Young Guns: What to Make of Conservative Teen Pundits?
Wise beyond their years, or brainwashed by their elders?
He was a finalist for Time’s 100 most influential people. He’s got a radio show in the works and has a book on its way to the stores. This past Friday, he made the trip to Chattanooga to headline the Lincoln Day Dinner with four candidates for governor.
Oh, by the way, he’s fourteen.
Jonathan Krohn is not the first teenage political pundit, but the level of notoriety he’s achieved in a few months is stunning. Krohn lacks polish, but he makes up for that with competence in understanding political issues and unflappable confidence.
Some liberals have made fun of Krohn, while others have tipped their hat to him — as did most Huffington Post commenters. Many conservative bloggers have embraced Krohn, primarily because the fourteen-year old is better able to defend conservative values than many members of Congress.
But Krohn’s harshest critics come from the right. They believe Krohn lacks the life experience to be commenting on politics. Hot Air’s Allah Pundit asks, “Does he understand what he’s saying, or is he just doing some sort of superb mynah-bird impression of a conservative pundit in the Tucker Carlson mold?”
Likewise, President Herbert Hoover once advised a young man not to concern himself with politics until he turned twenty-one. And there’s the famous quote by Winston Churchill that a young conservative has no heart but an old liberal has no brain.
Is Krohn a brainwashed puppet of dastardly right-wing parents, or a shining light for conservatism’s way forward?
The idea Krohn represents parental brainwashing is condescending, particularly given that Krohn has explained neither of his parents are particularly political. Believe me, it can happen. I got interested in politics at about Krohn’s age. My parents were not into politics. My father hadn’t voted in five consecutive presidential elections, and his vote in 1968 was for perennial candidate Pat Paulsen.
I formed my opinions by doing a lot of reading, writing, listening, and studying. By fourteen, I knew enough about politics to bore most adults. Of course, I didn’t have a national platform.
Other teenagers have gotten their shot and heretofore the results have not been pleasant.
Kyle Williams is perhaps the most obvious example. He began writing for WorldNetDaily.com in 2001 at age 12 and also had a book published. He got in a speech at the National Press Club and a few TV interviews before he mostly disappeared, except for his weekly article for WND every Saturday.
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51 Comments
1. Well Educated Cad:I send my kids to a private school rather than sending them to the government-run brainwashing drug dens. Mostly it’s so I don’t have to spend the rest of my life De-programming them. If this kid can at least give teenagers an idea of what conservatism is, I say give him all the help he needs.
May 29, 2009 - 1:28 am 2. Typewriter_King:BTW, the school recently fired a teacher for trying to brainwash the kids that illegal immigration was okay. Lets see that happen anywhere else.
At Krohn’s age, I believe I was railing against Arafat and musing aloud about joining the IDF, despite being an American gentile. Rabin was kind of my JFK, and Netanyahu was more of “my president” than Clinton. I’ve changed quite a bit, but I’m surprised at just how much I seemed to be right about the world back then, and I’m thankful I don’t have to go through a huge painful realignment process like all those “9/11 conservatives” that belatedly discovered everything they thought they knew about the world was false.
Ben Shapiro, Ben Ferguson, and Ben Stein all started off pretty young in conservative politics, and as far as I know, all three Bens are well adjusted and not, you know, has-Bens.
May 29, 2009 - 2:02 am 3. Vaughn:Why is there even an article being written about a young Conservative? As though he/she may have been ‘brainwashed’. This country’s issues are the result of thousands of ‘brainwashed’ minds, coming from our universities, and products of drug addled 60’s parents.
May 29, 2009 - 5:22 am 4. Terry Gain:An interesting article which doesn’t address the question asked in the caption.
How do we make the conservative brand popular? The emergence of young conservatives is like sunshine on a spring day. Something to be enjoyed and celebrated. I wish Jonathan well. I wish conservatives would knock off the ad hominens directed against other conservatives for their ideological impurities.
