Vote '08

Great piece yesterday in USA Today from former Bush speechwriter David Frum called “Why the GOP Lost the Youth Vote.”

Find out how he suggests this trend can be reveresed after you click “read the rest of this entry.” 

Again, let’s repeat that if you’ve already made up your mind you’ll vote for the Republican nominee in November, it’s time for a bit of - & we know this makes many Republicans uncomfortable - soul-searching.

It’s worth your time to read the link, as it’s well-researched, but here are the highlights:

What’s driving young people away from the GOP?

1. Young people react to the success or failure of the first politicians they know. Thus the past eight years of George W. Bush’s failed policies are, unfortunately for Republicans, branded into how young people view the party.
2. Young voters flocked to the GOP in the 80s because of relatively good economic times; the converse of that is true in today’s recession market..
3. The GOP has strong ties to fundamentalist Christianity, which insists upon “its way or the highway.” The youth of today are more tolerant/permissive of other viewpoints.
4. (quoting) “Today’s twentysomethings are browner and blacker than those of the 1980s. Hispanics and Asians both tilt strongly Democratic, as of course do African-Americans.”

Frum says it’s not hopeless though. Among the solutions he offers:

• Capitalize on the fact that today’s young people are putting in more money into the Social Security till than their parents — & will only put in more (with less return) as the baby boomers age
• “Present a sunnier face on social issues.” “We need to make clear that we defend the family not to impose our values on others, but in order to give the next generation of America’s children a fair chance in life.” The “impose our values” thing, I think, is a major branding problem the GOP has to shake.
• Re-emphasize the environment: “Almost every major piece of environmental legislation enacted since 1970 has been signed by a Republican president. This is our party’s history. Let’s reclaim it.”
  
• “Above all, results matter.” This has been especially evident to me for any politician of any party since the debacle of hurricane Katrina.

Another piece in a similar vein is from the Washington Times’ Gary Andres, titled “Where Have All the Republicans Gone?“What do you think?

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 8:16 am and is filed under The GOP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.