The Youth Vote

Jason Fertig

I know NAS is non-partisan, so I will ask this question purely from an curiosity-based point-of-view.  How can so many younger Americans vote for policies that will saddle them with so much future debt?  I really want to lay the answer to that at the feet of the education system for failing to teach civics, for failing to cover both sides of major issues, and for spending precious class time on fashionable topics like sustainability.  Mark Bauerlein made similar points in an essay on Minding the Campus

We know why faculty lean left.  But why do students? 

I assert that President Obama prevailed nationally because he was "more popular than his opponent," not because his supporters were in step with his positions.  Mitt Romney's iPod playlist may have hurt him in the general election more than we realize. 

Many on the right believe that halting higher education's drift into the gutter will produce a more knowledgeable electorate that may sway the results of future elections, but that plan fails to address the reality that one party is perceived as "much cooler than the other."  If conservatives want to compete nationally, younger voters need to hear (in a catchy way) that "it's cool to be a Republican."  I'm not sure they can prevail in a general election without doing so.

 

  • Share

Most Commented

September 6, 2024

1.

Professor Alleges "Widespread" Discriminatory Hiring Coverup at University of Washington

Audio acquired by the National Association of Scholars describes allegations of coverup race-based hiring coverup at the University of Washington...

October 29, 2024

2.

The Looming Irrelevance of Middle East Study Centers

Today’s Middle Eastern Studies Centers are facing a crisis due to the winds of change in the Middle East and their own ideological echo chamber....

September 25, 2024

3.

NAS Statement on University of Pennsylvania Sanction of Amy Wax

The National Association of Scholars is outraged—but not surprised—by Penn's decision to penalize Wax for exercising her academic freedom. ...

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

September 21, 2010

3.

Ask a Scholar: What Does YHWH Elohim Mean?

A reader asks, "If Elohim refers to multiple 'gods,' then Yhwh Elohim really means Lord of Gods...the one of many, right?" A Hebrew expert answers....