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GU conservatives shun activism, Tea Party

September 9, 2010


College Republicans kicked off the year Wednesday night with their first meeting.

As the November midterm elections approach, the general consensus in Washington is that conservatives, buttressed by the popularity of the Tea Party movement, have the energy and momentum to make major gains in the House and Senate this year. In August, thousands of people showed up in to attend Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and opinion polls and rallies held across the country reveal widespread discontent with the Democratic Party and President Barack Obama.

But even though conservatism at Georgetown has increased its campus presence within the past year—official recognition was granted last year for two new conservative groups, Hoyas for Liberty and Georgetown University Republican Women—conservatives at Georgetown, and the disparate clubs and organizations that represent them, have not adopted the populist energy, tone, and activist tendencies of the Tea Party movement.

College Republicans kicked off the year Wednesday night with their first meeting.

Unlike some of the more progressive groups at Georgetown, whose members are seemingly unabashed in their willingness to demonstrate and hold rallies—last year’s Plan A Hoyas for Reproductive Justice protest, in which several members chained themselves to the statue of John Carroll, and Georgetown Divest!’s dramatic march to President John DeGioia’s office in April are just two examples—conservative students at Georgetown tend to avoid direct action in favor of dialogue and discussion.

“I think that a lot of conservative strategy here is to stay above the fray. Take the high ground,” said Preston Mui (COL ’13), the president of Hoyas for Liberty and managing editor of the libertarian-minded Federalist.  “We’re not gonna be the people who have demonstrations—although we can sometimes. It’s mostly bringing in speakers and educating people about the idea of liberty.”

Collan Rosier (COL ‘11), a member of the Georgetown University College Republicans, explained that quieter action can be more effective.

“A lot of conservative groups think more good can be done by engaging more directly in the political process, by lobbying your congressperson or by getting involved yourself, working in a campaign, than say, chaining yourself to the statue of John Carroll during GAAP weekend,” he said.

In general, the Tea Party movement’s populist rage has failed to appeal to many conservative activists on campus. One explanation is that some of the more radical elements of the Tea Party make it difficult for Georgetown students to embrace the movement.

Mui said that many Georgetown conservatives want to avoid being associated with the Tea Party because others have negative views of their politics which are usually understood to be extreme and erroneous such as the belief that President Obama is Muslim. James Pickens (COL ‘12), a self-described conservative and the former web editor for the Federalist, felt that many figures in the Tea Party, including Glenn Beck, are too polarizing for Georgetown students, who he felt tend to look for more intellectual, ideas-based movements and leaders.

Brittany Blizzard (COL ’12), said that during her tenure as president of Georgetown Republican Women, she hopes to avoid more partisan and extreme elements of the Republican party and focus on issues that could appeal to a broad range of the young Republican women on campus.

“Definitely something that I’m looking to move towards this year is being more moderate, not for the sake of hiding conservatism, but for the sake of getting more people engaged in whatever events we do put on,” Blizzard said.

The bottom line may be that the kind of political activism one finds at a university will usually be different than political action you would find elsewhere.  As Kevin Preskenis  (COL ‘12),  the chief of staff of the Georgetown University College Republicans, said, the tone of debate will always be different on an elite college campus than at a rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

It is possible that Georgetown’s lack of activism is due to the nature of the issues that Georgetown conservatives care about. Fiscal issues,  which are getting the most attention from conservatives on campus, are less likely to move students to engage in high-profile protests than the issues that groups like H*yas for Choice campaign for.

“You’re not going to get anyone up in a tizzy about how the debt is out of control, or how the next generation is going to afford our entitlement,” said Joe Knowles (COL ‘13),  the campus affairs director for the  College Republicans.

Because there is no University policy that conservative groups can rally around or protest against that relate to the increasing government deficit or the passage of the health care bill, they tend to approach the ideas they care about academically.

Even though many students choose not to identify directly with the Tea Party and their more active political demonstrations, some still believe that the group deserved support. Knowles felt that the Tea Party has been good for Republicans in general, while Preskenis noted the group had brought a good deal of energy to conservative causes. Rosier attended Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally and felt that, in many ways, the Tea Party has been misrepresented.

“There is a tendency to disregard them as a fringe movement and I don’t think that’s fair,” Rosier said. “It represents a very real concern among people and it can’t be disregarded.”




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