Conservative Pundit Dennis Prager Fears the Whippersnapper Vote

[marmar]

from AlterNet's PEEK:



Conservative Pundit Dennis Prager Fears the Whippersnapper Vote

Posted by Jill Filipovic, Feministe at 2:00 AM on June 18, 2008.

“...when youth get involved in politics in large numbers, it is not a good thing...”



Shorter Dennis Prager: “Get offa my lawn!"

Most adults throughout history have recognized that young people are likely to be unwise given their minuscule amount of life experience. After all, most adults, even among baby boomers, believe that they themselves are wiser today than 10 years ago, let alone than when they were 20 years old. It is remarkable, then, how often adults romanticize youth involvement in politics — “Isn’t it heartwarming to see young people getting involved?”

Actually, for a wise adult, it is not heartwarming.

And by “wise adult,” he means Republican. Of course, the best part is that he starts his column like this:

We regularly hear about Barack Obama’s appeal to youth, about how he has been able to excite and mobilize a generation of young people to become politically involved, his rare ability to excite young people, and about how many new voters will register (and vote Democrat) as a result.

All this seems to be true. The question, however, is whether it is a good thing for the country and not just for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.

The answer is that it probably is not. With a few exceptions — and those exceptions are usually those rare cases when young people confront dictatorships — when youth get involved in politics in large numbers, it is not a good thing.

Right, except when they overthrow dictators – just that minor little thing. Otherwise, they’re fools, the whole lot of ‘em.

He goes on to beat the same dead horse that wingnuts have been beating for several decades now: Vietnam. Because if those hippies with their sex and their counter-culture hadn’t kept shouting about how Vietnam was so bad, we would have won.

Really, you’ve had about forty years to get over this one. Get over it. You were on the wrong side of history, as conservative so often are. And Prager, you’re downright crotchety at this point. But I hope at least Young Republicans are wise enough to listen to their elders and get out of this political stuff ASAP.


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/88534/

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. I like stuff like this

It's a palpable demonstration of how frightened these rightwingnuts are of Obama. He has them flying up their own assholes trying to find a way to put him down, and, not surprisingly, they fail miserably.

Prager is such a pretentious little fart, lacking credentials or credibility. These mouths with nothing to say have never actually DONE anything, but they feel compelled (and competent) to take swipes at people like Obama, who actually dare to brave the flames.

What a toad.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. Prager's a chickenhawk.

He wants poor young people to be cannon fodder, not politically active.

[bluestateguy]

3. In the past he has spoken of wanting to raise the voting age back to 21

nt

[flashl]

4. Right, the youth should pay no attention as the 'wiser adults' mortgage their future. nt

[AlCzervik]

5. If the Gop didn't suck so much then maybe some of the whippersnapper vote would go to them

tough shit Dennis, your brand is ruined and will be for a very long time.

[islandmkl]

6. to prager the young are good for dying for corporate interests...

all in the name of the good old USA....

and if they are fortunate to survive THAT youthful experience, then they can join in and work the rest of their lives to keep the corporatists' coffers full...

and maybe, then they will they be wise enough to choose anything that affects their life...

as long as they support the $$$ boys....

[AlinPA]

7. I never heard of him. nt

[old mark]

8. I will be 61 at the time of the election

and he will fear my vote, too.

I love the right trying to "blame" their unpopularity on circumstances other than their own record.

The "Republican Revolution" came home to bite 'em in the ass.

mark