Guest Essay

A chasing after the wind

A reflection on four years in the college conservative movement

By James Fullmer

From the May 2008 Print Edition

Well do I remember my first College Republicans meeting, way back in the fall of 2004. Packed into a crowded room in Wheeler, the guys all chivalrously gave up their seats to the girls. At the end, three people earned free T-shirts by singing the national anthem, during which two overzealous freshmen at the back stood out of respect. Then, after my friend and I sat down, the meeting came to a close. A few of us headed over to someone’s house to watch President George W. Bush’s convention speech.

That was when the beer was passed out.

Having just turned 18, I was a little uncomfortable with this. It wasn’t an official club event, but we were still Republicans — and weren’t we the party that respected the law? Impressionable freshman that I was, I convinced myself it was alright. The next month, I went through the same process of mental gymnastics as six of us, at the direction of the state CR apparatus, vandalized lawns across campus by sprinkling fast-growing rye grass to form the phrase “W ’04.”

The flame of ambition is not easily snuffed out by the water of moral qualms. I may not have approved of what was going on, but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of the very reason I chose UC Berkeley over USC — the chance to make a name for myself fighting the conservative fight on the front lines of the political battleground.

This piece is quickly turning into a confession, and I don’t want to do that — I’d need far more than one page. Instead, I want to share a few observations about the state of the college conservative movement today, because it’s hurting. It’s hurting and it’s too important too let it go gently into that good night — though, as it took me two and a half years to figure out, it’s not the most important thing.

I could probably write a book about everything I learned in that time, but until that happens let me mention what I see as the two most important lessons to be learned.

First, there is a balance to be had between activism and outreach. Being a young conservative on a college campus, by definition, involves making a lot of outrageous claims that are going to shock a lot of people, but there are two ways of viewing this and hence two ways of going about it.

You can see it as an unfortunate but necessary consequence of sharing a viewpoint that is unpopular. People will get their dander up when you tell them that you oppose socialized universal health care, but when you explain to them that it’s not because you hate children or want a third yacht but because you think there’s a better way of ensuring quality health care for all (namely, the free market), they’ll be pleasantly surprised and may even be inclined to listen to you. Conceding on principle is a powerful way of getting people on your side, politically. It’s especially effective in Berkeley, where people are often surprised to find out that Republicans don’t have horns — let alone that we’re actually nice people who, in general, want the same things they do.

Far too often, though, I think we engage in activism for activism’s sake alone. We do things just to get a rise out of people, without any intention of changing hearts and minds. A good example of this was in March of 2006, when a bunch of us went to San Francisco to counterprotest an anti-war rally, dressed as suicide bombers who were thankful for the support of the protesters. That may have felt good and been fun and rebellious, but did we change anyone’s mind?

Second, we seriously need to cut the underage drinking. If we really believe that a smaller government is better, that people can take care of themselves, then we need to live it out and show some personal responsibility in our own lives. That goes for the campaigns as well — stop bribing underage volunteers with free alcohol. I realize that what I’m saying may not be too popular, but indulge me, please; I think a magazine that can publish a conservative case for abortion can stand to publish a conservative case for temperance.

My days on the college campus are numbered, and the days when I put the conservative fight above all else are long gone. The fight, however, goes on, and we can’t continue the way we’ve been going. We’re not winning the battle of ideas, because we’re not fighting the battle of ideas, because in all honesty most CRs are more interested in being obnoxious activists, getting drunk, and hooking up than they are in sincerely trying to change the way our peers see politics.

Let’s not shy away from that fight. Let’s dare to dream big dreams. Let’s dare to change our campus and our country.

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