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Volume CXXXIII, Number 12 |
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Self-selection and politics, and the discovery of odd ducks
PAT ROCKEFELLER
COLUMNIST
A number of polls and articles have come out recently discussing the issue of youth and politics. Some of this is no doubt inspired by what was seen up until a week or so before the Iowa Caucus as a Dean insurgency pressed forth by youthful internet-savvy voters. Immediately before the Caucus, Dean's polling numbers were touted by many as lower than they actually would be because of the "cell phone discrepancy"-the decreased likelihood that young people who rely on cells more than landlines would be contacted by pollsters. As it turns out, Dean did worse than expected, rather than better.
A Gallup poll released in November of last year suggested that those 18-29 are more likely than their parents and the country as a whole to fall under a conservative designation in favoring privatization of social security and being supportive of President Bush, the War on Terror and the invasion of Iraq. However, they are more supportive of gay marriage than their elders and are similar to the national average regarding abortion.
Taking this all into consideration, I thought it would be interesting to witness youthful conservatism outside the familiarity of Bowdoin, so I took a field trip down to CPAC -the Conservative Political Action Committee-in Washington, D.C. last weekend. CPAC is essentially a conglomeration of speakers addressing a number of issues, ranging from terrorism to taxation to social issues like welfare and marriage. It wasn't explicitly for young ideologues, but it certainly catered to them.
Let me first disclose that I did absolutely none of this out of a true sense of journalistic responsibility to give readers a better sense of Generation X or Y or whatever letter those born between '80 and'85 have been arbitrarily assigned. Rather, I was doing some interviews for an honors project the same weekend, and through funding from the Maine State College Republicans, I could extend my stay in the nation's capitol for cheap and maybe I could see an interesting speaker or two and explore some bars. You should all know by now that my journalistic integrity is best measured with an electron microscope and what I write here basically amounts to whatever jumps into my head at the moment. This is the beauty of the op-ed page, rather than the news section. This being senior spring it's all downhill from here, no doubt. But back to what I saw.
The people were by far the most interesting part of the trip, and before I go any further, let me make clear the Bush twins were not there. I know this may disappoint many of you, but your disappointment cannot possibly compare to my own. I really wanted to party with those two, coupled with a few Secret Service guys to buy the shots. In high school I knew a guy who knew a guy whose cousin (yes, this reads like the testimony in a Mafia trial) supposedly partied with Chelsea Clinton in Martha's Vineyard. No one really believed him, but we all liked the way the story ended-the cops came to break up the house party but Chelsea's Secret Service entourage wouldn't let them in. Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth.
But back to the people. The stereotype of a Kucinich rally, or a Nader rally tends to be a bunch of pot heads who often hang around a Ben and Jerry's shop after the difficult work of poster-hanging and petition signing was done, wondering how freakin' weird their hands would look with only four fingers. Like the Simpsons, man! No, a manatee! What? You're high. Well, my stereotype of youthful GOPers will forever involve a bunch of socially awkward 18-22 year olds in ill-fitting suits taking over a D.C. Marriott. These are people who spent the earlier part of the day going over the constitutional reasoning behind abolishing the IRS with a lady sitting in a booth who was dedicated to doing just that, and then spent the evenings sipping a beer and watching others talk. Very nice people, but a bit different.
There were some wonderful speakers, including Ed Gillespie (Chair of the RNC) and V.P. Dick Cheney as well as panels on relevant issues like terrorism and globalization. Issues ranged from the socially conservative to the libertarian and from the wacky to the mainstream. The same might be said for the people.
Any specialized conference will attract those most interested in the subject just as the Dean campaign attracted a certain type of supporter. As it turned out, that type of supporter wasn't as plentiful as pundits and pollsters thought and they probably weren't the best at converting others to their cause. They did an excellent job of rallying the base and turning a no-name governor of a small state into a serious candidate, however. CPAC worked the same way. Most of those who attended were not the mainstream and probably shouldn't be hired to spread the gospel. They did a good job of rallying the base though and providing some great speakers and information. For believers, it was well worth the trip.
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