Perhaps this is too self-promotional (tho I doubt it because some things I said have been proven wrong!) but I'm posting an interview I did way back in 2008 with the Wabash Conservative Union. I was reminded of the interview by former Wabash student Mike Bellis in a tweet suggesting I am far more uptight on TV than I was during our face-to-face interview. . . .
Speaking on college campuses, as I did at Wasbash College, is one of my greatest honors. I wish more conservatives would see it that way--as an honor. Too many see it as a hassle, and frankly, intimidating. It is. For conservatives. Many need security details in order to set foot on a campus. The college campuses can be a dangerous place for conservatives. But we still have to go into the lion's den. There's no choice.
We need to take our message of limited government, free markets and personal liberty directly to young people--otherwise they will not be exposed to is. Look, there is no doubt about it: colleges and universities, with their leftist course offerings and mandatory freshman "sensitivity training" orientation (otherwise known as: how to have any kind of sex with anyone, anytime, anyplace) are the final stage of the leftist indoctrination program that began in kindergarten (and if Obama gets his way, in mandatory pre K programs). There is a liberal orthodoxy on campuses and one is not actually permitted to stray from that. At many colleges, if you say what you really think (outside the "free speech zone" area--seriously), you are subject to the campus speech codes, and face disciplinary action if your speech has offended a "persecuted class."
The indoctrination regime is working. If one values our way of life, and our freedoms, he or she will get involved with the campus freedom movement through groups like Young America's Foundation and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, as well as the Leadership Institute and ISI. These organizations send people like me to college campuses, host conferences and seminars with conservative leaders, expose young people to great conservative thinkers, and train up a new generation of conservative activists in hopes that they will champion the very ideas for which our forefathers have been willing to sacrifice their lives.
By the way, no, Wabash was not a hostile environment--but on virtually every campus, with a very few exceptions (such as Hillsdale, Groves City, Patrick Henry College) conservative opinion, and frankly historical and economic realities are not being taught. If our colleges are going to claim legitimately to educate our young people they must offer a different perspective--the right perspective, if you ask me--and allow students the freedom to argue a different point of view in order to determine for themselves, what is right and what is wrong. They will never figure that out if one perspective is forbidden--off limits for intellectual inquiry--deemed so by the leftist elites ensconced in power at our institutions of a bygone era of higher learning.
So after that lengthy into, here's an excerpt from my interview, from way back in the era of "hope and change." Don't hear that much anymore, do you? The question from the Wabash Conservative Union was: "We see that in 2004, 54% of the electorate described themselves as 'Conservative' or 'Slightly Conservative.' Why do you think Sen. Obama has such a spectacular following?" Answer:
“We’re still figuring it out. [Chuckles] He (Sen. Obama) is a phenomenon. He has this unique ability to connect to individuals, and I think that’s what it really is. His lofty rhetoric based on “change” and bi-partisanship, really appeals to people. People love the idea that we’re not going to be bickering and that we can just be one glorious happy family. I think it’s a disservice to our country because the reason our country and way of life is so vibrant is because we have the free and open exchange of ideas. It’s because we have Democrats and Republicans who argue from their hearts what they believe and because of that clash of ideas we come out with the best possible ideas. We have to sell our ideas to the American people. We don’t do what Barack Obama is stating, “We’re going to go beyond your ideas, and have consensus and harmony.” That is based on nothingness – it’s based on feelings and emotions, and he has a unique ability to touch people’s emotions. Sen. Obama gets them to turn away from ideas, logic, and reality and have people reaching for this nebulous notion of peace, joy, hope, and change. I can’t explain how he has done this from a technology standpoint. But yes, he has implemented the Karl Rove playbook, play-by-play. He has developed coalitions in unions, churches – all the national coalitions and brand new coalitions. He has been working on them masterfully for at least two years, but arguably longer than that. But it’s really his hypnotic rhetoric that really disturbs and bothers me. But as a student of American history, I see our country going in a different direction with Barack Obama and it makes me very uncomfortable. ”
Read the whole interview here.
