Young Republicans focus on NYC

NEW YORK -- For the first time in the Republican Party's history, its nominating convention is being held in the nation's largest city. In what is widely considered a classical liberal city, thousands of conservatives have gathered to officially nominate President George W. Bush as the party's candidate for the November election.

Not only is this convention the first of its kind for New York City, but it is also garnering notice from within the Republican Party for its high degree of participation from the 18- to 30-year-old demographic. In what both parties are labeling the most important election in more than a decade, it is also proving to be one where an increasingly large number of young Republicans are cutting their political teeth.

"This year, the young Republicans at the convention are 100 percent different from the 2000 convention," said Andrea Dingas, a 22-year-old graduate of the University of Alabama and convention attendee. "The new generation of Republicans is going back to the true origin of the party. We are diverse, and we fight for what we believe in."

Students from all over the nation are working at the convention as volunteers and are highly involved through the Students for Bush national organization.

The students are not only involved in the volunteer effort at the convention, but they are also beneficiaries of the party's outreach efforts during the event, as much as any other demographic.

Just as there are cocktail parties and other soirees for the delegates and party higher-ups, there are other social events specifically tailored to young Republicans.

One such event was co-sponsored by World Wrestling Entertainment's "Smackdown Your Vote!," a bipartisan campaign to register young voters. The theme of these events was reiterated by guest speakers, who lauded attendees for their political activism.

The tone of the events stayed positive and avoided mudslinging. Instead of criticizing the Democrats, speakers stressed the core values that young Republicans represent.

The only consistent jabs at their political rivals have come on the topic of filmmaker Michael Moore. After the convention's opening night, when Moore was singled out by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and received a loud chorus of boos, the controversial figure has become a lightning rod for young Republican hostility.

However, Moore's political message is considered trivial by many of the young volunteers, who are more focused on staffing the convention.

"The young people are the future of our country, and we need to get them involved early in the political process," said Jennifer Stockman, co-chairwoman of the Republican Majority for Choice and a Connecticut delegate to the convention.

The focus of the Students for Bush organization is getting young party members to persuade their friends and family members to register to vote. The group has youth volunteers travel to battleground states like Pennsylvania.

Leaders of the young Republicans liken the political atmosphere to that of former President Ronald Reagan's campaign for re-election in 1984, citing a statistic that 60 percent of the youth vote went to Reagan that year.

They speak of Reagan with reverence and draw a parallel between his hard-line stance on communism and Bush's war on terror.

While it remains to be seen whether the Republican Party will receive the same level of support in this election as it did in 1984, it is abundantly clear that, in bracing for a tight election, the party has a legion of young Republicans stepping up to strengthen their party.

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