People in the media sit at their desks and claim that the Republican message does not attract the youth.
But how do a bunch of old people, locked in their offices, understand how the youth votes? After just a few hours of the CPAC conference, one thing was clear: the youth are involved and do care about the conservative movement.
Young conservatives at lunch during CPAC 2013 (Spencer Finch on left)
Going to this event I figured that I might be the only person under the age of 40. I figured that the vendors displayed would be mostly retirement communities and funeral homes.
However, I, along with the media, was wrong. So often I feel like I’m the only one–the only teenager in the conservative movement. But I am encouraged and pleased to inform you that the Republican Party has a future.
This year CPAC has more young conservatives speaking than ever before. In addition, the vendors seem to be mostly student programs. So where are these young people hiding? They truly are not. The conservative message is widespread among the youth; they just are not as vocal as the liberals.
The presence of the future of the party is huge this year. Allen West is launching a new online television program called “Next Generation TV.” West spent a large portion of his speech addressing the youth and calling on them to carry on the conservative movement to the next generation. Likewise, Eric Cantor exclaimed, “We got to do something” referring to trying to attract the youth vote.
A group of what most people would say are “too young to be conservative” meet up and talked about issues and concerns most people won’t listen to. It’s nice to not feel alone. People (often even Republicans) won’t take young conservatives seriously. There are so many stereotypes about young people only because no one gives them the chance to prove those stereotypes wrong.
The conservative movement is finally tearing down those walls this year.
All in all the tone at CPAC is different. The Republican Party is more diverse in age, gender, and race than ever before.