On the other hand conservatives need to indicate that they will support true conservative leaders, not pretenders promoted by the media precisely because they aren’t very conservative.
I’m referring of course to people like McCain, Graham and Powell.
May 29, 2009 - 5:37 am 5. wancow:“Likewise, President Herbert Hoover once advised…”
Herbert Hoover was not a conservative. This is a man who, with FDR, is the model for what happened to us between Bush and Obama.
May 29, 2009 - 5:45 am 6. Jack Mullockheap:Adam puts forward a refreshingly informative article on those young people blessed with a gift and yet found in some cases, that the blessing overwhelmed them. Not a failing mind you, just being very prudent in their evaluation of where life was taking them. Posts by WEC & TK, allowing us an insight into their own personal experience, confirms that there is still hope in that there are people out there who have similar standards and values as I. I would have dearly loved the opportunity to put my children through a private school system but still have no regrets as they have all turned out winners in my book. Like TK, if circumstances were different than they were, I would have volunteered on the spot to serve in the IDF – The Vietnam War got in the way. Whenever I hear Bibi Netanyahu’s name mentioned, I immediately think of his brother Yonni who was killed in the raid on Entebbe airport (90 Minutes At Entebbe etc.). A true Hero. I only hope that whatever Bibi hears from Obama & Clinton goes in one ear and out the other. How dare they preach a message of defeat to the leader of a sovereign nation. God Bless America & Australia and prayers for Israel.
Jack (Aussie Gentile)
May 29, 2009 - 6:27 am 7. "progressive"watch:Of course,Jonathan Krohn is for real. It’s not hard to know more about conservative principles than most members of Congress. But his knowledge hasn’t been tried by experience.
May 29, 2009 - 7:12 am 8. anton:Interesting that nobody told Mozart to stop writing “because of his age” or that he “lacked experience”. If it is good it will be recognized as such.
As far as brainwashing goes; How is it that a child of fourteen can have the wisdom to decide to get an abortion but lack the wisdom to expound Conservative pinciples? Looks like there is a double standard here, or is that just some doublespeak?
Regarding criticism from Republicans, they are just feeling threatened by someone from outside the Beltway who is better at what they are supposed to be doing than they are. The Republican Party has suffered too long under the cold lifeless hand of the the Big Tent RINOs, new blood, passionate fresh minds and youthful enthusiasm are what is needed to the GOP from becoming a footnote in history (anyone remember the Whigs?).
May 29, 2009 - 7:44 am 9. A Dave:“Mostly it’s so I don’t have to spend the rest of my life De-programming them.”
Because God forbid that they should be allowed to think for themselves!!
I think it’s excellent that these young bloggers are speaking their minds. The question is when(if) they find out they are wrong on some things will they be open to change or will they be like so many who comment on here, clueless loudmouths.
May 29, 2009 - 8:17 am 10. G Alston:8 — As far as brainwashing goes; How is it that a child of fourteen can have the wisdom to decide to get an abortion but lack the wisdom to expound Conservative pinciples? Looks like there is a double standard here, or is that just some doublespeak?
No double standard. The ability to raise a child at 14 is different than having an opinion.
May 29, 2009 - 8:23 am 11. anton:9. A Dave:
“clueless loudmouths.”
Like you?
Apparently you haven’t a clue as to the profoundly Leftist leanings of the public education (indoctrination) system that #1 was referring to. Or, maybe you have and have happily swallowed the Kool-Aid.
May 29, 2009 - 8:26 am 12. Professor Guvinoff:Nice contrast between Jonathan Krohn and Sonia Sotomayor:
The teenager could not make a credible claim of experience, but the lady is credited with lots of it, some professional, some personal, with a remarkable emphasis on the latter, the implication being that she is particularly qualified to arbitrate constitutional matters on the basis of a unique perspective.
