College Republicanism:
The Republican Party That College Students Want
PROJECT OUTLINE
Stephen Richer
Stephen.richer@gmail.com
6/5/2009
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 3
ADVISORS ................................................................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1: WHAT HAPPENED?.......................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: WHY SHOULD THE REPUBLICAN PARTY CARE? .................................................. 6
CHAPTER 3: SURVEY............................................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 4: COLLEGE REPUBLICANISM......................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 5: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 10
CHAPTER 6: POLITICIAN REVIEW.................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER 7: FINAL PRESCRIPTION.................................................................................................. 12
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Introduction
This project is a study of college students and the Republican Party. Specifically, the
project has four goals: establish the political importance of college students; estimate
what college students would consider a better Republican Party; assess how well existing
reform proposals conform to this model; and proscribe ways in which the Republican
Party can become the Party of college students, the party of College Republicanism.
The research aspect of this project has begun—surveys have been conducted at Tulane
University, Yale University, University of California Irvine, University of Texas El Paso,
and The George Washington University. Fifty surveys will be conducted in total.
The rest of this document outlines the individual chapters of this project.
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Advisors:
The following people are active participants in the development of this project:
Frum, David (The American Enterprise Institute, Resident Fellow)
Hamilton, Alexis (The American Enterprise Institute, Editor)
Sevi, Michael (Hogan & Hartson, Associate)
Shapiro, Ilya (Cato Institute, Senior Fellow)
The following people have been consulted on different aspects of the project:
Barone, Michael (The Washington Examiner, Fox News, The American Enterprise
Institute)
Bernstein, George (Tulane University, Professor of History)
Bowman, Carlyn (The American Enterprise Institute, Senior Fellow)
DeLorenzo, Mauro (The American Enterprise Institute, Resident Fellow)
Silverman, Noah (Republican Jewish Committee, Policy Analyst)
Vederman, Harris (Republican Jewish Committee, National Grassroots Director)
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Chapter 1: What Happened?
This chapter briefly examines the history of the youth vote (defined as ages 18 to 30) and
the history of the college-educated vote.
A retelling of the history of the youth vote since 1971 (the year in which 18 year olds
gained the right to vote), dispels the myth of a long-standing, monolithically liberalDemocrat youth vote. In both the 1984 election and the 1988 election, young Americans
favored the Republican candidate. Even in 2004, when young Americans seemed largely
disenchanted with President George W. Bush, the Republican Party claimed 46 percent of
the under 30 vote. The 2008 election marked the first truly-lopsided youth vote. At 66
percent for Obama and 33 percent for McCain, the election has caused some Republicans
to worry about the future well-being of the Party.
The story of the college-educated vote runs a similar course, though less dramatic. For
much of the second half of the Twentieth Century, the Republican Party housed the
majority of America’s college-educated. By 2004, this advantage had nearly disappeared;
George Bush won more votes from the college educated than John Kerry, but just barely.
In 2008, the line was broken: 53 percent of college graduates voted for Obama, as did 58
percent of those with postgraduate degrees.
By carefully examining the politics of college students—a point of intersection between
young Americans and the college-educated—this study will show how the Republican
Party can reclaim lost standing with these two voting groups.
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Chapter 2: Why Should the Republican Party Care About College Students?
This chapter explains why college students—in addition to being representative of two
larger groups—are an increasingly important demographic in national politics.
I.
Partisan Stability Thesis/Formative Years Thesis:
According to both academic sources (such as The American Voter) and political
commentators (such as Michael Barone), partisan affiliation in the United States is highly
stable. People choose a party and stick with it—one a Democrat, always a Democrat;
once a Republican, always a Republican. The American Voter claims that, “a majority of
presidential voters have never crossed party lines.” Even in the case of realignment,
people are reluctant to leave their partisan homes.
Of course, there are some stories of people changing political parties. The 2007
publication, Why I Turned Right is a prime example of this possibility, and it also a prime
example of when these transitions most frequently occur—in the early 20s, and often at
college. Scholars of political science call this the “formative years” thesis. Partisan
affiliation, if unset, is often determined around the age of 20. If already set, the early 20s
are when party identification can most readily be changed.
To summarize, if a party wins a voter at age 22, then the party will likely have that
voter’s lifelong support. This theory is a major premise of Democratic strategist James
Carville’s new book, 40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation.
II.
