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Another Perspective
The Kids Are Not All Right
A “youth candidate” like Jon Huntsman will have much to learn from the straight-shooting activists of Generation Opportunity.
According to the D.C. blogosphere, Jon Huntsman is the coolest man alive. The Daily Beast asks if he’s “The Only Cool Republican.” FrumForum thinks he can “Strike Gold With Young Voters.” John Fund in the Wall Street Journal speaks of Huntsman’s “Rock ‘N Roll” persona and “cultural outreach” to the younger generation. And why not? After all, he dropped out of high school to play keyboards in a prog-rock band called “Wizard!” He liberalized his state’s liquor laws! He’s progressive on social issues!
Huntsman’s billing as 2012’s “Youth Candidate” is the kind of tag that rivals like Tim Pawlenty and Gary Johnson don’t have yet; the kind that hard-pressed primary candidates desperately need. But if he wants to keep that label, he might have to change his style.
His Jersey City announcement speech sounded passable enough, with its focus on leadership and “owning the future.” The Week even called it “Reaganesque.” Reagan, of course, was the original youth-friendly Republican. Like Huntsman, his speeches were lyrical to the ear — a major component of youth appeal. But Reagan could also sound practical and paternal, as in Nashua when he informed a certain newspaper editor that he was “paying for this microphone.” Any young person with a working father can appreciate that.
With Bachmann already carrying the social conservatives and Romney the Wall Street types, Huntsman’s “Youth Candidate” role could be the major factor to keep him relevant in this race. So he needs to play it right. Soaring rhetoric, like the kind he employed in Jersey City, is a thing of the past; so 2008. Young voters are more jaded now; more receptive to the tough, rational discourse that usually renders the GOP an angry, white old party. It’s time for Huntsman to bring out the straight talk, because, whether or not he plays along, the talk aimed at young voters in 2012 is about to get a whole lot straighter.
A group called Generation Opportunity will see to that. It is an activist organization committed to educating 18-to-29 year olds on the fiscal policies of the federal government. Its name is doe-eyed and optimistic, the kind of slogan you’d see on the door of a guidance counselor’s office. But its strategy is down-to-earth.
Generation Opportunity president Paul Conway gives cold, hard employment statistics to a demographic that will soon comprise over one-third of the U.S. electorate. A former Labor Department Chief of Staff, Conway and his thirteen employees moved into an office in Arlington, Virginia eight months ago, as the end of the 2010 midterms bled into premature coverage of the Republican primary. Sensing that the youth vote might be up for grabs in 2012, and that both parties have a shot at capturing it, they carved out a “two-fold plan” for reaching the under-30 masses. Since then, Conway’s reps have appeared at 94 major live events, doling out job stats and promoting Generation Opportunity’s social-networking pages. They’ve already racked up more than 600,000 Facebook fans, roughly four times as many as the liberal activist group DoSomething.org.
While other political activist groups try to raise voter turnout solely on college campuses, Conway pledges “full engagement with college students, non-college students, and young professionals.” He’s not just targeting the freshman hackeysack players in Art History 101. He’s also going after their senior-spring counterparts, as well as the graduated temp workers who still haven’t figured out how to use their college degrees. He’s speaking to young people in a way that most other groups haven’t dared to: without the platitudes.
“Seventy-seven percent of young people in this country are putting off a major life decision because of the economy,” Conway says, “They’re not paying their student loans. They’re not going back to school and getting more professional training. So they’re coming to some hard conclusions about how recent government decisions are affecting their lives.”
If, as Irving Kristol famously suggested, a conservative is merely a liberal who has been “mugged by reality,” then Conway is the guy in the ski mask lurking near the ATM. His group’s impact, though, is quantifiable. By the Iowa Caucus, Generation Opportunity will likely be the largest youth-based political group in cyberspace. Following its lead, the political discussion in Young America will turn categorical – less Barack Obama and more Archie Bunker.
So Huntsman should swim with the current, and start talking, levelheadedly, about his solid job-creation record. His 2006 gambit in Utah to yield 1,000 new jobs in one summer drew national headlines to the problem of youth unemployment. His state has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, less than half the national average. He has the credentials to not only energize young voters with his hipness, but also to appeal to their newly-formed sense of the bottom line.
