FOX News: CPAC Organizers Try to Turn Up Hip Quotient With Video Games, Rap
by Big HollywoodHere’s the vision for this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference: Outside, Lou Dobbs is waxing cranky on the country’s economic decline. Inside, the hip crowd will be playing video games, watching movies, eating snacks and listening to rap music.
In a bid to make conservative chic, organizers of the annual meet-up of Republican Party faithful and right-wing firebrands are taking pains this year to gear their summit toward students and the under-30 crowd. Added to the menu are a slew of new media workshops and an entertainment lineup befitting a college campus.
Organizers say the conference, which kicks off Thursday in Washington, has had a large college-age contingent for years now. But they are making an extra push to attract and entertain that crowd with youth-oriented talks and the addition of something called the XPAC Lounge — a room one organizer dubbed the “hub of fun.”
That’s where the video games and the junk food will be.
“We’re gonna have the most popular games. There’ll be Guitar Hero. There’ll be Dance Revolution. There’ll be Call of Duty,” said Kevin McCullough, the radio host who created the XPAC Lounge with actor Stephen Baldwin. ….
Read full piece here.
According to the article, Hannah Giles is scheduled to attend. Rumor has it, Steven Crowder and Ellen Karis will also be there.
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84 Comments
Give me a pinball machine any day.
Call of Duty? Because nothing says family values like mowing down people in an airport with machine guns.
Kids will be out there racking up kill counts faster than a socialist health care system.
Hannah Giles gonna be there ?
That's as hip as it gets !
We libs prefer the "booze and girls" tactic for attracting youth. Stick with what works.
Good luck with the video games. CPAC looks almost as hip as the Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie show.
Sounds cool. They should have a Modern Warfare 2 tent with soldiers where people can play the games and interact with our best and brightest.
Young adults will naturally gravitate towards Conservatives instead of those leftwing granola kooks that pass out tofu and lawn grass sandwiches. Conservatives can make some massive inroads into this demographic.
Erm… OK that sounds kinda like LOSE to me. I go play video games when I want entertainment. When I'm interested in something important, like the direction of the country, I expect a more professional atmosphere.
the GOP really needs to work super hard to be more cool/hip.
its not that hard, just use liberal tactics.
I hear ya but many young adults may not want to sit around debating the nuts and bolts of policies or listening to policy wonks. It would serve the GOP well to show that everyone is welcome [except liberal parasites] in the American Party aka Republican Party [minus the rinos] by appealing to their interests. From there you can educate them about Conservative values and principles.
Sure, as long as you keep them ignorant of the agenda of the John Birch Society that's co-sponsoring the event. Keep moving further to the extremist fringe to win the hearts and minds of America, that'll work.
You sound like a lot of fun.
…and the youth you Libs attract look and sound like Bill Maher and Rosie O'Donnell.
That ain't hip – that's pathetic.
That might work except I'm a young adult myself. (Mid twenties.) The last thing I want to do is pretend we're all in high school playing video games while important topics need discussing.
Another thought: if the young adults they are seeking don't want to debate the "nuts and bolts", are those really people they want to attract in the first place? Personally, I'd prefer to be around people who can think for themselves, not just swallow whatever the party says while they play a game.
Anyway, I don't think they are fooling anybody my age with this stuff.
I'm bringing a LAN cable! Sure many people here may not be happy about this, but I'm a gamer at heart. Bring it on!
I totally agree. I wish I was going. Nothing pulls the young more together than swapping a couple of frags in deathmatch. Work's in my house at least. =D
If you want to attract a younger crowd, give away a free iPhone app that shows how much of your pay check goes to taxes. Since most of us use direct deposit nowdays the sting of how much the government takes is lessened by not holding that check in your hand and actually seeing how much you don't get to take home every two weeks.
Cute idea, probably wears off the moment any of them leave the game tent and go listen to any of the speakers.
Fairly or not, the overt influence of social conservatives means that most of the -perhaps-overvalued – "youth vote" is ALWAYS going to go in other directions, sometimes to Democrats but generally to nothing in particular.
The under-35's in this country are inherently distrustful of the POLITICAL left, as it tends to be an ideology they recognize as belonging mostly to their schoolteachers (look how popular South Park continues to be) …but they'll never embrace American "conservativism" so long as it's more concerned with traditionalism, family values and "moral restraint" – not necessarily because those things are "bad," but because they're… well, no fun
Booze and girls? We call that college, those bastions of education producing liberal dopes at an alarming rate.
Word.
Hurl on deck.
Call of Duty is not the "Hip" Game, Battlefield 2 is right now. Geez I am over 40 and know this. Perhaps they should hire me to coordinate their "fun" events and I will get the LAN games and the X-Boxes going with several tournaments.
i hear ya Noobie, WoW Guild leader and long time FPS fan here.
Hey, if you are in California, check out the California Young Republicans Convention this weekend. A weekend of speakers and activities and even though I wont be able to use a teleprompter for every single word that comes out of my mouth, i was told writing a few notes on my hand would be just fine
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=197406
shoot, I'm still working my way through Fallout 3, I just thought it was funny.
