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Practical Advice For Young Conservatives: Either Grow Up, Or Stop Being Such A Slut

by Alex Alvarez | 3:35 pm, February 14th, 2012

» 41 comments

RedState managing editor Erick Erickson has a bit of gentle advice for young men (and more than a few of the young women) in attendance at this year’s CPAC: Grow up.

While the atmosphere at the Conservative Political Action Conference may not be quite what it’s rumored to be at Media Matters HQ, he writes, treating CPAC like a dive bar in a college town may not offer the best, most favorable representation of young conservatives or of the conference as a whole:

We can be thankful that CPAC is not like the communications war room at Media Matters. But it should be much more than that. The young men and women who go to CPAC are often present or future leaders on their college campuses and within the conservative movement. They go to CPAC and are often on near equal terms at CPAC with people much older than themselves. Unfortunately, too many treat CPAC like spring break.

More than a few of the twenty and thirty somethings who go to CPAC seem to treat it like an extension of their college days doing their best to hook up before passing out. It’s not the majority to be sure, but it is a noticeable minority.

“Conservatives should,” Erickson continues, “first and foremost, want to conserve the basics and good behavior should remain a basic characteristic of the conservative movement. As conservatives, we believe in self-government. With that belief comes the duty of personal responsibility. We should accept that duty as the opportunity to do what is right, not as license to behave like fools.”

“It really is time,” he concludes, “to embrace again the concept of growing the hell up.”

And lest people wag their fingers solely at the young conservative men wearing their ties around their heads whilst yelling “WELCOME TO THE BONE ZONE!” within earshot of Rick Santorum, Erickson points to a companion piece, of sorts, written by Dr. Melissa Clouthier.

“Women will be future leaders, too,” she writes, “and I was dismayed to see how many of them [at CPAC] either looked frumpish or like two-bit whores.” Have women, she asks, “so internalized feminist dogma that they see themselves in only two ways? Butch, men-lite wannabes or 3rd wave sluts who empower themselves by screwing every available horndog man?”

And here exists an important difference when it comes to writing about the behaviors of young men versus young women. Erickson encourages young men to grow up and behave like the young adults they are, comporting themselves in a manner that best represents the conservative movement. Their morals and who they are as people are not called into question, nor should they be.

But women who behave “badly” are not encouraged to act like adults — they’re told, instead, to stop being “men wannabes” or slutty slutty sluts.

For men, the behavior is called out, and rightly so. But their beliefs aren’t called into question. Erickson doesn’t presume to know how these men view or feel about themselves, or what sort of movement or ideology may have impacted their desire to treat CPAC as little more than a means of hooking up. The Madonna / whore dichotomy does not exist for men, and while their choices may reflect badly on them, they don’t define them as people. Erickson knows and appreciates that they are capable of more.

I only wish that these young conservative women would be given the same respect.

Maybe instead of reprimanding the few bad apples in the barrel for poorly representing CPAC, certain conservatives should look inward and analyze how, say, chastising people for dressing in a way we might not enjoy (“Save the stilettos,” Clouthier tells us) might have a more profound, lasting and negative impact on the way the movement is viewed both by those within it and those judging from the outside.

h/t RedState

CPAC, Erick Erickson, redstate, Young Republicans

Anonymous

“Grow up”?

This from the guy who referred to former Supreme Court Justice David Souter as a “goat f#cking child molester”?

You conservatives really don’t have any sense of irony, do you?
Gloves Doc Donahue

I’m not taking advice from a guy named Erick Erick…anything. Choose a new first name, Jack.

Signed, Gloves Gloveson
http://twitter.com/JPJABBER JUDI

Practical advice for young conservatives…..RUN LIKE HELL.
http://www.proactivepolitics.blogspot.com/ Norbit Peters

We still listen to the President’s promises, even though he’s shown them time and again to be bald-faced lies.
There’s got to be some irony in there somewhere!
Ben

Wow…who knew conservatives would tell people how to live their lives?..Right?

