Monday, March 18, 2013

Andrew Wilkow: ‘What does a conservative look like?’

“It doesn’t have a race, it doesn’t have a gender, it doesn’t have a religion. It is a set of values.” - Ginni Thomas/Daily Caller

Wilkow’s message resonates with younger conservatives. In 2004, he started the website ConservativePunk.org, where scores non-sterotypical conservatives flocked because they “thought they were alone.”

In his college years, Wilkow said he “found an intellectual home in conservativism.”

“I was able to get conservatives over my appearance, but I was never able to get progressives over my thoughts,” he said.

Today, “there are a lot of sleeved, tattooed conservatives who ride motorcycles who are thirsting to be reached out to,” he added.

Wilkow can be found weekdays on Sirius XM Channel 125 from noon to 3 p.m. ET and weekends from 9 a.m. to noon ET. His TV show “Wilkow!” airs at 7 p.m. ET on TheBlaze each weeknight. It is now also available on the DISH Network.

‘It’s Do or Die for Us’: Social Issues, CPACers, and the Future -
RODRIGO SERMEÑO AND FALLON FORBUSH/PJM

Libertarianism and conservatism meet but much debate remains on any course adjustment as the GOP moves forward.

Many young conservatives who were at CPAC want more attention paid to fiscal rather than social issues – a fact not only emphasized by some of the straw poll questions but by the opinions expressed by many of the participants at the three-day conference.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), one of the conference’s most popular speakers and winner of CPAC’s straw poll, urged Republican leaders on the event’s first day to pay attention to the “Facebook generation.”

“They doubt Social Security will be there for them, they worry about jobs and rent and money and student loans. … They aren’t afraid of individual liberty,” said Paul.

“Ask the Facebook generation if we should put a kid in jail for the non-violent crime of drug use and you’ll hear a resounding ‘no.’ Ask the Facebook generation if they want to bail out too big to fail banks with their hard-earned tax dollars and you’ll hear a ‘hell no,’” he continued....