This is nonsense, since judicial wisdom lies in the capacity to set perspective aside. One of the wonderful things about our founding documents is that they contain much which children can understand. They can have their own perspective on it, but they would not get sidetracked into contrived comparisons between the judgment of a latina versus that of a white man.
The notion of equal rights is so much more sensible!
Once in a while, we will find the political counterpart of Mozart. The pieces he wrote in his early years lacked depth, but not music. Later on, in relative maturity, he wrote substancial music such as Don Juan.
Adolescents in general are confronted with the harshness of public life, and once in a while one of them will show an outstanding capacity to deal with it, to the point of mastering public exposure. Of course, it is always possible to take chagrin in the diversity of outcomes…
May 29, 2009 - 8:38 am 13. Pat J:I saw a recent CNN interview. Way too much lipstick for a male. Or maybe he drank too much of that right wing red koolaid.
May 29, 2009 - 8:55 am 14. AClay1:Fine article, made very good by the comments. If only it could always be this way…
May 29, 2009 - 9:05 am 15. tom:CAD, I went to a private school. Spendy one too. let me tell ya, there is NO shortage of drugs at private schools. They are as easy to get as they are in a public school, just less “apparent”.
May 29, 2009 - 9:31 am 16. AThinkingPerson:I find it refreshing that the liberal educational system hasn’t yet tainted these kids. (Yet, being the operative word.)
The key is to find what switch it is that turns kids from sane, level-headed patriots to liberal group-thinkers who are easily swayed by nothing more than a speech. If we could figure that one out, the world would be a better place (of course the halls of Berkley and other liberal indoctrination hubs would be empty but I’m not seeing that as a loss).
Re Pat J: “I saw a recent CNN interview. Way too much lipstick for a male. ” You mean that for a liberal there can be too much lipstick for a male? I guess guy-liner is OK though? LOL! I’m thinking YOU’RE the one still imbibing in that TeleBama kool-aid. Sip away Pat. Might save you from thinking of what your vote has wrought on the country.
May 29, 2009 - 9:36 am 17. Andrew Ian Dodge:I find him a bit cringeworthy to be honest. He looks like a mini-me typical right-of-center pundit. It would be nice if there were a few young pundits that look like “a normal” American child. The guy screams Republican by the way he looks and sounds. Hardly useful for getting a point across to anyone, but those on-side.
As someone who was a debater in college, with long hair and looking metal-head, it was a great advantage. The opponents assumed I was a raging leftie… and couched their strategy accordingly. It always came a-cropper since I was anything but.
May 29, 2009 - 10:04 am 18. Pat J:I guess guy-liner is OK though?
May 29, 2009 - 10:06 am 19. mac:————————–
Works for Hannity.
Why is this question being asked? If he were spouting some line from “Captain Planet” concerning the degradation of the environment and the need to greater government intervention, the left would be cheering, “Here, here!” I think the question speaks more towards the tough hoeing that faces the conservative when we are SURPRISED a youngster can expound upon the tenants of Classic Liberalism.
May 29, 2009 - 10:15 am 20. AThinkingPerson:Re #18 Pat:”Works for Hannity.”
Yeah right. Now if only Rachel Maddog would start sporting some.
May 29, 2009 - 10:48 am 21. pedro:I hope he is the FUTURE
May 29, 2009 - 10:55 am 22. Craig:“And there’s the famous quote by Winston Churchill that a young conservative has no heart but an old liberal has no brain.”
From Aristide Briand:
May 29, 2009 - 11:54 am 23. flashwoman:Any man who is under 30, and is not a
liberal, has no heart; and any man who is
over 30, and is not a conservative, has
no brains. Abridged (c)1906
I took my daughter to a Democrat event when she was 13 just so she could see how they behave. She’s been a Republican ever since.
May 29, 2009 - 12:47 pm 24. Winston:Good piece. I always thought his parents must be very politically engaged or super smart. Guess I was totally wrong. I wish this young man good luck.
