September 2, 2004
It’s Wednesday night, and the party is getting crazier by the minute. The sweltering streets of NYC have finally cooled off a bit, but the action is only beginning to heat up.
Last night, we apparently had nearly 600 arrests around Madison Square Garden, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell from the skybox of Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee. By the way, the chairman has three really cool children. No, I’m not kissing butt. They are such big WWE fans that the middle daughter had used me in one of our Nintendo Gamecube games and actually won! Considering that I can never win when I select myself in video games, that is no small accomplishment and it makes her cool in my book.
So far this week I’ve only shared with you the experiences and opinions of senators and Superstars. Therefore, it’s time to bring you the stories about the Smackdown demographic.
Some readers have requested that I share how young people can get involved in politics. This week we’ve spent a lot of time with a few of the organizations that young Republicans can involve themselves with to turn their own vote into 10 by reaching out to other potential voters. Some of those groups include strict partisan movements, like the Republican National Committee or the College Republicans. Others advocate for specific groups or agendas within the party, like Students for Bush or the Republican Main Street Partnership, which is a way for moderate Republicans to come together. Those groups, which I’m sure you can Google (my assistant is too lazy) and get in touch with are full of young, motivated people that can help you find an outlet for your energy.
Today at the Republican Youth Convention I found that energy in a package I wasn’t expecting. The WWE program focuses on young potential voters, but this morning there were hundreds of activists taking part who were too young to vote. I had to get the scoop on these guys, because to be politically engaged enough by the age of 16 to go to the RNC in NYC is something special.
I found out that a lot of these political superstars were part of two organizations whose goals are to help young people learn why and how to get into public service. Considering we’re about to start auditions for the new $1,000,000 Tough Enough, it’s apt that we understand the importance of recruiting, both in producing effective leaders (or wrestlers) of the next generation. Just like Tough Enough 1 attracted a male wrestler who very well could be champion in a few years - Maven (you thought I’d say me, didn’t you?), the Youth Convention probably attracted future congressman or a future President.
Exposing young people to new opportunities in public service is a meaningful effort, and especially pertinent considering what we heard from the Bush twins on Tuesday (I’m sorry to keep bringing them up, but this really bothered me.)
During their speech introducing the First Lady, in an attempt to come off as two average recent college grads (which they did well), they also stated something along the lines of “we’re not that political”, and explained they were there essentially to support their father. While that’s all fine and good, I came away with the impression that they were implying that not being politically conscious or aware is excusable and acceptable.
I beg to differ. I think it is lame and weak, especially when you come from a family where I would imagine politics must be discussed around the dinner table. The biggest correlation for young people not voting is having parents that never vote. If your parents are politically active, you don’t have that excuse. They should recognize they were given an advantage that not everyone gets, and capitalize on that to be strong American citizens.
Maybe I’m being hypercritical, though. I do remember Randy Orton saying in a “Before They Were Superstars” video series that growing up as a third generation superstar, he went through a period in young adulthood where he just wanted to avoid the business all together. Some day we’ll figure out if the Bush girls are inherently apolitical or just going through a phase. In the meantime, let’s highlight the future political Superstars I met today.
Some were part of a group called Lead America (www.lead-america.org). Others were part of the Junior Statesmen Foundation and its twin, the Junior Statesmen of America (Google ‘em). Foundation Director John Kornacki told me:
“We’re founded on a simple idea: to help young people better understand politics and how to get involved in decision making. The program started small 70 years ago, and developed into an academic program with faculty members. It enhances their ability to be good leaders and good active citizens. Now we bring high school students to both conventions. At the end of the day, hopefully they are more active than they ever were.”
It’s working. I had a chance to speak with 16-year-old Alicia Stott of Holiday, Florida, who told me she was inspired to join the program because she has a fascination with foreign policy, and that she hopes to make a career, and a difference, in that field.
Gregory Battle II, 16, of Warner Robins, Georgia, came from a politically oriented family. He had never really thought about a career in public service, but by chance he was given the opportunity to attend the convention. Wanting to experience the convention, but unable to afford it, his community and a local Republican organization helped him raise the funds to attend. By the time I spoke with him, he was seriously considering applying his obvious intelligence toward giving back to that same community with a career in politics. Call me sentimental, but it’s very cool for me to see that kind of transformation.
And as long as we’re talking about young people and volunteerism, just think of the effort it took to design all those hand-made signs. Your humble Smackdown Your Vote! representatives went to a sign-painting party attended by dozens of college students. Unlike the Dems, the RNC learned from the WWE and realized that hand-made signs are far superior to mass-produced printed ones in conveying a message to television viewers.
One of the young directors of the program, Billy Goday, told me:
“We really wanted to show grassroots effort. People came out weekends and holidays to work. We had a list of volunteers over 1,100 people long. It took them two-and-a-half months to make those 25,000 double-sided signs.”
Now if they could only convince the delegates and attendees to make and bring their own signs, I would “pop huge”, as we say in the wrestling business.
(For you WWE sign makers, clever signs are one of my favorite parts of WWE broadcasting, so keep it up – heck, someone make a sign for RAW on Monday that creatively tells me they were reading this column. I’ll alert our cameramen to look for them, and if you stick your first name on the bottom and I see it, I’ll give you a shout out in the column).
The media says the conventions don’t mean anything anymore. They are just TV shows full of hype. Maybe that happens between 10 and 11 p.m., but that’s not what I’ve seen. Now that I’ve had a chance to talk to the young people who have found the inspiration, opportunity, and direction that will help them become future leaders, activists, and volunteers in this great land, I realize that the conventions can have a profound effect instilling the desire to become more politically involved in our country.
That’s a story that mainstream media may find boring, but that’s the story that tells me that there will be more young people voting in this election, and taking an interest in having a say in our country. That’s why there will be two million more of us voting in 2004. You heard it here first.
Stay tuned for my final convention column on Friday at noon.
Return to Commentaries.