Under normal circumstances, it could be described as near electric-shock treatment. But the question now is whether the Republican Party with its Tea Party and talk radio influence (and apparent protection at high media levels to ensure Rush Limbaugh is not criticized), will the Republican Party pay attention to a 95-page report by the College National Republican Committee warning that the party is hemorrhaging and turning off young voters in Olympic event time?
The Republican Party’s troubles with young voters are well known. But a new internal report virtually elevates the threat level to apocalyptic, declaring that the GOP needs a “fundamental re-thinking” of its approach in order to remain viable with the younger generation.
The 95-page report by the College National Republican Committee, based on in-depth research by the Winston Group on voters aged 18-29 nationwide, warns of “a dismal present situation” for the GOP when it comes to Millennial voters.
“Neither technology, nor policy, nor branding alone will fully endear the Republican Party to a generation that has now twice broken for a Democratic candidate by historic margins,” the report concludes. “Yet a message and narrative that focuses on economic growth and opportunity cannot exist without substance behind it. [T]here are still many items in the Republican economic agenda that young voters have not been sold on.”
TMP has details on these criticisms, but here’s a bare-bones list of how it found young voters perceive the GOP:
–‘Closed-Minded, Racist, Rigid, Old-Fashioned’
–‘Couldn’t Care Less’ (about other’s problems or situations)
–‘Stupid Party,’ ‘Errant Republican Voices’
–‘The Most Extreme Anti-Abortion Position’
–‘Anti-Gay Rhetoric’
–‘Turn Voters Away’
Go to the link to read details about each one.
If you boil this down, it really comes down to one of my prime contentions which is that the Republican Party of today has let itself be influenced by the tone of talk radio and the conservative entertainment complex. This is NOT the kind of Republicanism you find when you talk to some thoughtful conservatives who aren’t vomiting up riffs they heard or read. Anyone who is a Democrat, centrists, independent or moderate has had an experience with getting flooded with unwanted emails, or face troll comments on blogs, Facebook or Twitter that reflect an echo chamber in progress.
The problem for the GOP is that younger voters are in their formative years. I have had three young people tell me with a bit of a smirk how DIFFERENT it is to read information online, or watch You Tubes, or PBS and then visit Fox News or turn on talk radio. They are unimpressed the the yelling, red-faced anger, and people being in attack mode aimed at one party all fhe time. But, then, when you point this out you’re a “librul” — the word used as if it instantly discredits something. The problem is: using that word doesn’t eliminate thoughtful evaluation from young people.
A few other viewpoints:
–-Booman:
While they try to put a brave face on it, highlighting a few areas where Republican policies resonate, the overall impression is that young voters think the Republicans are wrong about almost everything.
There is still a left/right divide among young voters, but that dividing line is very far to the left of where it resides in Congress. Part of this is explained by the general skew we get from gerrymandering and the anti-Democratic Senate and campaign finance rules that let finance dominate our politics. But part of it tells a story about the near-future. Conservatism is a zombie ideology. It’s still walking, but it’s dead.
Admittedly, one can find much in this particular part of the poll results that would be as much an indictment of the policies of the Obama Administration over the past four years as it is an indictment of the GOP. However, for better or for worse, President Obama sealed the deal with younger voters for two elections in a row now, so the real question is if, and how, Republicans can find away to win the hearts and minds of younger voters, both those who are aging into their 20s and those who will be voting for the first time in 2016 (which means people who were born no later that 1998.)
Clearly, messaging is part of the problem. If the GOP doesn’t find a way to make itself relevant to younger voters on economic and other related issues, then it’s going to have a huge problem. But, messaging is only part of the problem. As long as the Republican Party is associated with the positions of Social Conservatives and remains steadfastly out of step with the general public on issues like immigration, it is going to find itself increasingly alienated from a voting cohort that is only going to become more important.
—American Thinker’s Rick Moran:
I can already hear many commenters sharpening their pencils, ready to go after the youngsters for being RINOs. But the kids have correctly identified the problem. It isn’t “tweaking the message” that will win back voters, it is a change in tone and attitude. One can stand on principle and still try to be inclusive, tolerant, and welcoming. It’s a no brainer – except that most in the party haven’t figured it out yet.
It is, the report argues, a “dismal present situation.”
What’s more, people tend to forget this, but we’re also seeing a massive shift from a generation ago. It’s not as if young people are always going to be reflexively more liberal — Reagan and H.W. Bush easily won voters under 30 by wide margins. But what was a 20-point GOP advantage in 1984 is a 23-point GOP deficit in 2012.
So, what’s a party to do about this?
In 2012, the Republican Party thought it would be wise to run on a platform what would have scrapped college aid for millions of younger Americans, curtailed contraception access, ended the federal law that allows young people to gain health care access through their family plans until they turn 26, and eliminated Planned Parenthood, among other things.
In 2013, Republicans still support all of those same ideas, but are also arguing against reduced student-loan interest rates, saying things like, “I think, as Republicans, we’ve got to do a better job of explaining how our ideas apply to young people…. But I think personal responsibility is pretty cool.”
It sounds as if the RNC has quite a challenge on its hands. It’s going to take more than a BuzzFeed-esque website to turn this around.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.