Among Young Republicans, the Buzz is About Ron Paul
Posted on: Monday, 31 March 2008, 05:00 CDT
By Paul Franz
While the hotly contested Democratic presidential race has snared the attention of young voters, others have thrown their support to Republican candidates.
Though the numbers point to young people as a valuable constituency for the Democratic Party, there are plenty of young supporters of Republican Sen. John McCain in the county.
"It is without a doubt that McCain is the way to go," said Christopher Burton, 28, a senior communications major at Millersville University and a former Marine.
McCain's fighting experience in the Vietnam War plays very well among those with ties to the military, Burton believes.
"He's someone who would know what to do," said Regina Perkins, 28, an Air Force veteran and sophomore public relations major at MU.
But McCain has not generated as much interest among young voters. His message of candor and accessibility had played fairly well, but for the most part, the youth vote has been trending steadily Democratic since 2002.
It's actually been longshot Republican nominee Texas Rep. Ron Paul who gained an enormous following among young Republicans.
Paul, who was born near Pittsburgh, attracted an enthusiastic following locally.
In Lancaster, an online Ron Paul Meetup Group of more than 100 members organized several rallies and public events through the Internet last year.
Younger voters flocked to Paul's message of economic libertarianism and his staunch opposition to the war in Iraq.
Perkins said many of her friends changed their party affiliation to Republican so that they could support Paul in the April 22 primary, even though the candidate has little chance of thwarting presumptive nominee McCain.
Paul's support has largely been attributed to the Internet. He broke the single-day fundraising record in November 2007 by taking in more than $3 million over 18 hours, most of which was generated through online contributions.
Despite Paul's dim chances of winning the Republican nomination, his YouTube channel, which hosts exclusive campaign videos, currently has the most online subscribers with more than 50,000 people.
No other Republican candidate comes close. McCain only has about 3,600 subscribers.
Paul's support has largely been attributed to the Internet. He broke the single-day fundraising record in November 2007 by taking in more than $3 million over 18 hours, most of which was generated through online contributions.
Originally published by Writer.
(c) 2008 Intelligencer Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Intelligencer Journal
