You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'US Elections 2008' tag.
A horrifying story reaches us from the highly respected Pepperdine University over in the US, where the College Republican (CR) group was denied its right to free speech. Shortly before the recent US Elections the CRs hung a tame sign, which had been approved by the university, reading “Barack Obama socialism ‘08“, in the cafe. The sign was repeatedly removed by the university and placed on the ‘Freedom Wall‘ instead. When the CRs took up this move with the university, they were given the curt response that,
“You can’t have these up because they say “Obama” and “Socialism”. We’ve gotten a lot of complaints from students and professors about it yesterday. The university cannot show support for and approve this.”
There’s something ironic and patronising about moving that sign to the ‘Freedom Wall’. Isn’t freedom meant to be universal and unfettered, not confined within neatly demarcated borders? And so what if some students and professors (gosh, could they have been Obama supporters?) didn’t agree – that’s the essence of freedom of speech, the right to say your piece, loud and proud, and have others say theirs too, regardless of whether you agree with it, all without fear, coercion or impediment.
This whole episode would seem to bear out FIRE’s conclusion that whilst free speech is generally well respected on campuses, instances of infringement seem to spike at election time.
It’s all the more ironic given that only last month Pepperdine awarded Margaret Thatcher, champion of freedom and foe of socialism, an honorary degree.
Domestically, certainly in my time at university we didn’t face quite such opposition on our campus, but that’s not the same thing as saying it doesn’t occur at British universities. We still have battles to fight such as the vile banning of the military by UCL Union. Of course, if you do experience anti-conservative bias on your campus, your first port of call for help and advice in seeking redress should be the excellent Young Britons’ Foundation’s Legal Advice and Support Unit.
Greg Mankiw has crunched the youth voting numbers in last week’s US Elections, and, perhaps not surprisingly, the Democrats won the vast proportion. In his own words,
“It suggests that the major difference between the past two elections and this one was the youth vote. In this election, the young left the Republican party in droves”
The Obama camp excelled at appealing to youth activists and voters. Overall, though, political activity in the under 30s has stayed almost static -18% of voters in this election were under 30, showing just a one per cent increase on the 2004 election. By comparison 22% of voting-age US electors are under 30. Given the supposed unpopularity of the Bush era, especially amongst the younger end of the population, one might have expected a bigger turnout.
It seems, then, that young people are more ideologically manipulable than we might have thought. That at least means there’s a chance for the Republicans to swing them back to conservatism in the 2010 mid-terms and 2012 Presidential Election. At any rate, this election highlighted the value of the youth in politics, both as activists and as voters, but also the need to enfranchise those who currently don’t vote.
It brings to mind Reagan’s speech to the 1975 Conservative Political Action Conference, in which, describing the recent Republican defeat, he said,
“Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as a repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other. But the significance of the election was not registered by those who voted, but by those who stayed home. If there was anything like a mandate it will be found among almost two-thirds of the citizens who refused to participate.”
This contrasts with an article in The Economist back in July which indicated that the Conservative Party is winning over converts. Back in 2004 it seemed the Lib Dems were the Party of the university campus, commanding 40%+ of students’ voting intentions. Labour were in second place, around 30%, and the Conservatives brought up the rear with 20-25%.
But now, in 2008, the whole situation has been reversed, with the Conservatives capturing the position once held by the Liberals – who are showing a general pattern of steep decline over the intervening years – and Labour plodding into freefall.
Previously we reported on the petition allowing activists to salute Sarah Palin and her contribution to the 2008 US Election. Now it’s the turn of John McCain. Over on his official site there’s a petition allowing supporters to express their gratitude to Senator McCain.
The American conservative movement has some hard days ahead, and the post-mortem on this election is already well under way. Senator McCain, though, who produced so much uplifting oratory during the campaign as he urged us to “stand up and fight” and to “serve a cause greater than yourself”, offers these words from which we can take heart:
“I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we make history.”
YBF activist Matt Robinson reflects on the outcome of the 2008 US Presidential Election exclusively for TYC.
After spending the election in Ohio, travelling back to DC and now taking a break with friends in North Carolina I have started to pick over the carcass of the Republican defeat, and Obama’s landslide in the polls, so here goes.
