Hats off to , one of our counterparts on the other side of the aisle, for bringing my attention to this story.
In a , newly elected RNC Chairman Michael Steele discussed his plan for winning back the youth vote, arguing that Republicans must apply their principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.” According to the Times:
The RNC’s first black chairman will “surprise everyone” when updating the party’s image using the Internet and advertisements on radio, on television and in print…
If you’ve read my three-parter on Winning Back the Youth Vote, you’re aware that I’ve pointed out the need to “rethink our branding and organizational identity.” Thus, it’s news to my ears to hear Chairman Steele embrace such crucial change. Steele continues:
We need messengers to really capture that region – young, Hispanic, black, a cross section … We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-surburban hip-hop settings.
What exactly are these so-called “hip-hop settings,” and how do you apply the GOP’s principles to them? I’m an urban-dwelling millennial who was raised in the suburbs, yet I’m unable to answer this. Perhaps instead, starting out with simplicty and clarity is a better choice. In doing so, an important question to answer is, “How did President Obama and Ron Paul successfully appeal so strongly to young voters, and how can we replicate this success yet make it our own?”
Obama’s appeal to young voters was primarily rooted in three specifics areas: message, branding, and demonstrating genuine interest in millennials. His campaign’s message of “hope” and “change” was simple, but incredibly appealing. His branding was impeccable, and one absolutely must not underestimate the importance of this. Finally, his campaign consistently showed it cared about millennials. I’m not saying that McCain’s campaign did not, but take this simple example: every young Obama supporter I ran into wore a campaign button and attached Obama stickers to his or her backpacks, binders, and notebooks. The Obama campaign just gave away these items out of their offices. Meanwhile, you couldn’t even get a small McCain sticker — let alone a button — without ordering and paying for it online. These little things truly matter!
Ron Paul’s success, on the other hand, is proof that Republicans can succeed with the younger voting bloc. Indeed, exit polls in early primary states showed incredibly large and disproportionate numbers of young voters pulling the lever for Paul. His championing of individual freedom and liberty appealed to youth voters, many of whom are decidedly libertarian.
It is incredibly exciting to see Chairman Steele embrace young voters and demonstrate a commitment to winning their votes, but I’m not sure that I’m sold on the concept of a “hip-hop” makeover. Instead, the areas in which Obama and Paul were so successful, although rather basic, were major distinguishing factors that made a real difference in the election returns. Perhaps the RNC should embrace these models, start out simple, and build its way up from there.
Last 5 posts by Aaron Marks
- Onward and Upward: Building a Sustainable Majority - January 22nd, 2010
- Dear Young Voters: This Is What You Get When You Don't Vote - December 1st, 2009
- The Youth Vote and the 2009 Elections - November 6th, 2009
- The Best of the Post-2009 Election Spin - November 5th, 2009
- Introducing NextGenGOP Executive Director James Kane - October 20th, 2009
This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. How in god’s name could you ever merge hip hop with conservatism? In fact, any attempt to marry the two will make your the cause laughable.
Oh, and while we’re at it, keep the word Freedom far away. The word is so tainted, damaged, and associated with comedy.
The RNC in it’s current form is full of as many fools, liars, and thieves as the DNC.
I wish there was a reset button. That is something the youth could understand.
Sorry. I meant GOP, DNC, and both parties as a whole.
First I would like to say what a great article but I think its missing some details. First what is “Hip- Hop Republicanism” or aka Urban conservatism it is a movement within both Democrat & Republican circles. All you have to do is take a look at Newarks Cory Booker or Adrian Fenty to get a glimps. This movement was born out of a rebellion against the 40-plus years of bad leftist polices and years of mismanaged urban areas under Democrats. In his article “The Blueprint for Urban Conservatism?” Brandon Brice a Harlem Republican who describes himself as being a “Hip- Hop Republican” that given the economic trends of Hip Hop culture, since it’s inception, this one movement has created more African-American entrepreneurs than any other industry in America, which speaks to one of the reason for adopting the name.
As with any business plan there must be a mission, thus the mission of the Urban Conservatism movement is to highlight real issues; healthcare affordability, fiscal responsibility, solutions to better inner city schools and job creation. Let’s think about the trends of economic activity in urban America.
In 2007 Def Jam Chairman Russell Simmons created a credit based debt card for urban families to input funds on a card, without creating debt or overdraft fees, as a means to educate on financial literacy. In 2007, Atlanta rapper T.I. started T.I construction as a means to help recently released ex-convicts find employment. Def Jam South Rapper David Banner teaches low income residents in the south about the importance of saving and investing. Jay-Z, when he’s not on tour, gives more to Make A Wish, Brooklyn Public Schools and the Marcy projects than any other rap celebrity in the New York City area. So now that we’ve discovered that Hip Hop has not been the source of fault for urban America’s downfall; we can now consider the idea that neither the government and Wall Street had a hand in this decay..
In reality, urban conservatism speaks to all of the issue’s in everyday neighborhoods by putting a direct spin on how to counter education, by offering advanced literature of Mac Beth and The Canterbury Tales in neighborhoods schools that never have considered this broad array of topics. The Urban Conservatism movement influences ex-gang members to put down the guns and pick up a book, or a pen to learn how to start their own legal businesses. This movement takes experts out of the hospitals to speak on pro-active health in local community centers. The movement utilizes media contacts, not for personal gain, but to address the crisis of housing affordability, or the need for prison reform so that tax payers aren’t baring the burden via tax dollars. The movement recognizes that America is changing and it’s time for the Republican Party to adapt to new solutions.
Imagine if Hip Hop icons Jay-Z or Puff Daddy, gave concert tours on economic empowerment or how to start businesses, what influence could this create towards 10,000 young minorities under the age of 18.What makes this concept of Urban Conservatism unique is that it pushes minorities to become self sufficient and responsible. The blue print for urban conservatism is for the party to take on new problems in the 21st Century. The movement recognizes that Republicans can no longer run on set guidelines to win elections, but must solely run on the issues.
The Republican Party needs major reform. Chairman Steele is critical to reshaping the party of Lincoln and Reagan back to it’s proper roots. For 8 years the GOP has been just as guilty of screwing things up as the DNC because of this. The GOP followed along into the tired old ideas of Democrats, followed behind and tried to place nice. Most of the Republicans in the GOP now are pansy-waist’s and they don’t deserve to be apart of this party. The GOP of the Bush era must come to an end, the GOP of the Reagan era must be revitalized, and the GOP must be be brought back to it’s old principles. We will continue to lose elections UNLESS we step up and fight for this countries values, it’s principles and it’s founding.
We must stand up and take back American values and the American way of life. Not one where we try to appease everyone, or try to be like Europe. One where we are uniquely American. One where we are SUPPOSED to be.
The future is in our hands, and unless we step up and do it now, our country will fall, and our liberties will shatter like a fine piece of glass hitting a hard, cold, stone floor.