He doesn’t need to rhetorically “own the future.” Bill Clinton already built a bridge there, and it burned down. Nor must he recite prose poetry from the podium to inspire millenials to the voting booth. In any other election year, ice-cold logic in an “off-the-record” speaking tone would disqualify him as the Youth Candidate. This year, it’s almost mandatory.
“We’ve had the benefit of being able to watch other activist groups like Rock the Vote, and to see what works and what doesn’t,” Conway says, “But we’re also considering things in light of our situation right now. Currently, the strategy that we’re using is the strategy that is resonating with young voters.”
Hard to argue with straight shooting.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (20) | Leave a comment
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Appleby| 6.24.11 @ 6:54AM
We do not need another Kid President -- been there, done that, time to hire an adult who will act like an adult.
It is not the time to hire anybody named Jon.
lydia | 6.24.11 @ 8:50AM
With the pundit pile-on and anticipated fund raising success through Gen. Op. they will engineer character assassinations of every candidate in the field favored by the TEA Party.
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Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 6.24.11 @ 7:05AM
There was a reference to Huntsman's speech at the Statute of Liberty as being Reaganesque. It wasn't. In fact it was a speech that was in opposition to the Reagan speech. Here are some excerpts. Funny how some things never change. This is not the entire speech which is linked at the bottom:
To me our country is a living, breathing presence, unimpressed by what others say is impossible, proud of its own success, generous, yes and naïve, sometimes wrong, never mean and always impatient to provide a better life for its people in a framework of a basic fairness and freedom.
Someone once said that the difference between an American and any other kind of person is that an American lives in anticipation of the future because he knows it will be a great place. Other people fear the future as just a repetition of past failures. There’s a lot of truth in that. If there is one thing we are sure of it is that history need not be relived; that nothing is impossible, and that man is capable of improving his circumstances beyond what we are told is fact.
There are those in our land today, however, who would have us believe that the United States, like other great civilizations of the past, has reached the zenith of its power; that we are weak and fearful, reduced to bickering with each other and no longer possessed of the will to cope with our problems.
The crisis we face is not the result of any failure of the American spirit; it is a failure of our leaders to establish rational goals and give our people something to order their lives by. If I am elected, I shall regard my election as proof that the people of the United States have decided to set a new agenda and have recognized that the human spirit thrives best when goals are set and progress can be measured in their achievement.
The people have not created this disaster in our economy; the federal government has. It has overspent, overestimated, and over regulated. It has failed to deliver services within the revenues it should be allowed to raise from taxes. In the thirty-four years since the end of World War II, it has spent 448 billion dollars more than it has collection in taxes – 448 billion dollars of printing press money, which has made every dollar you earn worth less and less. At the same time, the federal government has cynically told us that high taxes on business will in some way “solve” the problem and allow the average taxpayer to pay less. Well, business is not a taxpayer it is a tax collector. Business has to pass its tax burden on to the customer as part of the cost of doing business. You and I pay the taxes imposed on business every time we go to the store. Only people pay taxes and it is political demagoguery or economic illiteracy to try and tell us otherwise.
We must put an end to the arrogance of a federal establishment which accepts no blame for our condition, cannot be relied upon to give us a fair estimate of our situation and utterly refuses to live within its means. I will not accept the supposed “wisdom” which has it that the federal bureaucracy has become so powerful that it can no longer be changed or controlled by any administration. As President I would use every power at my command to make the federal establishment respond to the will and the collective wishes of the people.
We must force the entire federal bureaucracy to live in the real world of reduced spending, streamlined functions and accountability to the people it serves. We must review the functions of the federal government to determine which of those are the proper province of levels of government closer to the people.
The 10th article of the Bill of Rights is explicit in pointing out that the federal government should do only those things specifically called for in the Constitution. All others shall remain with the states or the people. We haven’t been observing that 10th article of late. The federal government has taken on functions it was never intended to perform and which it does not perform well. There should be a planned, orderly transfer of such functions to states and communities and a transfer with them of the sources of taxation to pay for them.