Firstly credit where credit is due. The Democrats campaign was run incredible well, they appealed to previously untapped- the young voter, ethnic voter and ambivalent voter. Added together these gave the Democrats a huge ground swell of support and a huge amount of positive energy which the Obama campaign rode to victory.
Secondly, where was the positive message from the Republicans? I understand it is hard to be positive in the middle of an economic downturn and two wars, but the politics of fear seemed to be employed a little too frequently.
Third (i), John McCain was never allowed to be John McCain. Since the last serious contender bowed out of
the primaries (and by that I mean Mike Huckabee and not Ron Paul), John McCain seemed to be gagged, he was not allowed to be the maverick we have heard so much about.
Again I understand that McCain needed to appeal to the right of the Party, and that may explained the Palin V-P pick. But GOP supporters picked McCain fully aware he wasn’t a Republican of the right. Furthermore it is my view that they picked him exactly because he was not the average Republican! He was the GOP candidate best placed to beat a Democrat female candidate or Democrat African-American candidate. So why then stop using the thing that set him apart from most other Republicans his appeal to independents, swing voters and moderates?
Fourth, talking to many Republicans in Ohio, around DC and now North Carolina I have heard the line repeatedly ‘John McCain was always my second choice’. Again the base of the Republican party were never comfortable with McCain, and struggled to really get on board, until the Palin pick.
Fifth, Donal Blaney says that the Republican victory of 1988 was not George H.W. Bush’s victory but a victory for Ronald Reagan. In the same way, I feel that this election was a bit of a referendum on the last 8 years of George W. Bush. Many voters told me the reason they were supporting Obama was ‘well he’s not George Bush’ (… personally I think that’s a ridiculous reason but anyway…). The Democrats did a great job at painting a potential McCain administration as continuing the Bush administrations policies, and the GOP were always hamstrung by this.
Sixth, one Republican volunteer told me that, ‘a bit of blood-letting isn’t a bad thing, and we haven’t had a purge in a while’. At first I was taken aback but when I thought about it they were right. A good kicking is sometimes required to shake people out of their closed minded malaise. This may be the chance the Republicans have to develop some new exciting ideas.
Finally, and possibly most controversially (sorry Ed) but I am still not certain that Palin was the correct 2008 VP pick, or is the obvious 2012 pick. I have said before that she has millions of supporters, and is exciting and breaks the normal Republican mould. But, she repulses many millions too, and she was the reason that some voters didn’t vote for McCain. Now I am not saying that McCain would have been more successful with a different VP pick, but Palin is divisive. A few more years as Governor will give Palin the time to develop new ideas and gain credibility in office.
If you listen to the liberal media in the USA then the Republicans are in trouble; they have a dearth of ideas and exciting candidates. But Fred Barnes on Fox News made an excellent point - four years ago Barack Obama was still a State Senator in Illinois, and four years is an incredibly long time in politics.
Obama is the first African-American President of the United States of America, something that will make world history. As people line the streets celebrating wrapped in the American flag, McCain supporters feel defeated and down.
TYC has been following the exploits of 10 YBF activists who helped on the McCain campaign trail. There seems to be no denying that a majority of young Conservatives are McCain supporters. However, TYC is a blog that covers the broad spectrum of the young conservative movement, and there are some young Tories who supported Obama.
As a McCain fan myself, after talking to some Obama supporters and seeing the reaction of his election to the presidency, my social conscience feels shaken to see how the opportunity of having an American Black President will help to tackle some of the long-term social problems of the US and wider world.
The phrase “change we can believe in” sends shudders of dismay down many of our spines; along with the thought of Americans running around deflating their tyres, whilst troops are being pulled out of Iraq with possibly disastrous consequences – just a few of the numerous negatives that having Obama as president will cause.
However, does this mean we should deny some of the positives? I discussed the matter with James Morton, the Devon and Cornwall Conservative Future Chairman, a man that cannot deny the positives Obama’s presidency will cause. Here are his thoughts on the matter:
“America is ready for change, not just in the White House but on the wider
horizon.
