Carrie Prejean Hearts Sarah Palin

by Michael Jones · 2009-08-16 05:45:00 UTC
Topics:

Carrie Prejean and Sarah Palin

The Republican Party's new recruitment weapon, Carrie Prejean, was working the crowd at a Young Republican gathering in California this weekend. The former beauty pageant contestant, who made a name for herself by coining the term "opposite marriage" and by saying that while she doesn't hate gay people she just doesn't want to see them in loving relationships, is being tasked by the Republican Party to bring more young people into the fold.

And if Prejean's comments this past weekend are any indication, the young people she's trying to reach are from the Sarah Palin wing of the Republican Party. That wing of the Party certainly showed how influential it was in 2008, losing the Presidential election margins by the widest percentage (for a GOP candidate) since 1964.

Prejean told the Ventura County Star that she looks up to Sarah Palin, and that in turn the former Alaska Governor has been a trusted ally since Prejean became famous for trashing marriage equality.  "(Palin’s) been very supportive. I really admire her and look up to her, and I know she’ll do great things," said Prejean.

But are Palin and Prejean really the two messengers that young people want to hear from?  Polls show that people under 30 overwhelmingly support marriage equality.  But beyond that, more than 53 percent of the country has a negative impression of Sarah Palin. She might be as popular as pie at a bake-off for social conservatives, but if 53 percent of the country thinks your message is poisonous, is it worth holding Palin up as a hero?

Carrie Prejean may have no regrets about her positions on same-sex marriage, which she reaffirmed in talking with folks from the Ventura County Star.  "A blessing in disguise," she said of her chance to support marriage discrimination on national television.  But placing Prejean at the center of an effort to recruit young voters, when the issue that made her famous runs contrary to the position of most young people in the country, seems a bit foolhardy.

Which could lead one to conclude yet another similarity shared between Prejean and Palin: the more national in profile they get, the less people really like them.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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