Conservative Candidates Court the Young Vote

Barely four months since launching the Inland Valley Young Republicans, the group is preparing to welcome more than a dozen Republican/conservative candidates at a Thursday Endorsement Meeting.

They may be fairly new, but already the group has had more success in securing appearances by political candidates than the Redlands Tea Party Patriots had at a recent meet-the-candidate event at Mill Creek Cattle Co. in Mentone. And it has gotten more response than other organizations that have either held or tried to hold forums.

Why? Because it is the young voter who may hold the key to this year’s election, as they did four years ago, according to some experts.

“Our focus is helping Republican candidates win office and stay elected,” said Cameron Wessel, 22, a student at Riverside Community College and vice president of the Inland Valley Young Republicans.

“We give support to any (conservative) who is running,” he said. “And we’re a huge volunteer corps. We want to go out and walk the precincts. We want to talk to people. We want to make the calls.”

They are in essence, a small army of energetic young visionaries who can reach a large audience and thrive on social media, according to members of the Tea Party Patriots. And many believe these voters have become disenfranchised with President Barack Obama and what they say is his failure to deliver on his promises of change.

They are not only the future of the party, the Young Republicans, or IVYR, are literally the “farm team,” said Phillip Naman, committee member with the Redlands Tea Party Patriots.

“Jerry Lewis is retiring,” Naman said. “We don’t have anybody in our district, in our county, who can step up and fill those shoes. Gary Miller, who I think is a very capable Congressman, hopefully will take over that position. But we didn’t have a number two in line. A mayor, a city councilman, conservative people on the supervisors board – they don’t really have a chain built behind them. And the Democrats and liberals, they start in this game a long time ago. The Republicans tend to find somebody four to six months before an election and throw them in there.”

“People have to understand how to run an election, or what’s involved in the job because, personally, I think a city council job is full-time if you’re going to do a decent job at it,” Naman said.

The young republicans are 40 active members strong, Wessel said. There are a lot of conservative-leaning students in the area; many are what Wessel called “decline to state” voters. They describe themselves as an independent voter in that they vote issue by issue, candidate by candidate, he said.

“They are liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal issues,” he said. “That comes with the educational system. From my perspective I can tell you going through the (college) system myself there are a lot of liberal teachers, especially in the PoliSci, who kind of tend to persuade students to think a certain way.”

The group has been able to spread word of their group with help from the Redlands Tea Party Patriots, who have given them time on the mic to make announcements on upcoming events during monthly general meetings. Tea Party committee member John Berry has worked with the young Republican leadership to help them develop their contacts.

“I’m flattered they are looking for us to help,” Berry said. “And anything I can do to help conservatives, whether they’re a minor candidate or a major candidate. California’s been rolled by liberals and RINO’s (Republicans in name only) pretty much since Reagan left. So, it’s time to do anything we can for hope and change.”

Berry has called Thursday’s Young Republican event conservative euphoria.

“It’s going to be conservative fest,” he said.

The Endorsement Meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Mill Creek Cattle Co., 1874 Mentone Blvd. in Mentone. Registered members of the Inland Valley Young Republicans will have a chance to listen to the candidates speak then cast a vote for who they want to endorse. Anyone age 18 to 40 may register. Registrations will be taken on Thursday. Fees are $20 for students and $40 for non-students.

Scheduled to attend are:

• Mike Morrell, candidate for Assembly District 40
• Donna Lowe, candidate for Assemby District 41
• Tim Donnelly and Bill Jahn, candidates for Assembly District 33
• Gary Miller and Bob Dutton candidates for Congressional District 31
• Paul Cook, Gregg Imus, Brad Mitzelfelt, Bill Jensen, Joseph Napolitano and Angela Valles, candidates for Congressional District 8