May 29, 2009 - 1:09 pm 25. Pat J:21. pedro:
May 29, 2009 - 1:57 pm 26. Delia:I hope he is the FUTURE
—————-
So do I.
All I knew at his age was that my mother smoked pot, was on welfare and ALWAYS voted Democrat.
May 29, 2009 - 2:21 pm 27. Roderick Reilly:I am not interested in being lectured on politics and related topics by a kid, no matter that he/she may hold very similar views to mine. Politics is always corrupting, and having kids participate in it is, to me, akin to those creepy toddler beauty contests.
I believe that we should go back to respecting adulthood, which, conversely, means we must keep childhood as intact as possible. Kids at 14 should be fascinated by useful, constructive subjects if they want to do “grownup” stuff. That’s what we have science fairs for.
May 29, 2009 - 2:25 pm 28. Well Educated Cad:Yes, there are still drugs in private schools- I’m not that naive. But at a much lower frequency than in the public schools. No shootings or lock downs yet- compared to the almost weekly lockdowns at the public school 2 miles away where there homework includes writing papers on how George Bush compares to Hitler. I prefer my children to think for themselves.
May 29, 2009 - 2:37 pm 29. smith:Sounds like a toolburger to me. Kids should not be in the business of telling adults what to do.
May 29, 2009 - 4:03 pm 30. Animator Girl:Okay, I’ve seen this kid live, and to be honest, all I see is a kid parroting not only the words but also the mannerisms of a boring old Republican suit. NO THANK YOU. I’m all for young Conservatives, but the point is that Conservatism is not limited only to stodgy business-types, but to men and women of every background and career.
I am 25 years old, female, and I work as an artist. People are shocked and uncomfortable when they find out I’m a staunch Conservative. I agree with what someone said above: we need a voice whose very persona challenges the prevailing stereotype of a right-winger.
Furthermore, even though I was raised a with conservative principles, I’ve only now come to realize how thin and meaningless my understanding was until recently, when my experiences support and enrich that ideology – a kid this young cannot possibly espouse Conservatism with the conviction that comes from years of watching and analyzing events. I would prefer if he faded out for now and reappeared in 5 to 10 years.
May 29, 2009 - 4:18 pm 31. cackcon:Bright kid, bright future.
Hopefully, as his life experiences play out, he’ll have more to draw from than the somewhat shallower talking points he has to rely upon now. And I’m just as hopeful that he stays conservative.
Brainwashing? That’d have to be a stretch. In this world–with this media, this Hollywood, this public “education,” etc.–your parents would have to literally waterboard you into conservatism before I’d call it brainwashing.
And yet … and yet (think Nordlinger’s Impromptu) we’re still sold the crap that college exists to fix the supposed backwardness instilled in us by our parents. Go figure.
May 29, 2009 - 4:28 pm 32. Rosk:Animator Girl, agreed! These kids just spout talking points they’ve heard Hannity shout. My problem is the lack of intellectualism in modern conservativism. Where have all the Buckleys and Kirks, Tafts, Goldwaters, and Kemps gone? I could use a little more smarty-pantsism on the Right and a lot less shouting and anger. Unfortunately, these kids, particularly Krohn, seem to be following the path of shouting and anger forged by Hannity and Levin. It’s too bad.
May 29, 2009 - 4:43 pm 33. NJRob:When I was Mr. Krohn’s age, I went to a academically inclined, heavily political school: Hunter College High School in Manhattan, NY. There we heavily debated politics with knowledge and conviction in spite of our youth and I was in the firm minority as an unabashed conservative. Perhaps that made me one without a heart, several ex-girlfriends have definitely accused me of such, but my beliefs are based upon reason and logic, not emotion. Do not dismiss young Mr. Krohn simply because of his age. Liberals look for any excuse to marginalize our arguments because they can never win on the facts.
Never forget that.
