Well, first I've got to say that the prospect of Huntsman carrying 15 percent of the vote still seems implausible: The most generous polling has him at 17 percent, but his worst polling performances still place him at just 7 percent.
And even a second place finish for the former governor won't necessarily revive his troubled campaign. Look, for instance, at Rick Santorum who, for all intents and purposes, won the Iowa caucus. His campaign reported one day of massive fundraising, and then promptly returned to "also-ran" status.
Frankly, minus a convincing first place finish, Huntsman will continue to lack the cash infusion and ground game necessary to compete in South Carolina, Florida and Ohio — all essential if he is to be a real contender for the nomination.
Maybe the stylish leather jacket he's been sporting on the campaign trail will be that missing link that draws in young voters. But something tells me that won't be the case.
Our dual questions about Ron Paul's devoted following (AFP had an interesting profile of some of his young supporters in New Hampshire, yesterday) remain the most consequential unknown of the GOP primary, even more so then who the nominee will be. If the GOP continues to fail to mobilize an energetic young voter base, then it will likely lose the national campaign. But that young base will never be galvanized if "libertarian" continues to be considered taboo in Republican circles.
But the greater question, as you posed Alexander, is whether or not millennials will claim control over our electoral politics by occupying the polls in 2012.
My quick response: No. (More to come after today's polls close.)
Alexander, is 2012 the year that young voters ditch the two-party system and rally around a third party candidate (Americans Elect? Libertarians? Ron Paul?) whose platform reflects issues important to young voters?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment