An interview with Brian Anderson...

Here's an interview with Brian Anderson, author of "South Park Conservatives". Here's an excerpt:

3. Are college students really more to the right these days? What about all those Deaniacs we heard about last year?

Before I wrote South Park Conservatives, I kind of assumed that most college kids were reflexively liberal, as they were when I was in school. But in researching my chapter on campus conservatives, I was struck by how poorly liberalism is faring on campus these days. About a year and a half ago, Harvard University's Institute of Politics did a study of college student values and found that they were to the right of the general population, with 31 percent of the students identifying themselves as Republican and 27 percent as Democrats, and the rest either independent or unaffiliated. The institute's director, Dan Glickman, put it bluntly: "College campuses aren't a hotbed of liberalism anymore." On a host of issues--taxes, abortion, military matters--students are way more conservative than they were ten or 15 years ago.

As for the Deaniacs, sure, Dean had enthusiastic young volunteers, but so did President Bush. Pew Research just came out with a report that found Dean's supporters were much older, wealthier, and more liberal than the typical Democrat, which certainly wasn't the line touted by the New York Times and other mainstream outlets. Dean had particularly strong support among 40 to 59 year-olds. Many of his supporters may actually have been old McGovernites! Hardly the wave of the future. In talking to many students for my concluding chapter on campus conservatism, I found myself encouraged by the good sense, energy, and intelligence of these kids, many of whom you'd call South Park conservatives. Of course, student views tend to bounce around a lot, since young adults are still forming their opinions, but if people tend to move to the right as they get older, get married, have children, and start paying taxes--well, let's just say pollster Scott Rasmussen isn't wildly speculating when he speaks of a possible coming "GOP generation." The Democrats may have won the "youth vote" in this presidential election, but Bush garnered 46 percent of younger voters, and there was no surge to the polls by young progressives, as Kerry had hoped for and counted on. I'd be worried if I were a liberal.