Republicans are most certainly in the minority among young people in this country. And perhaps even more scarce right now are Republicans in Denver. Michael Tate, Communications Director for Penn’s College Republicans and a soon-to-be-junior at the University, is both. In between his long nights of speech-watching and lunches beside Chris Matthews, I caught up with Tate to talk about the youth presence at the DNC, what it’s like to be a young Republican there and what he expects from his upcoming trip to the RNC in St. Paul.
CH: Why did you decide to attend the conventions and in what capacity are you attending?
MT: I'm attending both the DNC and RNC with a group of students at University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. My goal at both conventions is to focus on evaluating state-of-the-art campaign techniques, how these techniques have evolved, and how they might shape future governance and electioneering
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CH: Have you been to a political convention or similar event before?
MT: This is the first national party convention I have attended.
CH: What is it like being a young person at the DNC? What is it like being a Republican there?
MT: I'm writing this at 1 a.m. on Thursday morning, and I have to be up around 5 a.m. to head back to downtown Denver. So the days are long. I just got back from a reception where we met Senator Joe Biden and Michelle Obama. At many events I have attended, the crowd is definitely not full of young people. But I'm not surprised. This is truly where the campaign machinery and power brokers hang out, and most of them aren't young. And while being a Republican isn't too bad—because I'm more of a centrist Republican—I think any Republicans here should chill out and listen carefully to what the Democrats are saying. That way there will be effective counter message strategy. I've seen the protesters on the streets and that really does no good, assuming they are Republican. There's a better way to get the message out than acting obnoxious and further damaging the embattled Republican brand. I know I'm in the rare Republican minority here in Denver who can say that.
CH: What are your goals and expectations for the DNC vs. the RNC? How do they differ?
MT: The DNC will have more energy than the RNC. It's all Obama all the time. The entire city of Denver is pulsating rapidlywith the Democrats in town. From the hotels to the restaurants at night, this is a great city to host a convention.
CH: What is the overall youth presence at the DNC? Are young people energized?
MT: Surprisingly, I haven't seen the "youth vote" in Denver that Iowa saw during the primary season vote. Young people here in Denver who support Barack Obama are ecstatic about him. The ones you meet are pumped up. But like I said previously, I haven't seen a whole lot of young people really taking part in organizing the DNC. The elder campaign operatives still show prominence. In fact, I talked with a delegate earlier who said he had little respect for any young voters since they can't donate in high amounts, rarely turn out and are too fickle to be dealt with seriously.
For a shot of Michael at the DNC (and on Fox News!), check out his Facebook profile: http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=626303&v=info&viewas=604657
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