Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has made reaching out to young voters and minorities a cornerstone of his strategy for the GOP. But Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., the youngest member of Congress and the Republicans’ most recognizable rookie, isn’t so sure.
In a profile in Details, the too-cool-for-school men’s magazine, Schock is asked about Steele’s “hip-hop” strategy. “So does that mean we’re going to, like rap our message?” he responds derisively.
Schock also comes across as dismayed by his party’s inability to reach out to voters his age.
“I’ve had Republicans come up to me and say, ‘Tell me how I should talk to young people!’ as if it’s some foreign language or something,” he said. “[A] lot of older people just say, ‘Well, young people aren’t going to vote for me, so I’m just not going there.’ Well, any time you write off a demographic, you’re going to get your tail handed to you, as evidenced by the McCain campaign.”
Despite the attention Schock has gotten for his looks, he admits, “There’s no line of young ladies at my door every morning. Maybe when they read my Details profile …”