I was fortunate enough to be in Congress when Rosa Parks had her Lying in State in the Rotunda. As they brought the coffin out of Congress and drove away the atmosphere and reception from the people lining the streets is only comparable to Princess Diana’s funeral. It was clear that regardless of race, colour, or gender, the people of America wanted to put the days of prejudice far behind them.
Obama’s election, on a domestic basis, represents a very welcomed final chapter of a long struggle which has burdened the USA for decades, if not centuries. The American society needed this to be put behind them. I can recall writing A-Level essays on affirmative action and the extensive debate we had as to whether there would ever be an Afro-American President, we decided it would happen but not for at least 15 years – we debated this 4 years ago.
On an international scale, the days of unnecessary aggression towards foreign States may be over. Obama never once mentioned terrorism in his acceptance speech. Instead he spoke of peace, family, equality and change whilst accepting defence is needed in the right circumstances. Could we ask for anything more from the President of one of the most powerful nations in the world?
The American people have spoken, they are ready to embrace change in both domestic and foreign relations. This is something I welcome and look forward to.”
Perhaps we have to accept sometimes that it is better to listen to our hearts than our heads, even in the world of politics….only time will tell!
Regardless of whatever else you might think about Sarah Palin, she was the highlight of the 2008 US Presidential election. Sassy, controversial, dynamite. She brought a touch of spellbinding magic to the campaign trail.
Undoubtedly, she set activist grassroots of the Republican Party alight; and the conservative movement has a new star in its firmament. As the dust settles on the Obama victory, and soul-searching and apportioning of blame sets in within the Republican Party, Sarah has faced some ugly comments, on top of those her detractors levelled during the campaign. Many activists have been looking for a way to let Governor Palin know how much we thank her for efforts, and to keep on going as we focus on the battles of 2010 and 2012.
Leading US conservative Michelle Malkin has created a petition to allow activists to send Sarah a vote of thanks – sign it here
Update: The petition is exceeded 10,000 signatories and is now closed
The Young Britons’ Foundation have gathered a collect of reactions to the events in America.
I think Douglas Murray has it best in his ever pithy, darkly humorous way:
“Well – you have to lose sometimes. If the Republicans were to lose to anyone they might as well lose to someone who people think will produce miracles and who will disappoint.
…
If the problems of the world weren’t so serious I’d have hoped for an Obama victory all along. The Republicans have to re-group and revive”
Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Chairman David A. Keene has issued a special message in the wake of the disappointing outcome of the Presidential election:
At CPAC 1975, one speech initiated the conservative comeback. At that CPAC, Ronald Reagan told the audience:
“Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as a repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other. But the significance of the election was not registered by those who voted, but by those who stayed home. If there was anything like a mandate it will be found among almost two-thirds of the citizens who refused to participate.”
CPAC students, it’s imperative that we continue to fight for conservative principles despite recent losses. We face new challenges, but our principles are timeless. Liberals will say that this election signalled the end of the conservative era. Please join me in continuing the fight at CPAC 2009. Our voices must be heard and a huge turnout at CPAC will send the message that conservatives are still here and ready to fight. Please go to www.cpac.org for registration information. Together we can initiate the next conservative comeback at CPAC 2009!
Further, Michelle Malkin has said with superior clarity that which I tried to articulate earlier:
What do we do now? We do what we’ve always done.
We stand up for our principles, as we always have — through Democrat administrations and Republican administrations, in bear markets or bull markets, in peacetime and wartime.
We stay positive and focused.
We keep the faith.
We do not apologize for our beliefs. We do not re-brand them, re-form them, or relinquish them. We defend them.
Following the tragedy of the last 24 hours, let’s look at what awaits America in the next four years.
Activists, at every level, from the community to the campus to the capitol, America needs you – now, more than ever! With a president-elect who, from what little we know about him, will seek to raise taxes, violate the second amendment, cut and run in Iraq, and limit free speech, the job of conservatives will be to hold him to account, expose his socialist ways and see that he passes into history in four years time.
It’s been a long campaign, and today is a deserved day of rest and reflection. Tomorrow, the comeback begins.
We’ve posted before on Nick Vaughan’s team in Ohio, and Matt Robinson guest posted from the road for us earlier this evening. The Times, too, has picked up the story of British activists, both YBF’s conservatives and opposition party members, flying out to campaign for McCain and Obama.
