Why Don't Republicans Try to Win Young Voters Rather Than Suppress Them?

Judge Hopgood

The expedited hearing on the Watauga County voting rights lawsuit will be heard in Judge Robert Hopgood's courtroom in the Wake Superior Court on Monday. Plaintiffs are alleging systematic and collusive moves by the Watauga County Board of Elections, sustained by the North Carolina Board of Elections, to discourage voting by 18-25 year-olds, which constitute the largest youth demographic of any North Carolina county with a major university in it.

We all know what they've been up to, despite their denials. Even fair-minded Republicans know.

But, really, why show hostility toward young voters rather than try to win their hearts and minds? Why not mount a campaign to win their votes rather than hatch back-room deals to move polling places away from them?

Could it be that the Republicans are peddling ideas that the young won't buy? With gay marriage bans crumbling away like a melting glacier in Greenland, what do Republican leaders in North Carolina do? They certainly don't admit that they were wrong, nor do they express tolerance let alone acceptance for gay citizens seeking the right to marry. No, Senate candidate Thom Tillis and Republican Boss/strongman Phil Berger rather attempt to intervene (at North Carolina taxpayer expense) in that Federal courtroom in Greensboro to stop Judge William Osteen from declaring Amendment One unconstitutional.

That's the contemporary North Carolina Republican Party in a nutshell. Deny, obstruct, spread more hatred, look backward as the future hits you in the butt.

Young people have moved on. The Republican Party can't or won't move on. So they do everything they can to keep the young from voting. That's not going to work for them, not in the long run.