November 13, 2008

Old GOP pol (not McCain) pissed about young Dem upstart (not Obama)

Everything that's wrong with America.

Well, well. A hearty ironic congratulations and a sarcastic slow clap to Vanessa Sievers, the 20-year-old Dartmouth College junior who ran for treasurer of Grafton County, NH, and won. The defeated three-term Republican incumbent, 68-year-old Carol Elliott, protested that Ms. Sievers won only because "brainwashed college kids" voted Democratic, and referred to the student as a "teenybopper." And rightly so. This uppity youngster is so childish that insults and name-calling are really the only appropriate responses from a 68-year-old woman.

The success of Ms. Sievers, who essentially bought the election with a $51 advertisement on something called Facebook (the worst kind of rampant campaign spending), is symptomatic of a larger threat; namely, the growing sentiment among young people that it would be a good idea to get involved in their communities and work to better what they see as flaws in the system. These students, with their elitist Ivy League educations and their aspirations to become productive members of society, are simply part of the problem. At a time when the country is in crisis and the world is mere weeks away from a sweeping revolution in American politics, the last thing we need is young people "getting involved" and bringing "fresh ideas" to the table. Do us all a favor: Stay at home and play with your Facetubes and your Super Grand Theft Mario cartridges, and stop trying to improve things all the time. Forcing out complacent officeholders with outdated ideas who don't appreciate the opinions of young adults is no way to respect your elders.

And as for you, Ms. Sievers, enjoy it while you can. If you and your college buddies think you can get far in this world with youthful enthusiasm, determination and a genuine interest in politics, you truly are brainwashed. Because we prefer things the way they've always been and the way we've been told they're supposed to be.

Posted by: Jason Reich      I’m a fan of Jason Reich
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BlueGirlRedState
posted 6:40 pm on 11/17/2008
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One time, when I was 19, I found out that I could run for Mayor. I developed an entire platform to get elected on, called my friends and tried to recruit volunteers for my campaign...and then I woke up with an intense hangover and forgot everything that I wanted to run based on, including all of the people I spoken to...
I later received many confused phone calls from people who couldn't understand the garbled voice mails with "woo hoos" and slurred words Mostly all they could understand was "Vote for Heather!"

Ah, Those were the days.

lvdragonlady
posted 1:59 pm on 11/14/2008
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Some of these commnets are oh so funny.
I say, Bravo and well done.
What we need is more kids getting involved. If we keep electing old folks we are going to stay in the same mess we are in right now. America needs new ideas not the same old ones that we have had for the last 50 years.
Welcome to a new generation of people who care.

iDragonFly
posted 9:38 am on 11/14/2008
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20 year old Vanessa Sievers - learning capacity increasing.
68 year old Carol Elliot - learning capacity shrinking.

Sievers - vital and positive.
Elliot - cranky and constipation.

beansly
posted 6:08 pm on 11/13/2008
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I wanna be her intern.

BrendanM
posted 4:40 pm on 11/13/2008
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She can hire a treasury manager, just like how Sarah Palin hired a city manager.

urfriend
posted 2:57 pm on 11/13/2008
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Way to go Ms. Sievers!!!

politicoprincess - 2 Replies
posted 1:50 pm on 11/13/2008
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this is nice, but, huh? she's 20 what does she know?

replying to politicoprincess; posted 9:54 pm on 11/13/2008
What does Carol Elliott know if she can't defend her position from only a 20-year-old?
< Previous Reply 1 2 Next Reply >
DuncanQuirk
posted 12:56 pm on 11/13/2008
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Those damn punk whippersnappers!

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