Young and Conservative

I found this article on foxnews.com interesting. I never was into YAF, though I wish I had been involved with more young conservative organizations as an undergrad. It's another complaint I have about SMC--in the days when the internet was scarcely a presence on campus (only a bit senior year), it was SO hard to find out about opportunities like this while I was tucked away in Indiana. Heck, if it wasn't for my time at AU, I never would have heard about the Leadership Institute and may never have landed this particular position.

Two observations I have:
--I do find it a bit disconcerting that students are looking up to Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter. I don't have as much about MM, though Ann Coulter is not the example I'd want young conservatives to emulate. I think it's great college students are still fans of Newt Gingrich; seeing him speak almost a decade ago in Indianapolis was certainly the highlight of my CR experience. While some may blame Newt for launching the era of sharp political divisiveness in Congress, he can't be blamed for the current hapless, hyper-partisan antics of the Dems. Kudos to Newt and Tom Foley for their current efforts to reach some sort of middle ground. While I doubt that Newt would be very successful in a presidential run, he's certainly as qualified, and conservative, as any of the candidates running.
--I don't agree with Lauren Wolfe's assertion that "students and young people are becoming more liberal." I think the left is growing more liberal, and the right is growing more conservative. Everyone else on campus doesn't care. We didn't even have a College Dems chapter at SMC the years I was there. And it was a struggle to recruit folks for CRs. I feel like I'm a bit too far removed from my own college days, now that it's been nearly a decade since I've graduated, but judging by the state of young DC, there are many, many young conservatives coming out. Whether they'll back the Republican Party is a different story. It's been a disappoint seven years, with a couple of exceptions.

In many ways, I'm envious of the opportunities these students have to get involved, make a difference, and start their careers in politics and activism at such an early age. Perhaps if I had gone to Hillsdale, or if I had been in college these last few years, I would have been just as active in these efforts. Would have, could have, should have, huh?