All these things are possible; none of them will be easy. But the choice is clear. We can go on letting the country slip over the brink to financial ruin with the disaster that it means for the individual or we can find the will to work together to restore confidence in ourselves and to regain the confidence of the world. I have lived through one depression. I carry with me the memory of a Christmas Eve when my brother and I and our parents exchanged modest gifts – there was no lighted tree as there had been on Christmases past. I remember watching my father open what he thought was a greeting from his employer. We all watched and yes, we were hoping for a bonus check. It was notice that he no longer had a job. And in those days the government ran radio announcements telling workers not to leave home looking for jobs – there were no jobs. I’ll carry with me always the memory of my father sitting there holding that envelope, unable to look at us. I cannot and will not stand by while inflation and joblessness destroy the dignity of our people.
Another serious problem which must be discussed tonight is our energy situation. Our country was built on cheap energy. Today, energy is not cheap and we face the prospect that some forms of energy may soon not be available at all.
Last summer you probably spent hours sitting in gasoline lines. This winter, some will be without heat and everyone will be paying much more simply to keep home and family warm. If you ever had any doubt of the government’s inability to provide for the needs of the people, just look at the utter fiasco we now call “the energy crisis.” Not one straight answer nor any realistic hope of relief has come from the present administration in almost three years of federal treatment of the problem. As gas lines grew, the administration again panicked and now has proposed to put the country on a wartime footing; but for this “war” there is no victory in sight. And, as always, when the federal bureaucracy fails, all it can suggest is more of the same. This time it’s another bureau to untangle the mess made by the ones we already have.
But, this just won’t work. Solving the energy crisis will not be easy, but it can be done. First we must decide that “less” is not enough. Next we must remove government obstacles to energy production. And, we must make use of those technological advantages we still possess.
In recent weeks there has been much talk about “excess” oil company profits. I don’t believe we’ve been given all the information we need to make a judgement about this. We should have that information. Government exists to protect us from each other. It is not government’s function to allocate fuel or impose unnecessary restrictions on the marketplace. It is government’s function to determine whether we are being unfairly exploited and if so to take immediate and appropriate action. As President I would do exactly that.
In recent months leaders in our government have told us that, we, the people, have lost confidence in ourselves; that we must regain the spirit and our will to achieve our national goals. Well, it is true there is a lack of confidence, an unease with things the way they are. But the confidence we have lost is confidence in our government’s policies. Our unease can almost be called bewilderment at how our defense strength has deteriorated. The great productivity of our industry is now surpassed by virtually all the major nations who compete with us for world markets. And, our currency is no longer the stable measure of value it once was.
But there remains the greatness of our people, our capacity for dreaming up fantastic deeds and bringing them off to the surprise of an unbelieving world. When Washington’s men were freezing at Valley Forge, Tom Paine told his fellow Americans: “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” We still have that power.
We—today’s living Americans—have in our lifetime fought harder, paid a higher price for freedom and done more to advance the dignity of man than any people who ever lived on this earth. The citizens of this great nation want leadership—yes—but not a “man on a white horse” demanding obedience to his commands. They want someone who believes they can “begin the world over again.” A leader who will unleash their great strength and remove the roadblocks government has put in their way. I want to do that more than anything I’ve ever wanted. And it’s something that I believe with God’s help I can do.
We who are privileged to be Americans have had a rendezvous with destiny since the moment in 1630 when John Winthrop, standing on the deck of the tiny Arbella off the coast of Massachusetts, told the little band of pilgrims, “We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/a.....13.79.html
Petronius| 6.24.11 @ 8:22AM
The RNC's consultants and their publicists are already telling us "Conservatives" that Huntsman is who we are going to get to vote for next year, primary results at the polls not withstanding. With the pundit pile-on and anticipated fund raising success through Gen. Op. they will engineer character assassinations of every candidate in the field favored by the TEA Party. When primary season opens, the Democrats will cross over and vote for Huntsman and the N Y Times will write another obituary of Conservative America before the snow melts with full knowledge that it will be the last. They know they need only one more liberal in the Presidents chair to get control of the Supreme Court and finish off what remains of the white middle class.
Derek Leaberry| 6.24.11 @ 8:57AM
With their white trash tattoos, earrings, skin piercings, liberal social beliefs, lack of manners and lack of work ethic, I don't expect much from the younger generations.
Jack fromWi. | 6.24.11 @ 9:20AM
Just another super rich Mormon trying to steal the nomination by saying whatever he thinks the boobs will believe. If this guy is the nominee I am voting for the Constitution party. After 11 presidential votes, the Republicans will have lost me. Who the hell wants Obama's ambassador to China?
