Republican National Convention gives young speakers the shaft

Young people got the shaft at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Monday.

Speakers selected to represent the next generation of conservatives were grouped during the afternoon session of the convention when the convention proceedings are not aired on the cable networks.

Lisa Stickan, Chair of the Young Republican National Federation, Alex Schriver, chair of the College Republican National Committee, and Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) all spoke late afternoon during a traditionally low-key, and therefore poorly attended, segment of the party’s convention.

Americans hoping to watch the young Republicans speak could have watched them on the convention’s livesteam on YouTube or on CSPAN. But because the speakers were not publicized at all by the RNC, the only way interested parties would have known that the youth liaisons were speaking is if they were otherwise notified of the speeches by the organizations the young speakers represented or the speakers themselves.

Worse, because the RNC was substantially ahead of schedule, those looking to watch the young people’s remarks would have already had to have been watching the convention proceedings, as the young people spoke 25 minutes ahead of schedule and only spoke for 3 minutes each.

By comparison, primetime speakers like actress and radio host Janine Tuner received 10 minutes of speaking time.

The GOP already stands to lose to youth vote to President Barack Obama again in November.

Despite making gains in this demographic by reaching publicizing the abysmal youth jobless rate under Obama and pointing out that President Obama didn’t follow through on Candidate Obama’s promises to young people, the GOP is still losing the youth vote to the Democratic candidate by a whopping 20 percent.

Giving speakers like Stickan, Schriver or popular Rep. Duffy, who is only 40, a more prominent speaking role would have went a long way toward proving that the GOP is serious about reaching out to young people.

 

By /// August 29, 2012
Francesca Chambers About Francesca Chambers

Francesca is the Editor of Red Alert Politics - an online publication written by and for young conservatives. Red Alert Politics is a product of Clarity Media Group, the parent company of The Washington Examiner and The Weekly Standard. She is also a contributor to The Washington Examiner.

Francesca is a veteran of several political campaigns and political organizations. She has also worked in new media and communications at The Leadership Institute, at the Republican National Committee and on Capitol Hill. She has been featured as a speaker at Leadership Institute, Cato Institute, Americans for Prosperity's "Defending the American Dream Summit," the State Policy Network's annual conference and CPAC, in addition to appearing as a regular guest on the "Big Picture" with Thom Hartmann on Russia Today.

She has also appeared on ABC's "Nightline", PBS' 'NewsHour', PBS' "To the Contrary", MSNBC, CNN, on TheBlazeTV (aka Glenn Beck TV) and had radio segments on Take Action News with David Shuster, NPR and "The Michael Koolidge Show."

In 2012 she was named to the DC GOP's first ever "35 under 35" list.

Francesca graduated from the University of Kansas with BAs in Political Science and Journalism. At KU she was an editor of the University Daily Kansan and an active member of Student Senate.

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