs are the butt of many jokes among Republican strategists. She says that the CRs are reputed to be absent at most campaign events and are "less than worthless outside of their own campuses." She adds that no Republican Party officials have given any credit to the CRs for winning close elections this past November.
Clearly the role campus Conservatives play in influencing politics "off
campus" is still an open question. However the Time magazine article
profiling The California Patriot reported that our generation is more
conservative than our parents. Studies also suggest that students who
are politically active in college are more likely to run for office when
they leave college than those who do not participate in college politics.
If these trends hold true, Democrats may be losing the "Eminem generation."
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