GOP Platform: That’s What Young Republicans Find Wrong With The Party

Young Republicans say the GOP platform is what’s wrong with the party. Just in case the findings of the Republican National Committee’s March report wasn’t convincing enough, its political youth arm, the College Republican National Committee, or CRNC, released its own autopsy of the 2012 election on Monday.

The new report titled “Grand Old Party for a Brand New Generation” didn’t present findings that were frightening or novel. However, it should be most worrying for the Republican Party, because it comes from the population that decisively reelected President Barack Obama to the White House last November by more than 60 percent.

The CRNC found that, in order for the GOP to improve its chances of securing the youth vote, the party must overcome the three major hurdles before it: a stained brand, unclear policy priorities and a technological deficit. Making gains in technology is of course important when CRNC researcher found Facebook to be the No. 1 source for how this voting bloc gets its political information -- with the reason being the trust shared between friends and family, according to the report.

The youth group, like the RNC, also found that narrative is a big deal in politics and what young people care about is job creation and economic growth, according to the college committee. But talk is cheap. The CRNC’s report stated that lawmakers will need policies that promote entrepreneurship, make college affordable, support immigration reform and fix health care.

“The great news for Republicans is that young people are, if anything, more focused on qualities like intelligence, competence, hard work and responsibility -- and our data shows neither party has cornered that market,” the report read. “These are brand attributes that, if the GOP makes real efforts to emphasize them over and over, can begin to turn the tide on the party’s negative brand image.”

Read the full CRNC report.