/under 40
//PS3>Xbox. yathat'sright
"Booze and girls? We call that college"
College, nothing… we call it Chappaquiddick.
Late 40's and they're not fooling me either.
Instead of stereotyping youths, man up, be honest, and lay the cards on the table.
That being said, I've been to day long meetings, and there's nothing wrong with breaking up the monotony.
D'oh !!
All they need are monitors streaming Red Eye 24/7…pull out the archived Ab News segments and be sure to include plenty of Robot Theater.
Pinball was fun but that glowing blue joystick from Tron used to pull me in every time
When I'm not working on college homework I'm either watching/reading the news, but there's nothing better than playing some online COD (Call of Duty) to relieve boredom, and provide some joy.
Good point. I think the more popular conservatives are learning to keep the social conservatism to a minimum and just worry about the stuff that government should be worried about.
Thats why they need the booze.
She must be hip, since I've never heard of her!
Yep, she's that cutting-edge ! ; )
I hear ya. If you wanna play video games, fine. Do that at home. We're trying to reclaim a country here!
As long as "fun" is the goal, "duty" and "honor" will suffer.
Up until recently my friends and I would get in about 30-40 days of snowboarding per season. After 2001 I started following politics. I was blown away by the depth of leftwing depravity and on our trips I would get on the coffee table, bottle of vodka in hand and rail on the leftwing malcontents. My friends, while entertained, couldn’t care less about politics. But they listened, not that they had much choice in the matter, and eventually began to understand what I was telling them. If I started just reading from the Constitution they would have locked me out of the hotel room. The GOP needs to find creative ways to appeal to young adults so they can at the very least explain what Conservatism is and is not.
but there's nothing better than playing some online COD (Call of Duty) to relieve boredom, and provide some joy.
I would go so far as to call it therapeutic.
Hey Charisse — Is this the level of political insight we can expect from the convention — repetitions of stale jokes and RNC talking points?
There's really something pathetic about individuals or groups trying to be percieved as "cool".
"Genuine" is always cool. Be genuine.
Yes, that is Sharise -seems you might need to take a few reading lessons, and sure your humorless wit is welcome to attend . All are invited, no matter how lame
I'm a little disappointed with their idea of being "hip with the kids". Conservatism itself is worth taking an interest in and supporting. Doing it this way just ensures that they're lowering themselves to the same levels as the libs on tv. And speaking as an under-30, most younger people with half a brain see through that and find it insulting and even a little pathetic. Want to get kids interested? Find more people like Steven Crowder that do funny-yet-thought-provoking videos. Kids like to laugh and see stuff they haven't seen before, not be patronized by adults going "see doods, we likes the xboxes and the nintendos and emo rock, too!"
Hey hey hey, since when is having a level 80 paladin a waste of time??
Battlefield 2 isn't out yet though so they couldn't put it up.
Here's a great start.
http://www.amazon.com/1776-David-McCullough/dp/07...
Have a pallet load of these around to pass out.
Good one.
I don't mean this to sound hateful but you gotta lighten up. The part you are referring to puts you in the middle of a terrorist attack and personally I have no objection to showing how horrific and evil these people are. Also if we start beating them over the heads with family values we'll end up with a second term of Obama, family values are better left to the family than to politicians. We need are politicians to stick to their constitutionally delegated powers, get our deficit under control, get illegal immigration in check, and reintroduce our nation to the ideas of liberty and personal responsibility. I'll decide how my children should be raised because instilling values in them is my job as a parent .
As someone who plays Call of Duty on a regular basis, give me a break. Besides, the viscous terrorist scene was one of the strongest parts of the game.
rap? RAP? Come on people…
In this, you and I are whole-heatedly agreed. I wish more of my fellow republicans would follow suit.
settle down francis, i was making a joke.
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I am all for appealing to younger people, but this is not the way to do it. Young people need a purpose and inspire to work for, not video games and bad food. Obama managed to get young people to stump for him by the millions because he inspired them, not because he appealed to them with gimmicks. We need to inspire the nations youth to see what we see as revolutionary and good. If you do that, you will not need gimmicks. Either way conservatives have a severe problem with youths, women, and minorities. These are the fastest growing voting groups, and we are facing permanent marginalization if we don't do something.
There is one group of minorities that will grow more and more conservative as the years go by and it is also the largest.I believe the Hispanic community will come to the aid of people who care for this country.I saw it first hand on 9/11(I lived in Queens NY at the time)They were flying the red/white and blue proudly while lower Manhattan neighborhoods full of white libs started to put together their defense of radical Islam.They are very much like the Cubans in Miami.I understand the problems with illegal immigration but as for the ones here(legally,and some illegally) I think they will be just fine.
Rap is for tone-deaf losers.
If you can't sing, rap.
Rap is hieroglyphics put to jungle drums. Moronic faux-music for merons.
Real Americans despise rap and all it stands for. Meaningless blather from null-heads.
Francis?
