How Conservatives Can Win the Future

[Confederate Kahanist]

http://action.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147493927



Elijah Friedeman, the Millennial Perspective

Last week I wrote a blog about the future of conservatism or, rather, the lack thereof thanks to the continual move towards liberalism by the Millennial generation.

I was asked to share some ways that conservatives could reach out to Millennials to gain their support in future years and in coming elections. So here is a list of ideas that conservatives should implement sooner rather than later to become a younger, more invigorated ideological group. The list is not at all exhaustive, but should give an idea of the steps that are necessary to bring Millennials to conservatism.

Find a young, charismatic Leader. If there is one item on this list that is superfluous, this is it. A young, exciting new face promoting conservatism isn't an absolutely vital need. However, Millennials are more likely to respond to someone they can identify with. In other words, not necessarily an old, white man.

Give Millennials a reason to vote conservative. This is quite possibly the most obvious way that conservatives can gain the Millennial vote. List the economic, social, military, and foreign policy reasons why it would be beneficial - both personally and as a nation - for Millennials to vote conservative. While this seems obvious, it's not being done. Conservatism must be marketed to Millennials, not just their parents and grandparents.

Be relevant. No, I'm not talking about Michael Steele's misguided attempts at relevancy which come off about as well as someone's grandfather trying to be hip. I'm talking about bringing conservatism into the 21st century. Reach out to Millennials on the media platforms they use, which are mainly internet sources- Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and the like. The Obama campaign successfully harnessed these resources earlier and better than McCain and it showed on election day.

Don't go through the media. As counter-intuitive as it seems, if conservatives want to get their message out, they need to bypass the media. Not totally, but if conservatives depend entirely on the media to channel their message, the media has complete control over what the populous hears. Again, the premiere example of a Millennial vote-getting candidate is Barack Obama. His campaign continually circumvented the media, opting instead to release campaign videos that delivered the direct messaging that the Obama campaign wanted on internet platforms that Millennials frequented.

Show compassion. Millennials are, at least in their minds, a compassionate group of people. Contrastively, conservatives are - in the views of many, especially Millennials - uncompassionate, uncaring, selfish, money-chasing corporate fat cats. This must change. It is entirely disingenuous to say that conservatives are uncompassionate when compared to liberals. But there is at least a kernel of truth to the fact the conservatives as a whole and especially the leaders aren't concerned, or at least outwardly so, with the welfare of the poor and disenfranchised. A little empathy from conservative leaders would go a long way.

Have integrity. Politics is a sick business. The number of politicians with integrity is about equal to the number of Obama's campaign promises that haven't been broken - very few. The number of sex scandals among politicians is staggering. And while politicians on both sides of the ideological divide have had major problems with integrity, the Democrats have a distinct advantage in the PR battle - the media. Consequently, it's all the more important for conservatives to have lives of integrity, both politically and personally. Millennials will notice.

Be positive. I've said this before, but it merits repeating. Conservatives don't have to sugarcoat the issues facing America. But Millennials don't want to hear a doomsday message every time they listen to a prominent conservative. Look, we know America is screwed up. We know the economy is in the pits. We know current world events are headed downhill for the most part. So, how about a little optimism? Conservatives need to put a damper on their inner-pessimist and give the hope factor a little boost. Just because Obama campaigned on hope and change doesn't mean conservatives should automatically push for despair and gloom. This tactic is justifiable considering the current state of events, but let up on the melancholy attitude. Wake up; it's morning in America.

Even if they implement these or similar ideas, conservatives face an uphill battle for the ideological sympathies of young people. But if conservatives merely limp along with the status quo, there will be no battle at all; they will be waving the white flag of surrender, surrendering Millennials and the future direction of America. I care too much about the future of this nation to let that happen.

[muman613]

I mostly agree with this blog except for this :

Show compassion. Millennials are, at least in their minds, a compassionate group of people. Contrastively, conservatives are - in the views of many, especially Millennials - uncompassionate, uncaring, selfish, money-chasing corporate fat cats. This must change. It is entirely disingenuous to say that conservatives are uncompassionate when compared to liberals. But there is at least a kernel of truth to the fact the conservatives as a whole and especially the leaders aren't concerned, or at least outwardly so, with the welfare of the poor and disenfranchised. A little empathy from conservative leaders would go a long way.

Conservatives, and especially religious conservatives, both Jewish and Christian, are the biggest donors to charitable causes. These same conservatives also personally help many of those around them by contributing time and energy to feed and shelter the homeless. It is only playing into the hands of those liberals who try to paint the issue of taxes to mean that conservatives who try to be fiscally conservative are doing so at the expense of the poor and needy. At least in my case I take a conservative and proactive means to help the poor and needy by personally giving, feeding, and sheltering them...