United States Sen. Roger Wicker and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour speak to Ole Miss College Republicans at the StudentUnion yesterday.
Photo by Thomas Graning I The Daily Mississippian
United States Sen. Roger Wicker and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour spoke Thursday night to the Ole Miss College Republicans in the Student Union Ballroom.
In the midst of issues concerning the Affordable Care Act, debt ceiling and the recently concluded government shutdown, the two politicians discussed the strength of the party and youth involvement in the elections.
“What unites Republicans is far more significant than what divides the Republicans,” Wicker said.
He added that there are more purists trying to divide the party than are focusing on a united stand against President Barack Obama’s health care reform and their cause for domestic energy production.
“In the end of the day, if we want to do something about Obamacare, we gotta win,” said Barber, who served as Mississippi governor from 2004 to 2012. “This is about winning. Winners make rules.”
In his talk, Barbour discussed Obama’s appeal to the youth during his campaign. In an interview, however, he noted the decline of youth voters for Obama in his 2012 presidential run.
“I think we have a message of freedom and opportunity that will resonate with young Americans,” Wicker said, adding that the traditional youth vote in Mississippi has been for the Republicans. “But the more you actually look at the product that Obama’s brought is a very, very weak recovery; jobs for young people have been tough to find.
“I think the substance of his policies are going to make young voters take another look at the economic growth policies of the Republican Party.”
Ole Miss College Republicans chairman Emerson George said the organization has grown to 382 members from fewer than 100 last year. He said the group is continuously trying to expand, inviting more guests to its bimonthly meetings.
“We’ve really been trying to grow excitement over the Republican Party,” George said.
Voter registration in preparation for the 2014 midterm elections and recruitment are the organization’s focus for this year.
“You can make a difference in the elections,” Barbour said, addressing the College Republicans. “I want to urge you and nothing else to take what you believe in and make a difference.”
