An interesting analysis:
"The term refers to a kind of irreverent post-liberal or anti-liberal attitude or sensibility, one very in tune with popular culture. But it's not a coherent, fully developed political philosophy. You do find this attitude among a lot of younger Americans, as I show in my concluding chapter, which is based on lots of interviews with right-of-center college kids."
Those right-of-center college students, for the most part, aren't Alex P. Keaton-clones, decked out in Ralph Lauren double-breasted navy blue blazers. They're more likely to look like every other college kid: jeans, sneakers, and T-shirts advertising their favorite rock groups. But there's one thing that South Park campus conservatives abhor: "Political correctness drives them nuts", Anderson says. "In interviewing students, for instance, it was clear how much the PC conformities of the campus Left turned them off."
Sounds like libertarian, Howard Stern, gross-out comedy, Cinemax Friday Night types to me. Back in my day, P.J. O'Rourke called them "pants-down Republicans." They wanted Reagan's tax cuts but still wanted to sleep with Debbie Harry (told you the reference was dated.)
These guys - and it's mostly young, white, and male - really have nothing in common with the Schaivo wing of the GOP and its obsession with Janet Jackson's nipple. And their macho bent on whoop-ass foreign policy will fade as more of their buddies come home in bags, and vanish entirely when the draft starts up.
The Republicans are bound to push them away, and any group the other team is pushing away is an opportunity.
But to do that Democrats will have to overcome 30 years of PC image, Chris Rock style, without alienating female, gay, and minority constituencies. It's a narrow opportunity, but an opporunity nonetheless.
Why does PC-ness bug young white guys? Part of it is the Conehead-speak, and not knowing which Term Of The Week is appropriate. But is basically comes down to women, race, and gays. We need to figure out ways to address that gap with young men, without selling out our principles.
Maybe we can win over young on choice with anti-authoritarian appeals. Frame it as "the government telling you what you can't do."
If we pursue tut-tut censorship instead of hip-hop bravado, if we try to take away their video game controllers, we'll never win these guys over. We can;t win over South Park Republicans and "Values" voters at the same time, and the guys are a better bet.
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