Virginia's Young Democrats have their eyes on the future

By CHRISTINA NUCKOLS
The Roanoke Times
Aug. 16, 2000

LOS ANGELES Twenty-one-year-old Rhodes Ritenour was tramping down the uneven boards of Santa Monica pier in his conservative blue blazer on his way to a reception for conservative Blue Dog Democrats when he was confronted by a young woman with artificial auburn hair and earnest-looking black glasses.

"Don't go in there," she warned. "Only rich people can go in there." The words "Keep your laws off my body" were scrawled on her bare shoulders with nail polish, but she seemed more concerned about the corporate sponsors for the reception, which included Philip Morris and the National Rifle Association.

"I don't understand what that was all about," Ritenour, a native of New Market and a student at the University of Virginia, said later.

Ritenour is one of a dozen members of the Virginia Young Democrats attending the Democratic National Convention this week. It's an opportunity for them to take an active role in their party at an early age. But the experience also is compelling them to think about where they fit in a world where so many of their peers are either joining Young Republican clubs or rejecting organized politics in favor of chaotic and violent protests.

It's a particularly perplexing conundrum for Virginia's Young Democrats, who find themselves being attacked simultaneously for being a bunch of pinkos and members of The Establishment.

As young Virginians ponder these issues, it's becoming clear to them that the conclusions they reach will help shape their party's future.

"In order to make a change or to make a difference, you have to be a party of inclusion," Ritenour said.

To him, that means aiming for the middle of the spectrum in order to draw in as many people as possible.

"What bothers me is young people who are protesting for the sake of protesting and who can't explain what they're protesting about," said Craig Fifer, a 22-year-old delegate from Roanoke. "People who are protesting life in general are really wasting energy ... I just wish they would try to be a little more productive."

Fifer, webmaster for Roanoke's city government, sees the party as a tool for constructive change.

"If you want to change a specific issue, you don't necessarily have to join a party," he said. "If you want to change the country, it's the only way."

He waved his hand across the seating area for the Virginia delegation, where state legislators and party leaders chatted and listened to convention speakers.

"You trip over people in this room who have made a difference because they have worked through the process," he said.

Still, Young Democrats admit to feeling some connection to the chanting youths camped outside the convention center this week.

"On one side, I'm kind of excited because at least they're involved in the process," said Justin Wilson, 21, of Alexandria, the president of the Virginia Young Democrats. "Those people spent money and time to be here ... I wanted to see them and I've only seen three protesters. I saw three through the fence. I think a lot of these people could find a home in the Democratic Party."

One reason for that empathy is the rise of the Young Republicans, a group that was once reviled by high school and college students but has blossomed in the 1980s and 1990s.

"I was a Republican in the '80s because it was fashionable," said Jason Moyers, a 30-year-old attorney from Roanoke County who is now a Democratic convention delegate.

"Right now it's the trendy thing to do, to be a Republican," said Ritenour. "Everybody likes a winner. It's so easy to get drawn into that aristocratic appeal but when you step back and ask, 'Did I help my neighbor today?' the answer is no."

Fifer isn't too concerned about the popularity of the GOP among young people.

"The older leaders in the Republican Party have made a well-organized attempt to recruit young people," he said. "We [the Democrats] bring youth into the party naturally. It's a naturally young delegation."

When Virginia's Young Democrats talk about their party's future, their vision mixes idealism with a strong dose of pragmatism. It's a message that is as distinctly Virginian as it is youthful.

"Especially with me being a Virginia Democrat. I would like to see the Democratic Party be the party that cuts waste," Ritenour said. "And I would like to see the Democratic Party be more about working for their constituency instead of just worrying about the other party all the time. ... That's what I'd like to see the Democratic Party be by the time I'm 40."