13 year old who was 'future face of conservatism' at CPAC in 2009? "Yeah, I'm tired of it"

[ck4829]

onathan Krohn took the political world by storm at 2009’s Conservative Political Action Conference when, at just 13 years old, he delivered an impromptu rallying cry for conservatism that became a viral hit and had some pegging him as a future star of the Republican Party.

Now 17, Krohn — who went on to write a book, “Defining Conservatism,” that was blurbed by the likes of Newt Gingrich and Bill Bennett — still watches that speech from time to time, but it mostly makes him cringe because, well, he’s not a conservative anymore.

“I think it was naive,” Krohn now says of the speech. “It’s a 13-year-old kid saying stuff that he had heard for a long time.… I live in Georgia. We’re inundated with conservative talk in Georgia.… The speech was something that a 13-year-old does. You haven’t formed all your opinions. You’re really defeating yourself if you think you have all of your ideas in your head when you were 12 or 13. It’s impossible. You haven’t done enough.”

“One of the first things that changed was that I stopped being a social conservative,” said Krohn. “It just didn’t seem right to me anymore. From there, it branched into other issues, everything from health care to economic issues.… I think I’ve changed a lot, and it’s not because I’ve become a liberal from being a conservative — it’s just that I thought about it more. The issues are so complex, you can’t just go with some ideological mantra for each substantive issue.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78068.html#ixzz1zVLnINQM

Of course, now the 'liberal' media is going to be like "OMG, who indoctrinated him?!"

[The Wielding Truth]

1. This is wonderfully refreshing!

[nanabugg]

13. Wish he would make an ad for the Country!!! nt

[The Wielding Truth]

14. He seems to understand what is best for the US. He just might support our cause.

[Tx4obama]

2. K&R n/t

[Kennah]

3. They get younger and younger

Pretty soon to be conservative one will have to be retired

[Doctor_J]

4. Bravo

one soul in GA has been saved. A glimmer of hope

[sendero]

5. Wow..

... that is a really smart kid!

[JI7]

6. i do find this to be a difference between young liberals and conservatives

the young liberals usually do believe and support what they are saying.

the young conservatives usually tend to just repeat stuff they hear from parents and other elders in their life.

[targetpractice]

12. That's pretty much it...

Behavioral scientists define conservatives as those that support the status quo, follow doctrine, fear change.

This kid is a true liberal, IMHO, because he seems to embrace his change of thought and is unafraid of change.

I wonder if he has older brothers or sisters, because birth order is a predictor of conservatism.

[DirkGently]

7. Growing up: The Enemy of American conservatism.

[Bjorn Against]

8. Even when he was speaking the crazy I could tell he was a smart kid

I heard him debate Thom Hartmann and he did better than you would expect a 13 year old on the wrong side of the issues to do against someone as well informed as Thom Hartmann is. He clearly had some critical thinking skills which explains why he is no longer a right-winger.

[pink-o]

9. IOW, conservatism is for closed minded children.

Once a smart, evolving person actually gives it some critical thought, instead of just repeating talking points, they're no longer conservative...

So Newty, Boner, Turtle, et all are dumber than a 17 yr old...LOL.

Can't wait till that kid can vote, can you?

[Bonhomme Richard]

10. "I thought about it more". LOL, there wouldn't be any conservatives if.....

they actually thought about it. No wonder Texas doesn't want critical thinking taught.

[think]

11. Good for him. Would be great to see him on the Daily show or Colbert Report.

One might surmise that some of his current influence may have come from those two clowns