Campaign 2024: Vivek Ramaswamy Loathes Young People.

A brash headline, but there’s a point. Young voters are not welcomed in today’s GOP-something that is being shown very publicly.

My older brother will be turning 22 at the end of this August. I will be turning 21 this upcoming December.

While relatively new to politics, I have had some exposure to the system for some time. I did campaign volunteering in 2018-which included walking 11 miles from Wickford to Narragansett for a primary challenger to the incumbent Rhode Island governor at the time. Even though I was a month short from casting a vote in 2020 for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, I did volunteer on a variety of levels for my current state senator and state representative-including manning Primary Day GOTV operations with my older brother. And I did get a chance to finally vote for the first time in the 2022 midterms.

Young people are the future of this country. But to Republicans, they have been viewed as obstacles-especially since greater appeals to younger age demographics made by campaigns such as those of former President Barack Obama, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean.

Instead of trying to win these voters, the Republicans want to dismiss them and make it harder for them and other people all across the country-working families and the middle class included broadly speaking-to vote. The GOP has proposed voter suppression efforts to limit youth turnout-some advocates of which are also election deniers. And then, there’s Vivek Ramaswamy.

Mr. Ramaswamy wants to raise the voting age to 25 years of age unless there are military requirements or test criteria. As Secretary Robert Reich would say-and surely others-“what rubbish.”

If what he said was truly genuine(that young people don’t know much about democracy), I find that very insulting for myself and millions of young people involved in politics today.

I am sure that there are people of all ages who are not informed on our political system. Could be just because they don’t watch the news, or have memory issues of some kind or whatever. But does that mean they shouldn’t be given an opportunity to vote(consider up to 2020 that voter turnout in this nation had not been at its high by proportion in ages; rather the opposite at points)?

What about overweight or obese individuals who wouldn't meet the physical requirements to serve in the military? Or those with other disabilities who wouldn’t make the cut(Trivia: Did you know people with Autism can’t serve in the military without a special waiver?). Does that mean these people can’t vote either Mr. Ramaswamy? Should there be a change in the voting age limit for voters who are older as well?

Let’s simply call the bluff for what it is: a nonsensical proposal that showcases how the GOP feels about the up-and-coming generation, and emerging leaders from all kinds of backgrounds and perspectives. It furthermore validates the idea to the GOP that young voters and other communities and electorates are impediments to their plans to gain power and implement their legislative agenda. There is no other reason to justify disenfranchising millions of young people who have not only entered the political process and have engaged in it for years, but who have already voted on the federal, state, and local levels.

For any critiques that may exist about the Democratic Party(even from a personal perspective on Clinton-era neoliberalism), there is a big difference they have with the Republican Party. That is they respect the democratic process and try to win over voters across all demographics.

Meanwhile, it seems Republicans believe that they are entitled to do what they want regardless of the means. They don’t even try to show that they have no interest in broadening their coalition, strengthening their base, or winning new voters over. If I’m wrong, they should immediately condemn the attempted ploy by prominent GOP election deniers to suppress young people.

And if not, Democrats must take this to the ballot boxes in 2024. Make this a choice between Build Back Better or a Capitol Hill-made Jim Crow 2.0.