Conservative millennials need to be able to promote our Party’s values for all people, regardless of the special interest group to which they subscribe. Recently millennials have been faced with a resurgence of identity politics within the growing young conservative movement. Identity politics arguably cost the Democrats the last election, and if conservatives continue on the path of exclusive alliances our political future looks bleak.
Embracing identity politics is counterproductive to the entire open tent movement that millennial conservative political organizations have worked so hard to establish. However, the responsibility of growing and expanding the movement should not fall on the shoulders of millennials alone. It is the responsibility of leaders within the conservative movement to reflect the values of those who have entrusted them with representation.
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Joshua Thifault, the Advancement Director of Turning Point USA, took to Facebook on June 29th to ridicule the left, as he often does. However, his poor choice of words projected the wrong message for the right. “Happy #Heterosexual Pride Day,” he wrote. “For once, let’s celebrate the people who have children and further the human race.”
His message regarding #HeterosexualPrideDay missed the mark and prompted an uproar from his conservative friends on social media.
“Josh actively pushes people away from Conservatism and the Republican Party with these types of posts,” one social media user commented. “You criticize what you perceive to be a cultural problem by posting something that exemplifies everything that is wrong with both our society and our politics,” wrote another.
Thifault’s flippant attempt at humor was not only unsuccessful, it also carried an off-key message disregarding the LGBT community’s importance, and their ability to be productive members of society. Perhaps without thinking, Thifault based the entire community’s worth on their inability to conceive – ignoring social, political, and economical advancements, and denying the importance of individual merits simply because of the special interest group with which they identify. Certainly, the same would not be said of a man or woman who was infertile.
Thifault is paid to represent Turning Point USA, a right leaning nonprofit organization with a mission to engage youths in the name of conservatism, building friendships within the movement itself – instead of tearing it down. However, the message relayed from Thifault seems to have little respect for his organization’s mission and for the sentiment expressed by a seemingly increasing majority of millennial conservatives.
It’s a message commonly adopted by the “trigger first, ask questions later” corner of the right. Figures like Thifault, Tomi Lahren, and Joe Walsh are too focused on “living savage, not average” and melting more “snowflakes” than espousing conservative ideals.
In pursuit of getting a rise out of a political opponent, some conservatives seem to have reordered their priorities and placed their values in a secondary role. While this isn’t necessarily a problem for an everyday conservative, when become a leader, you have the responsibility of representing a movement, and there are things that become more important than the number of retweets you get in a day.
Unwarranted and nearsighted negativity promoted from those purporting to be leaders of the movement presents an unappealing view of conservatives, and threatens to undo and overshadow the advancements made towards including more people within the folds of conservatism. It is ideologically inconsistent to fight against the marginalization of conservative voices on college campuses for the beliefs and values they adhere to, but in the same breath dismiss the LGBT community or other special interest groups as lesser-than contributors to society for identical reasons. It is ideologically inconsistent to advocate for freedom of expression, freedom of beliefs, and freedom of values when politically expedient, but not in all instances, like when someone disagrees with you or holds you accountable for a poorly crafted joke. It is ideologically inconsistent to fight against the identity politics of the Left but employ them when claiming to represent conservative values.
Instead, conservatives should promote their values constructively and convince those who see differently that our ideas are better for society, instead of tearing down groups of people like those who disagree with us. Conservatives don’t have to agree on everything, but we should sell conservatism for its values and avoid poor packaging that makes voters not want to buy what we’re selling.