They’re Growing:
Two statistics, when combined, suggest that college students are an increasingly large
part of the electorate. The first: In 2008, more young Americans (between the ages of 18
and 30) voted than ever before. At 18 percent of the electorate (up from 17 percent the
year before), the youth vote matched the “65 and over” demographic. To demonstrate the
growing importance of the youth vote, Michael Barone recently showed that if the 2008
Presidential election had not included any voters under the age of 31, Barack Obama and
John McCain would have been locked in a virtual tie.
Secondly, more young Americans are attending college. In 1985, 27.8 percent students
went to college. In 2005, only 20 years later, almost 39 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds had
either completed college or were enrolled in a degree granting institution. In straight
numbers, 5 million more Americans were in college in 2005 than in 1985.
More young Americans are voting and that more young Americans are going to college.
Together, these statistics make a strong case that the union of these two groups (young
Americans who have gone/are going to college and who vote) is increasing in size.
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III.
Future Leaders
College can be thought of as the great incubator for future politicians, pundits, strategists,
and journalists. If fewer college graduates identify with the Republican Party, then the
Party will have fewer people to choose among, and fewer people to compete, for the top
spots in each of the political categories listed above. Additionally, a political party that
fails to appeal to college students will establish fewer networks and generate fewer ideas.
IV.
Campaigns
For a political campaign to win, it must have money—something college students cannot
usually provide. But of secondary importance to a campaign is its volunteer pool—a pool
that is often highly dependent on college students. In the 2008 election, the Obama team
sent buses of volunteers into battleground states such as Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, North
Carolina, and Pennsylvania. These buses were usually filled with eager college students
who had flexible schedules, not professional adults with two kids. Sarah Silverman’s
“Great Schlepp,” though undoubtedly more hype than substance, is also an example of
the role active college students can play in an election.
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Chapter 3: Survey
A summary of the project’s survey and its results.
This chapter provides an answer to the question: how, specifically, do college students
feel about the Republican Party. Surveys from Tulane University, Yale University,
University of Texas El Paso, and University of California Irvine are complete—a total of
50 surveys will be conducted.
A brief discussion of the survey’s methodology will be followed by the presentation of
some of the aggregate data—the rest of the data will be posted in the appendix or on the
internet.
The rest of this chapter will assess the data. What do College Students like about the
Party? What do they dislike? What issues are most important to college students? How
does the Republican Party fare with self-identified Democrats vs. self-identified
Republicans? What about independents or Libertarians?
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Chapter 4: College Republicanism
Based on the data from the previous chapter, this chapter paints a picture of College
Republicanism—what the Republican would need to look like to win the collegiate vote.
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Chapter 5: Literature Review
Since the 2006 midterm election, a number of books and articles have been written that
prescribe a path for Republican renewal. This chapter summarizes the main points of
these works and assesses how closely they conform with College Republicanism. The
following books and authors will be considered:
Barone, Michael: Articles.
Beck, Glenn: Collected books.
Brooks, David: articles.
Douthat, Ross and Reiham Salam: Grand New Party
Edwards, Mickey: Reclaiming Conservatism
Frum, David: Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again
Gerson, Michael J.: Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America’s
Ideals (And Why They Deserve to Fail If They Don’t)
Huckabee, Mike: Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common
Sense Back to America
Levin, Mark R.: Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto
Gingrich, Newt: Articles
Sullivan, Andrew: The Conservative Soul: Fundamentalism, Freedom, and the Future of
the Right.
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Chapter 6: Politician Review
This chapter models prominent Republican politicians and pundits to College
Republicanism. Which politicians best embody College Republicanism? Which
politicians are best equipped to regain the college vote?
This is not an endorsement of particular candidates, but rather an identification of policy
platforms, embodied in different politicians, that are likely to appeal to college voters.
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Chapter 7: Final Prescription
This chapter concludes the project by offering a way forward. It combines elements from
the “rebuilding Republicanism” models offered in chapter 5, together with policy and
position recommendations drawn from the data of chapter 3, to outline how the
Republican Party can regain popularity with college students without compromising its
Republican values. This “map” comments on policy positions, rhetoric, candidates, and
collegiate outreach.
This plan is not a sure guide to general electoral success or necessarily the best path to
other objectives (such as specific public policy outcomes or social engineering). But,
hopefully it will offer the reader an idea of how the Republican Party can recapture the
college vote.
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