May 29, 2009 - 5:01 pm 34. El Coqui:He maybe a real life Alex P. Keaton but by God, we need more like him.
May 29, 2009 - 6:14 pm 35. Frank:The only conservatives I have any respect for are those who’ll fess up honestly about their liberal past and can explain truthfully what brought about their realignment.
The entire idea of a 14 year-old conservative is pathetic. This kid has absorbed a lot of media in his life and discovered there’s a more money to be made on TV and Radio than by having a paper route.
You can’t fault him for chasing the bucks, but like his grown-up phony counterparts, I wouldn’t give his opinions the time of day.
May 29, 2009 - 6:30 pm 36. mixplix:What makes our seasoned politicians so smart? They wouldn’t know a conservative if they slapped them in the face. Youth hasn’t a damn thing to do with knowing what’s going on in Washington. We have a very youthful out of control community organizer as a president. He is the talking head via a TelePrompTer that doesn’t write his own material and is the spokes person for the left power in our nations capital. Maybe if we had some of those teens in place something would get started to stop the craziness that’s going on since Jan 20th.
Wasn’t Bill Gates a teenager when he put together MicroSoft?
May 29, 2009 - 7:43 pm 37. myth buster:If we can win the High Schools, we can beat Obama at his own game. Remember, nearly all of the students currently in high school will be old enough to vote come 2012.
May 29, 2009 - 7:55 pm 38. Ken B:I am surprised that no one has picked up that Krohn is homeschooled. Go look up Patrick Henry College and see what young minds that are formed by by wise elders rather than foolish peers can accomplish.
“the mannerisms of a boring old Republican suit”
Exactly. He was taught by adults to be an adult, and so acts like one. Homeschooled children vote at twice the rate of the general population (70 to 35%) and are twice as likely to have a conservative outlook. (See NHERI study “Home Educated and Now Adults”) Krohn is not an anomaly among homeschoolers, just a prominent example. If homeschoolers, who are 4% of the student body overrepresented at spelling-bee finals at 30%, why should anyone be surprised to find a homeschooler that is precocious in politics?
May 30, 2009 - 4:37 am 39. john from cinncinatti:when is he going to enlist in the Marines?
May 30, 2009 - 7:15 am 40. john from cinncinatti:so he can gain some real life experience on cutting edge of politics.
May 30, 2009 - 7:18 am 41. Houdini:It is nice to see that he is pursuing conservative principles instead of being in a Gang or selling and doing drugs. It gives hope for the future perhaps he will inspire more young to follow his path.
May 30, 2009 - 9:52 am 42. Delia:38. Ken B,
Reasons numero eternillion why I home schooled my daughter.
She’s a free thinker and a fast learner.
May 30, 2009 - 11:36 am 43. Slveryder:You know, I always find it incredibly annoying when people dismiss young people as not being able to form coherent opinions or have strong political beliefs becuase they’re “too young” or “don’t have enough experience.” If that is the case, when do people who feel Krohn is too young, feel that he WILL have enough life experience to open his mouth? I have been anti-abortion since I was 8 and discovered (not through my parents) that abortion existed & what it was. I have been pro-capital punishment from the instant I knew about the issue. I have been yelling at MSM pundits for their liberal stupidity since I was a teenager.
Are you telling me that since I was too young to get pregnant, hadn’t known someone who got murdered, and wasn’t old enough to vote that I shouldn’t have an opinion?
FYI people, if you want young people in the party, attacking them for having opinions that they air in public is not the way to do it. It doesn’t encourage young people to connect with cranky people who think they’re stupid and too young to have beliefs.
BTW, I was a homeschooled military brat from a very working class family. I have been to college & I have always been conservative. But I’m only in my twenties. When will I have enough experience to suit you?
May 30, 2009 - 3:22 pm 44. Will:Don’t dought those young people. They’re smarter than you may be!!!
