Obama Zombies? No. Raw economic deal, not liberal politics, stack up against welfare of America's young people.

I am not going to deviate too far from my Paul analysis to date. I still contend that, in the end, Paul is more of a factor in the general election as an enthusiastic insurgent third party candidate. That is not to understate the fact that the candidate does, as you report, continue to finish with delegates in the contests of most states. But in November, youth turnout would be more significant, in all ideological camps, if Paul is a third-party candidate than if he's resigned to non-candidate status. 

I'd like to draw attention, as we take a breath of fresh air amid this rollicking nominating process, to a few recent articles concerning the youth vote that caught my attention. First, Politico reporter Jennifer Epstein smartly asks if the Obama campaign will recapture the zest with young people from the 2008 presidential cycle.
 
"The Obama cultural phenomenon four years ago lit up the youth vote like no campaign before." "His team,” she writes, "is looking to revive the cool appeal—and reignite the young voters who’ve strayed."

Assuming Obama is unable to forge a new popular appeal to young people - Wes, you and I have stressed the message of economic populism must be central to such a mission - there is a different question, one Republican pollster Katie LaPotin probes at Campaigns & Elections.

In order to win any young people, will Republicans have to speak up, with real care, on the seminal economic issues to college-aged voters. LaPotin is on the money:

Still, the Occupy movement was an attempt by America's youth to vent their frustrations with the status quo. Hundreds of thousands of protestors camped out in city parks and other public places, living off donated food and proclaiming that they are a part of the "99 percent" of Americans struggling to make ends meet today. Despite their frustrations, these voters are unlikely to vote Republican in November.

Part of this has to deal with younger voters’ positions on social and environmental issues, but much of it has to do with the constant squabbling and the lack of outreach by this year's GOP presidential contenders.

Case in point: Twenty-eight year old Human Events editor on FOX News promoting his book on the "Obama Zombies," the generation of Obama supporters whom he pejoratively badmouths. The substance of his attack is ad hominem: In his world, young people are plainly stupid for sympathizing with progressive ideals.

Such an attitude will only backfire for conservatives, only widening their divide with financially-strapped millennials in the workforce or in the college. Look no further than today's San Jose Mercury News story about a 22 year-old "lifer at work," which summarizes today's economic quandary for young people.

Finding your calling in life that soon isn't supposed to happen Generation Y. Children of baby boomers or older members of Generation X, they are 50 million strong and entering the job force at the worst time. Two-thirds of young workers under age 30 cannot pay their bills. One in three have returned home to live with mom and dad. A confounding, evolving global economy will press them to change jobs or careers more than once, so it's no surprise that polls show the Y-sters resent being held back.

Obviously, the Zombie writer does not speak for the GOP or all conservatives. But he demonstrates little interest in how moneyed interests, and their entrenchment in the two-party political system, have denied Gen Y even a semblance of economic peace. Moreover, he reflects a dangerously anti-populist message that would doom a GOP candidacy come the fall.  

So, Wesley, I must ask: What should Republicans avoid at all cost (policy and rhetoric-wise) if they want to leave open what appears the ever shrinking prospect of connecting with the youth vote?