Once-conservative child star Jonathan Krohn faces his past at CPAC

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

"...Four years ago, Krohn was a featured speaker at the conference. A precocious 13-year-old with outspoken conservative views, he had authored a book, "Defining Conservatism," which landed him the conference speaking gig. The video of his remarks went viral online, and he was invited to share his views on the "Today" show, CNN and Fox News. He hung out with Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly and Andrew Breitbart. A star was born. ..."

"...But in the years since, Krohn began to question his political beliefs. He devoured books on political philosophy and realized that he didn't actually have all the answers. In an interview with Politico's Patrick Gavin in the summer of 2012, Krohn conceded that he had veered away from the political views he so strongly defended as a young teen. If he were old enough, Krohn said, he would even vote to re-elect President Barack Obama. ..."

"...The reaction from the conservative world was swift and fierce. Friends of Krohn's family vowed never to speak to them again, and CPAC attendees who knew him in 2009 anonymously derided him in online news stories. ..."

"...Earlier that day, a group of CPAC attendees had cornered him in a hallway and peppered him with questions about why he was there. There was shouting. Two people mocked his clothes, and one cursed at him. (Krohn cursed right back.) Krohn answered their questions and, when he asked to be left alone, they pressed him even more. The incident had left him shaken. ..."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/once-conservative-child-star-jonathan-krohn-faces-past-155547484--politics.html

[COLGATE4]

1. Feel the Conservative LOVE, Jonathan. nt

[Initech]

28. Yup they only like people who follow with the party beliefs 100%.

To even question their "logic" (term used loosely) is considered an act of betrayal. Don't believe me? Ask Chris Christie.

[wilt the stilt]

2. He was supposed to go to NYU

I was recently getting my haircut and the other women at the salon( neighbor) was Jonathan's Krohn's mother's best friend. She knew him very well and said he was a really nice smart kid.

[MinneapolisMatt]

3. I still don't understand

why on earth his parents let him speak a CPAC when he was 13. Talk about exploitation.

Poor guy...I remember watching the vids from a few years ago thinking "this will not end well".

[sadbear]

10. You don't suspect that it was his parents who fed him all that garbage in the first place?

The kid figured out his parents were full of shit, as most teenagers eventually do. I hope he isn't too scarred by this learning experience.

[olddots]

4. heres hoping he can leave that 15 minutes of fame behind and move on .

when I was his age I had 2 things on my mind---losing my virginity and I can't remember the other thing.

[xfundy]

5. The right's most respected authors are children

Children who parrot back the bullshit they grew up hearing. Glad this kid finally saw reality.

[Ron Green]

6. Many of the most intelligent and inquisitive people I've known went through an Ayn Rand phase

but of course grew out of it.

[reformist2]

7. My Ayn Rand phase lasted two days.

I started off liking Atlas Shrugged. But then came the horrific caricatures of liberals (and I wasn't even one at the time.) And then the "romantic" scences that seemed more like rape. And then the 100-page diatribes. Oh God, the diatribes! By the end of the book, I was over it.

[WCGreen]

14. My theory is Rand is quickly shuffled off the table when...

a young man has his first orgasm not of ones hand...

[JHB]

20. Funny you should mention Aynnie & her bots. From the article....

Leah Sargent, an editor for the website MisfitPolitics.com, chimed in from the side of the group. "Why are you being so defensive?" she asked Krohn, in the same way an older brother would ask why you keep hitting yourself. "You know what? I hope that in the next five years you keep reading and you actually get yourself an education. I would like to recommend 'Atlas Shrugged' to you." She and some of the others began to walk away, but then she turned back around. "Also, if you want to be taken seriously, tuck in your shirt."

(Later, when talking to a group of friends about the incident, Sargent said, "I just want everyone to applaud my self-control for not slapping that stupid brat.&quot

[CJCRANE]

8. The missing ingredient at CPAC: *curiosity*

"But in the years since, Krohn began to question his political beliefs. He devoured books on political philosophy and realized that he didn't actually have all the answers."

[paleotn]

26. The problem with curiosity is...

one runs the risk of coming across facts that conflict with one's ideology. It's much safer to stick with preconceived notions, no matter how detached they are from reality.

[tk2kewl]

9. "Two people mocked his clothes"

typical wingnut way of dealing with those who disagree with them... dollars to donuts he also got called some names that targeted his sexual preference and his ethnicity

[HughBeaumont]

11. SMELL the class . . ..

Leah Sargent, a teacher who blogs for the website MisfitPolitics.com, chimed in from the side of the group. "Why are you being so defensive?" she asked Krohn, in the same way an older brother would ask why you keep hitting yourself. "You know what? I hope that in the next five years you keep reading and you actually get yourself an education. I would like to recommend 'Atlas Shrugged' to you." She and some of the others began to walk away, but then she turned back around. "Also, if you want to be taken seriously, tuck in your shirt."

