Let’s be honest for a moment…. the Bush twins were pretty bad at the Republican convention last night. Embarassing, maybe. What was the point of having them up there anyway?
Apparently, having them up there was supposed to be some kind of appeal to get younger voters? As if putting younger people up there is enough, irregardless of how silly they sound. As if a couple of references to pop culture (Outkast, Sex and the City) is enough for young voters to suddenly connect with a candidate or party and vote for them. I sure hope not!
And obviously the Republicans are not alone in their shallow and condescending approach to young voters. The democrats do the same thing – except that they actually have the Hollywood stars stand up rather than mention them. And they have their MTV buddies set up “Rock the Vote.”
It’s insulting to anyone under 30. The real way to attract younger voters is to engage them with vision and with issues they care about. Cast a vision they can buy into and get behind. Talk about issues that are important to younger voters. If I were Bush, I’d talk about terrorism, I’d talk about a plan to privatize at least part of the Social Security system (we all know we’re not ever going to get out of it what we put into it), I’d talk about tax cuts, I’d talk about education (and educational choice). You don’t have to have a 22 year old who is hip on pop culture. You just need someone who can communicate a clear vision and inspire confidence.
Otherwise the parties just look like a middle-aged guy desperately trying to hang on to fading youth and be cool. You know what I’m talking about. It’s just kind of sad. Just be real.