The College Fix

Millennials are those born between the late 1970s to early 2000s – a huge stretch of time.

To categorize them into a neat little box would be impossible. But there are trends that can be derived about this group – and for older Republicans and conservatives working to understand what makes millennials tick – understanding what they believe and what they want may be the first step in winning them over.

Enter Katie Kieffer, author of the 2014 book “Let Me Be Clear: Barack Obama’s War on Millennials, and One Woman’s Case for Hope.”

Kieffer, in a recent speech to the Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly, delved into these topics as she explained to a crowd of mostly 40-, 50- and 60-year-olds that reaching a millennial begins with knowing how they view themselves.

They like to categorize themselves as independents rather than Republicans or Democrats, she said. They tend to be fiscally conservative and social libertarians. They favor a strong national defense but mostly oppose ongoing intervention in the Middle East. The majority are prolife.

Meanwhile, many have buyer’s remorse on voting in President Barack Obama, said Kieffer, who has appeared on everything from Fox News to Real Time with Bill Maher as a millennial expert of sorts.

Kieffer, who also writes a weekly column for Townhall, told the audience that Republicans must run stronger candidates to woo millennial voters – candidates who exude authenticity and confidence over desperation, candidates who stick to their guns and don’t flip-flop or give up in the face of criticism.

In terms of conversations, it’s important to speak their language, she added.

“When you first begin conversations with millennials, I would advise you to avoid references to the Constitution, which unfortunately most millennials have never read,” she told the crowd. “And I’d also avoid using the word capitalism, this word really throws millennials off.”

She cited a recent study which found most millennials reflexively say socialism is good and capitalism is bad – even though they also think the country should have a smaller government and lower taxes.

“Clearly they don’t understand the terminology,” Kieffer said. “You will be better off using words that millennials can relate to: authentic, local, flexible, equal, transparent, convenient, personal and entrepreneurial.”

From there, she added, move on to talking about capitalism and the Constitution, and how those things will create the type of lifestyle millennials say they aspire to.

As far as specific hot-button issues are concerned, Kieffer said Republicans can win those debates with millennials, too.

For example, on immigration, millennials are divided, with 55 percent who favor a path to citizenship and the other half saying either that they think undocumented immigrants should be sent home, or that they should stay in the U.S. but not as permanent residents and voting citizens, she said.

With that, there is room to gain ground.

“Middle class American citizens are now being forced to compete with undocumented citizens for the same pool of non-federal aid, so colleges are actually saying – they are admitting this publicly – that they are giving undocumented applicants priority over American citizens for non-federal college aid,” Kieffer said.

“So since 90 percent of millennials tell MTV that they oppose affirmative action, I think that Republicans would have great success if they would approach immigration from this issue, and talk about equality,” she added. “We want equality for all, especially American citizens should have equal access to that funding that is available to college students. This is a fight for equality you can win.”

With regard to climate change, Kieffer said oftentimes people hold the false assumption that “you need to go green to the extreme to win young people.”

“That’s actually not true,” she said. “Bloomberg just reported that young entrepreneurs are leaving Silicon Valley – which of course is a wonderful place – but they are leaving Silicon Valley and going to the Texas oil region to start their companies.”

She cited research which found only 7 percent of millennials rank improving or protecting the environment as one of their top three most important factors for organizational leadership. What’s more, research shows three quarters of millienials do not think electric or so-called fuel efficient cars are a good longterm viable option for them.

“Given their financial challenges – living at home, facing unemployment – it isn’t surprising they see energy in this way,” she said. “In one year, 2012, in one state – Colorado – one industry, the fracking industry, created more jobs for young people than Barack Obama’s entire economy did between 2007 and 2013. This is a job creator and that’s why millennials see it this way.”

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IMAGES: katiekieffer.com