The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was held this year in Washington, DC, and among the attendees was 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn.
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was held this year in Washington, DC, and among the attendees was 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn. Jonathan is no ordinary teen. He spoke at last year’s CPAC conference and participated in the one held on Feb. 18-20. He is known as a formidable political pundit and the author of two books.
“Defining Conservatism,” Jonathan’s first book, was published when he was 13-years-old and outlines the basis of conservative political thought.
Jonathan defines the four major pillars of conservatism to be respect for the Constitution, the value of human life, limited government, and individual responsibility. His second book was released earlier this month. With youth like Jonathan, the future seems bright for the conservative movement. Dr. Jesse Richman teaches Political Science courses at Old Dominion University and gave his opinion on the recent conference. “The political omens are that 2010 will be a good year, perhaps even a very good year, for Republican candidates in the midterm Congressional elections,” said Richman. Last month, Massachusetts elected Scott Brown, its first Republican senator in 38 years. Brown’s victory delivered a blow to the Democratic majority held in the Senate. Shortly thereafter Evan Bayh, a Democratic senator from Indiana announced that he would not seek a third term. “Some Democratic incumbents and potential challengers are deciding not to run. Conversely, Republicans are having an easier time recruiting candidates,” said Richman. Tiffany Sullivan, a senior at ODU, commented, “I feel like even the Democrats are getting concerned about the promises that are being broken or being force fed through policy.”
Many wonder, with kids like Jonathan on the scene, if younger voters have shifted their traditionally held liberal views to more conservative ones. “The Republican Party was supported most strongly by older voters in 2008. So winning the support of younger voters is surely something the party would like to do, but is not something it has been particularly good at recently,” Richman stated. The youth of America play a big part in politics. Dr. Richman suggested that youth can influence the political parties by getting involved. Mainly “Get involved in its organizations and operations: to volunteer, campaign, contribute and bargain.”
Younger voters in Virginia have shifted their views. Richman said, “Younger voters are tending, in some polls, to take a more negative view of Obama than older voters.” Students here at ODU have varying opinions of the Obama administration. Mike DeLucia, a freshman here at ODU, said, “The Obama administration is so misguided it’s ridiculous.” While Christopher Chang, a junior, said, “I feel that the majority of younger voters are uniformed and don’t care.” On the other hand, Thomas Aquino, another freshman at the school, admitted that he doesn’t keep up with politics, but said, “[The Obama administration] is a nice change.” The recent Health Care Summit highlights the severed ties that exist between the Democrats and Republicans. “Obama made the Republicans look like the bad guys,” said Mike DeLucia, an ODU student.
Recently, the Republican Party has been gathering steam since Obama’s presidential victory steam rolled the GOP. This year’s CPAC conference rallied the conservative cause. It has been reported that the atmosphere at CPAC this year was energized. There were record attendance rates and many claimed affiliation with the Tea Party movement. Jonathan has spoken at many of the Tea Party protests throughout 2009. All in all, the conference served as a breath of fresh air for the Republicans. Now the GOP must focus its efforts within the Right Wing. Dr. Richman added, “One of the challenges for the Republican Party will be to manage the tensions between the Republican establishment and the Tea Party movement in order to field effective candidates who can win.”