Clearly its not necessary to have the youth vote to win elections. As a young conservative myself, I say screw it, repackage your message sure, but don't move away from social conservatism. If recent polling is any indication, being openly anti abortion and anti Gay marriage is not overtly against the wider electorate.
Im all for the GOP trying to get some more youth votes in just practical political terms, and as a gamer I always like the idea of playing Cod. All that said, as a young conservative myself, I find this obsession by some in the GOP to appeal to the youth kinda rediculous.
Social Conservatism and young people just don't generally mix. I say screw it, we don't need them to win elections. Sure everyone vote we get is good, but we don't need to be "cool" to win.
It's a saying. I can call you "Chuckles", if you prefer. or "Dude", if you're into the whole brevity thing.
Nice. I wanted to be obnoxious to you for telling me to settle down, but anyone who quotes the Big Lebbowski at me is good in my book. Well, maybe not Hitler or Stalin, but even still…
truce then, friend. I know how you gamers get when someone disses your game , being one myself. Just don't bean me in the forehead with a coffee mug
"Clearly its not necessary to have the youth vote to win elections."
No, but the thing with the "youth vote" is that it soon just becomes "the vote;" and the strategic key to that is recognizing the difference between "youth issues" that tend to lessen upon adulthood and significant generational addtitude-shifts that the youth-voters of right now will carry with them into adult-voterhood – think Giuliani recognizing that young NYC professionals looking to start families would be more receptive than the earlier "family = commute" generations to his anti-crime proposals.
On the social-issue front, the course is already clear: The "secularization" of culture on the coasts is progressing inward. For good or ill, modern America is en-route to a version of the "post-religious" culture largely seen in Europe – particularly on the "big two" issues of abortion and equal-rights for homosexuals. My generation (I'm 28) and even moreso the generation behind me are predominantly pro-choice and pro-gay-rights, and that's unlikely to change much…
(continued)
(continued)
…Unless American conservativism can manage to decouple itself from religiousity and tradition-for-tradition's-sake, it will ultimately sink into obsolesence along with them. Demography is destiny.
Show me a conservative in a position of real power willing to ignore the "traditionalists" in as definitive away as Obama has just begun to ignore the old-guard anti-nuclear greens, and I'll show you hope for the future.
You hang out with Garafalo, Moore and Mahar.
I'd rather watch a movie.
As someone that's wasted a truly grand portion of his life playing video games, I can say that video games are not really perceived as "cool" by anyone. Just because the under-35 crowd likes something doesn't mean it's necessarily cool.
I see them moving more towards libertarianism.
Neither party seems to completely represent everything they believe in, so look elsewhere. I know I did.
You really can't "stage" hip, can you? Either you are, or . . .
Look, it's a free country but why videogames at CPAC? I'm a gamer myself but if I was going to CPAC I would rather take the time to hear the speeches, network with other conservatives and maybe take in a documentary. It's like coming to Hawaii and staying in your hotel room watching pay per view all day. I mean, you can do it but I think your time could be better spent doing other things. I mean, if I want games I would just try and sneek into E3 like everyone else:)
Not hating, just my thoughts. I don't want to sound like Obama and blame the ills of childhood on videogames.
Agreed. I am old enough to remember when playing games was not cool, being a nerd and a geek got you a beating. Gamers these days don't realize how "un-hip" being a gamer was back in the day. I mean, if you played D&D, videgames and read comics the odds of a @$$ kicking was pretty high. Ahhhhh, the good ol days……..
Haha, I know my geeky hobbies all too well.
Actually the Call of Duty they're referring to is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 — and it is the big thing in shooters right now.
Lawn grass sandwiches? LOL That is awesome.
Word, although I prefer the SEMTEX or the Claymores.
I'll bring the 48 port switch.
Talk about a LAN party…
If only I lived closer to Santa Clara…
Nothing more therapeutic than sticking a SEMTEX grenade to someones backside and running the other way.
Yeah, SEMTEX. The official Modern Warfare replacement for Halo's Plasma Grenade. =D I can count how many times I've stuck people with those. I also can say the same about how many times I've been stuck by them. =P
Check out the CPAC app… lots of good info… http://bit.ly/bsBpc8
Anything that can help the GOP break free of the old man stereotype is a plus. Nothing wrong with having entertainment at conferences.
I think those who bring up "family values" and the other crap are the ones we should be pushing aside in the GOP.
\m// Amen to that. F*ck rap. 80's metal 4 life.
\m// Amen to that. F*ck rap. 80's metal 4 life.
I completely disgaree. What is "hip" is 100% manufactured by marketing dept. douchebags and record company executives. If they want something to be popular, it will be popular. My generation is too full of sheep to go with anything else.
Actually the phrase is "Lighten up, Francis" And it comes from the Bill Murray classic "Stripes"
If rap is easy you should do it and make a lot of easy money. Oh thats right, it is easy to talk about but actually hard to do at a level where you can actually make money.
Real Americans don't give a damn about what music a person likes, they just want to keep the government out of their business, state and federal.
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