(Later, when talking to a group of friends about the incident, Sargent said, "I just want everyone to applaud my self-control for not slapping that stupid brat.&quot

Oh my fucking GOD. WHAT on this green Earth would you learn by reading 1,168 pages of speed-driven typing . . . how NOT to write fiction? How to be a pompous and self-serving assclown like Leah Sargent? I would take going to CPAC as seriously as I would the Creation Museum.

Don't flap your gums at Jonathan because he evolved and the rest of you didn't, Leah.

[Cha]

13. (..I just want everyone to applaud my self-control for not slapping that stupid brat.")

Nice role model.. no wonder Jonathan Krohn wised up.

[arcane1]

17. Indeed, he was the most mature person in that article!

[louis-t]

22. She's a "teacher"??

[Cha]

23. I know huh.. wonder if that gets any

attention at her school?

[Raine]

30. Yeah that's what I thought too "a teacher"???

she shouldn't be allowed around any young person to "teach" them.

[HughBeaumont]

27. Right? If she's a teacher, I'd pull my kid from her class.

Sorry, no abusers "teaching" my children. It's really amazing how black/white they are . . . and how they think everything can be solved via violence.

[arcane1]

12. So, he was a conservative child, until he obtained a little real-world knowledge

That sounds about right

[alp227]

15. yep he said so on Thom Hartmann on Thursday

I wonder what he's doing with his earnings from his books.

[Cha]

16. And, here it is.. when asked why he was there..

I'm a journalist. I'm here for Salon," Krohn said.

"Well considering you made news here a couple of years ago and now you're working for Salon, I think that's a story," Pavlich said. "I'm just asking you why you changed your perspective."

"I changed my perspective because I felt that my views hadn't been completely developed at the time I was 13," he said, an answer he told anyone who asked him that question. "That was completely absurd for me to believe that. I spent a few years taking time off thinking about things and I said, you know, I don't know everything so I'm not going to put myself out as a particular ideology."

"Why did you do it when you were 13?" Pavlich asked.

Growing visibly frustrated, Krohn raised his voice. "Because I was 13! I didn't know what I believed. I grew up in a conservative household with people who supported everything I said when I was 13."

[marble falls]

18. Wellcome to the machine.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. CPAC = thugs and bullies. nt

[shenmue]

21. He took a step forward.

Don't know why he wouldn't want to be called liberal, but I'm glad he did something better than before.

[Kalidurga]

24. I really hope we are better than this...

That if the tables were turned ( I can't recall a single incident where this happened) that we wouldn't deride someone that switched ideologies. I don't know anyone who has changed from liberal to conservative or even moderate. But, I suppose it is possible. I think the closest I can come to an incident is a famous atheist well into his 80's became a xian. I don't recall anyone being virulently mean to him, but many did think he changed due to senility and I can't say that that isn't a possibility. Me, I just shrugged it off I really don't care if people switch or not.

[Jim Lane]

29. Nope. It's human nature to be angry at those perceived as defectors.

I personally felt more antipathy toward Lieberman than toward many of the other people who endorsed McCain. Many of us derided Lieberman more than we derided politicians who'd been elected as Republicans.

For an example ready to hand, check out http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022529672 -- Michele Shocked, a musician many of us thought of as an ally, went on an anti-gay rant, and you bet she's getting derided.

[Kalidurga]

31. Well I guess I am not going to say too much about conservatives going after this kid...

I do think it is horrible though. Mostly because of the implication of violence. It took me a long time to be anti-Lieberman though and come to think of it I rarely just jump ship so to speak. The person has to do something or say something very extreme. I never heard of this Michele Shocked person before a couple of days ago, I don't know if her rant which I am not convinced isn't drug induced or something would be enough for me to hate her or whatever. I do think she is so very wrong and confused though. And I do get the sense of betrayal if she was perceived as being an ally I can't imagine what would make her go off like that it's just bizarre.

I do know this though even if I didn't go off on her for what she did I wouldn't buy another album or go to another concert even if I could find it in me to have some kind of compassion or whatever it is it takes to not eviscerate her on the interwebs.

[Evoman]

25. He's a great, smart kid.

He is so smart that he couldn't stay a republican. Keep an eye on him...I think he will do cool things.