Now..at MMFA HQ you get caught banging in an office on the weekend,you get a slap on the wrist,and you don’t get fired.

At CPAC,you dress a certain way,or just flirt or try to hook up at night,and you become the target of the wrath of conservative “pundits”.Your own people…

I wonder why we’re not all hardcore cons huh….I mean what’s not to like,seriously?

*drink*
Anonymous

Says the guy whose political party has provided consistent support to the rapists, crackheads, pedophiles, murderers, lay-abouts, anarchists, and unwashed, laxative taking, apathetic losers at the OWS for months.

Good Job on your projection.
Hout Bosques

Thread, No Bits – try to stay on one, m’kay?

Here, lemme help you turn down the volume on your snow plow.
Hout Bosques

Nice pic of former Congressman Gingrich up there.
Anonymous

So feminism is now to blame for the clothing of young female hard core conservatives? Talk about needing to ‘grow up’.
Anonymous

I left the Republican party two years ago. Don’t blame me for GOP thuggery!
Pablo

I know! What is this business of older people suggesting how young people ought to conduct themselves? I’m sure this has never happened in the history of humanity before!
Pablo

There’s a time and a place for everything.
Ben

Pretty weak, buddy.
You usually do better than that.
Just saying.

*drink*
Pablo

Yeah, I should probably stay away from agreeing with you.

*take a long walk off a short pier*
Ben

Good luck.

*drink*
http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog

CPAC is just a place for ignorant people to gather to express their ignorant ideas!!
Anonymous

I read both Erickson and Dr. Clouthier’s blog posts, and I have to say they were probably the best illustrations of why conservatives will never be able to “take their country back”, and why they will never merge with libertarians no matter what “The Fed” does.

First, to Erickson’s point that young conservatives should essentially practice what they preach. He should instead look at CPAC as an experiment of for their desired, utopian conservative society. What would the world look like if 98% of people believed in near-complete liberty and self governance? Oh, everyone continues screwing each other? Duly noted. And I know conservatives are going to say it’s Hollywood’s fault for contaminating the young conservatives minds with images of sex. But remember, free society, free enterprise, blah blah blah.

Second, to Dr. Clouthier’s point that feminism has created a society of women who are either asexual or too sexual. Unless you are roommates with a person, or in a relationship with them, their sexuality will probably not affect you. This struggle between liberty and responsibility is something both libertarians and conservatives believe in, but libertarians made peace with. There are many libertarians who have never done drugs, think that drugs are bad, and will never want to try drugs. However, they will never advocate laws banning access to drugs from other adults and (the most important difference between conservatives and libertarians) will never write a blog post about how other people should not use drugs. They have the self-discipline to mind their own business. Because libertarians have realized something that conservatives can’t: you can’t be a parent to an adult. Sadly, Dr. Clouthier thinks she can tell young conservative women that they aren’t going out dressed like that.
lazzzlo

Image matters in the “real” world.

“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
Anonymous

Too bad Erickson didn’t follow the advise that “Fat drunk and stupid was no way to go through life”.
deewicket

” good behavior should remain a basic characteristic of the conservative movement”
Gawd! That is friggin’ hilarious! Good behavior? Like the armed, racist, hateful, sign-carrying tea-partiers? Like Breitbart? Palin? You must be inhaling something.
http://www.facebook.com/dain.fitzgerald Dain Fitzgerald

Eh, seems like a trifling difference here between Clouthier and Erickson. Here’s Erickson at the end:

“Conservatives should, first and foremost, want to conserve the basics
and good behavior should remain a basic characteristic of the
conservative movement. As conservatives, we believe in self-government.
With that belief comes the duty of personal responsibility. We should
accept that duty as the opportunity to do what is right, not as license
to behave like fools.”

Sounds like a criticism of morals to me.