Occam's Tool| 6.24.11 @ 7:31PM
You know, I don't care if someone is Mormon. I do care whether or not they are a Prince of Pork: Read all about Ron "earmarks" Paul below:
http://washingtonindependent.c.....t-updated.
Bob Grant| 6.24.11 @ 9:30AM
This talk by conservative pundits about the need to "speak to the level of college-age kids...like Reagan did..." is overblown. As one of those "college-age kids" during the campaign in '80, Reagan appealed to me simply because he was the answer to stagflation, international weakness, and general malaise. He explained conservative principles in such a way people intuitively understood was the solution to our problem.
He spoke in simple terms EVERYONE could understand, and with confidence and seriousness.
How about if our candidate puts the saxophone, Styrofoam columns, and reality shows on the shelf and demonstrate true leadership that all can understand.
Deborah D | 6.24.11 @ 10:16AM
Thank you, Bob Grant. Reagan spoke the truth without fear of political correctness or the mainstream media bashing he continuously lived through! He knew what was right for the country and he talked about it so that everyone else knew it too. Where's that guy (or gal?)
Bob Grant| 6.24.11 @ 10:47AM
Graph Christie's bluntness, Herman Cain's personality and business background, Newt's intelligence, Palin's charisma, and Perry's lengthy record of (relatively speaking) successful economic stewardship of a large state, and Obama is beaten by a comfortable 10 percentage points!
Deborah D | 6.24.11 @ 11:23AM
I'm with you!
J.C.Eaton| 6.24.11 @ 9:41AM
What is this baloney about 77% of "young Americans" putting off major life decisions? Where do these numbers come from?They're said to not be paying their student loans...well, who expects them to? Does this government ever chase anyone down? If easy money got a whole lot of fiscal incompetents wrapped around the mortgage axle, then the student loan program did the same thing to a lot of fiscal incompetents and bloated student loans and worthless but expensive college diplomas. Banking/mortgage industry--American colleges.If Huntsman IS intentionally playing to da yutes, he is a twit. Besides, as Derek allowed:why would the Stupid Party, in all its majestic glory, think Conservative would begin to trust a former Obama functionary?
fwb| 6.24.11 @ 2:25PM
To heck with these young people. Scientific evidence suggests that the brains of those between 16 and 25 are not firing on all cylinders. At 16, the outhful wiring begins to deteriorate. It takes until 25, for the adult rewiring to reach completion. So, and although I carried petitions to give the vote to 18 yr olds - s2pid as I was - it is time to retrace our steps and require something much more demonstrative of mental capacity than age in order to earn the privilege of voting.
AND the reason the Framers gave for NOT ALLOWING the people to vote for President, that's right our entire system is broken and the process we think we participate in is not Constitutional, was exactly because the people are easily swayed by demagogues. The Framers of the Constitution knew that the general people were incapable of judging who would or wouldn't make a good president. That is why they gave us the Electroal College, the body that is supposed to choose our president, WITHOUT input from the people. Our country began its downhill turn when the parties destroyed the system by which people of presidential capability were chosen and gave us a system where a bunch of ignorants are listening to sound bite lies and making choices with their emotions rather than knowledge and wisdom.
Stan Redmond| 6.25.11 @ 12:01PM
Who the hell is Huntsman? He is as phony and manufactured by the press as Obama!!! Huntsman MUST be destroyed in the primary. BUT with the stupid RNC primary rules the press and the democrats will come out in full force to ensure this liberal boob is the GOP condidate and will lose miserably to Obama. Depressing how stupid the RNC is. Just stupid.
irish19| 6.27.11 @ 12:47PM
Hasn't Huntsman already pledged not to attack zero?
We need a candidate with the testicular fortitude to attack the Prince of Liars, aka BHO.
Huntsman has already forsworn this.
Eleutheria| 6.25.11 @ 8:30PM
There already is a "Youth Candidate" in this race and his name is Ron Paul. Accept no substitutes!
x| 6.26.11 @ 4:40PM
Ron Paul 2012
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weddingdresses | 6.27.11 @ 4:53AM
We do not need another Kid President -- been there, done that, time to hire an adult who will act like an adult.
It is not the time to hire anybody named Jon.