May 30, 2009 - 3:53 pm 45. Войска ПВО:37. myth buster writes:
“If we can win the High Schools, we can beat Obama at his own game. Remember, nearly all of the students currently in high school will be old enough to vote come 2012.”
Admirable sentiments; however, sadly, the majority play so hard at being a rebel with “liberal, progressive, green” ideals that they come out of the mold, drinking the Kool-aid, and reciting the mantra.
They are pathetic.
That is not to say we should not try, however. It was enunicated above; the folks we need are the types like “Animator Girl” who genuinely does think for herself and has made a concious decision about the path she wishes to follow. Principles forged in a fire like that are not easily broken or bent.
Good for you, young lady!
May 30, 2009 - 8:47 pm 46. Manya Shochet:“As someone who was a debater in college, with long hair and looking metal-head, it was a great advantage. The opponents assumed I was a raging leftie… and couched their strategy accordingly. It always came a-cropper since I was anything but.”
Right on, right on, Andrew Ian Dodge. The O’Rourkean Republican Party Reptile lives on.
May 31, 2009 - 12:55 am 47. happy1ga:As someone who lives in the same town as Jonathan, and knows his family, he is not a weird kid. He has always been super smart and outgoing, performing in many plays throughout the ATL area. His parents are exceeding normal, not particularly political, nice people. Actually a little bland.(So is his sister). I was very active in politics at age 14, my mother worked for the RNC, and even though I sported a pink and blue mohawk and 12 safety pin earrings, I was very interested and volunteered there myself. I was more excited about registering to vote than being getting legal booze (back then it was 18), so I don’t find anything weird about this kid, he just is extremely self-confident. My daughter is just 20 and has been married for over 3 yrs, has 2 kids and lives 3oo miles from me. She also goes to college and works p/t. People treat kids like they are mentally handicapped and have such low expectations they end up hindered. I didn’t want my daughter to marry so young, but she is a great mother and wife, and it was her decision to live with. I noticed someone said they didn’t want a kid “preaching” to them about politics. Uhm, that’s not what a pundit is, a pundit just gives opinions. Go to Church if you are looking for preaching. I wish Jonathan much luck and hope he is happy, whatever he decides to do.
May 31, 2009 - 9:07 am 48. vivo:35. Frank:
“This kid has absorbed a lot of media in his life and discovered there’s a more money to be made on TV and Radio than by having a paper route. ”
Bingo!
If these kids are really bright, they’ll discover that there is more than Reps and Dems and become independent minds.
Jun 1, 2009 - 1:23 am 49. Pat J:This kid is a parrot! Maybe when he gets a little older and wiser he’ll discover there’s a big world outside of his little right-wing ox.
Jun 1, 2009 - 9:38 am 50. Someone75:Jonathan Krohn is parroting what he hears adults talking about on the radio. He does a remarkably good impersonation of a Right-wing opinion jock, but he’s got no ideas of his own.
He’s good for a laugh, but little else.
Besides: I thought the consensus on here was that every kid is an idiot because he goes to school and learns things.
Jun 1, 2009 - 5:37 pm 51. SusanLC:As a homeschooling parent, I am not surprised to hear about this happening. This is why we homeschoolers have sacrificed so much to teach our own. They are able to think for themselves-NOT PARROT what we tell them to say. I am glad that my two adult daughters often disagree with me on politics. Homeschooled students read real books, written by or about real people. They don’t (like with public school textbooks) just regurgitate someone elses take on the way the world is. They find out, in depth, why historical figures made the decisions they had to make. They are able to study all sides of an issue and form their own opinions.
You will very likely be seeing a lot more homeschooled adults becoming leaders in the near future-and you will be surprised how intelligent they are.
You should read the book “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris. It is required summer reading for my 14 year old son. It is time we drag our kids away from their ipods, cell phones, computer games, and guitar heros; and help them grow up and learn to be responsible.
Jun 3, 2009 - 7:29 pm