Basically Clouthier comes off as harsher. Boor vs. Bore.
Чёрт Возьми

I think it was Ray Stevens who said “Baptists are like cats. You know they are doing it, but you can’t catch them at it.”
Did the “younger generation” forget to be discrete?
Nah! It has always been that way.
Let’s just call them Gingrich Conservatives.
Centrist79

My thought is that Eric couldn’t get laid with a fist full of hundred dollar bills in a whorehouse. Maybe he should lighten up on the kids, after all they had to sit through days of crap and just needed a drink and some exercise.
Anonymous

personal responsibility anyone?
Anonymous

yeah and it ain’t weed neither!
Anonymous

Don’t forget the ne’er-do-wells.
http://profile.yahoo.com/565TCXMB2XP263LC6JONTU4N6A Kim

My friend just met a chocolate man on Blackwhitemeet.COMit’s where for men and women looking for interracial’ship for a fabulous lifestyle
It’s a nice place for black white sing’les, to interact with each other…no bounds or extremes in front of true love.
http://profile.yahoo.com/565TCXMB2XP263LC6JONTU4N6A Kim

My friend just met a chocolate man on Blackwhitemeet.COMit’s where for men and women looking for interracial’ship for a fabulous lifestyle
It’s a nice place for black white sing’les, to interact with each other…no bounds or extremes in front of true love.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Adam-Hemmer/1061080208 Adam Hemmer

Are all conservatives maladjusted socially inept know-it-all pencil dicks or just the ones at CPAC?
Tan

Wow Pablo is an old! Hehehehe. I didn’t have the proof until now; though people with serious cases of the ‘oldz’ generally act like you Pablo, as in hateful, resentful, crotechety. Do you really want to be THAT old man Pablo? The get-off-my-lawn type? I guess you’re satisfied with it, but my we can laugh at you can’t we?

It’s called jealousy, Pablo. You just wish you were one of the hot youngz, chasing after girls in stilettos and nice clothes! You wish you were looking sharp and hot instead of the pleated pants wearing, beer bellied, thinning haired OLD that you are. Stop being jealous and relax a little and dress nicely too. I’ve seen the oldz at CPAC in the videos…NOT pretty! You don’t have to lose your self respect just because you’re aging. Some people age brilliantly and don’t resent young people
for their youth and instead enjoy their own life at any age. You’re not one of those people it’s plain to see. So in a way; it’s you that needs to ‘grow up’!
Anonymous

Where the white women at?
Anonymous

Insults Adam. Maybe you should grow up.
Anonymous

More insults. This late night crowd on this discussion must be a bunch of immature students or those in the 47% who don’t work but love to take our tax cash.
Anonymous

Wow Leedog. How profound? Where did you get such a snappy insult? Brilliant..
Anonymous

Lots of Liberal Soros Trolls out tonight. You know the type, no date for Valentines Day.
Anonymous

Inspiring Insults Pablo. You might need to be the one to GROW UP. This is the talk of the elementary schoolyard.
Anonymous

More and more of the young people I know are waking up to the reality that Barry the Bold is a false IDOL sent here by Karl the Marxist to try to destroy the land of the free.

All you have to do is remind them that their great grandparents and grandparents came to America to flee socialism and communism, which have failed and will continue to fail.

American voters this year will either choose Barry’s Socialist State or the Capitalism that drives the world not just America.

If you vote for OBAMA you too are a socialist.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Adam-Hemmer/1061080208 Adam Hemmer

Sorry I’m not PC, Mr. Sensitive.
Pablo

What do you define as old? I’m younger than Barack Obama.

And yes, you can stay the f*ck off my lawn unless you’re mowing it. Old has nothing to do with it.
Anonymous

I don’t know. Are all progressives maladjusted socially inept know-it-all pencil dicks or just the one who posted above me?
Anonymous

Yeah, grow up. And when you do, pay attention to the others in the room. You know, the ones that make you uncomfortable, like the poor, the dispossessed, the immigrants. You know, the ones who clean the pool, who cook your meals who shine your shoes, who wash your car, who mow your lawn. The little people. Pay attention, and then there’s a little bit of hope that you’ll realize what an ass the Republican Party really is.