This Labor Day weekend, I interviewed Lauren Salz, Executive Director of the Columbia University College Republicans, for a Q&A with Youth Vote ’08. According to her, all of the right-wing groups on Columbia’s campus have a budget smaller than the International Socialist Organization. This *exclusive* IvyGate iteration has bonus questions and a picture. Swanky!

NS: Why did you get involved with the CUCR?
LS: I wasn’t originally planning to join any campus political group. I had just taken a year off from school and worked on a campaign [Tom Kean for U.S. Senate] and I had enough of partisan politics. But then I got to Columbia and realized I needed to have an outlet to talk to other conservative students.

Did you anticipate feeling politically isolated at Columbia?
Not at all. Maybe I was naive, but I thought that since Columbia was such an elite university, I would find people willing to listen. I also had no idea about Columbia’s radical activist tradition. Prior to my first week of classes, I had never heard of the events in ’68, although I did hear about the Minutemen incident.

Do you think you would have chosen a different school if you’d known about the history?
I love going to school here, but I do wish the political environment was a little different. That’s something I’d like to work to change this year.

Obviously it’s a big year for politics – do you have any specific plans?
I decided to run for the board of CPU [Columbia Political Union], so I’m the Communications Coordinator there. It’s good to get conservative voices on other campus groups. We’re also co-sponsoring events with groups CUCR might not have looked at in the past. We’re participating in a Queer Awareness Month event on the presidential candidates’ positions on gay issues. I also have a column starting this semester in the Columbia Spectator. Its focus is on challenging the assumptions that most Columbia students make about conservatives here. Preliminary column title: “Check Your Premises.”

Can you give me a preview?
In my first column, I introduce myself and describe a whole list of Republican stereotypes, and then correct them. For example, I am a fiscal conservative who is strongly opposed to mass wealth redistribution. Last year, I spent seven months in developing countries volunteering at orphanages. Every time I tell someone this, they criticize my conservatism. Their false assumption is the reason conservatives are opposed to wealth redistribution is that they don’t care about the poor. That is the false premise. The truth is that I am a fiscal conservative not because I don’t care about the poor, it’s because I think that mass wealth redistribution initiated by the government is highly ineffective, inefficient, and morally questionable.

Got it. Without wanting to make assumptions: are you supporting John McCain for president?
[Laughs] Smart girl. Yes, and I voted for him in the primary too.

Obama is disproportionately popular among college students. What do you think McCain has to offer us specifically as young voters?
Not as disproportionately popular as you might think.

Okay, fill me in.
There’s some recent poll where Obama leads among our age group about 54 percent to 40 percent. From the way the media talks about it, you’d think it’s 90-10.

So what would a McCain administration be like?
There will be someone we can trust in the White House to be ready on day one. Our generation is going to be the ones paying off the debt prior generations accumulated. We’re living in unstable times. I know that I’m looking for someone who’s battle-tested, who I can trust under pressure.

Did you follow the Democratic National Convention at all?
Yeah, I love that stuff.

What did you think?
Well, Hillary Clinton made a great speech. The line about “No way, no how, no McCain” was very effective. Biden’s son did a great job telling his family’s story. The final night was a bit overdone. They were overselling Obama. And his speech came across as arrogant and little bit phony. He is a great speaker, and no one should underestimate the power of a well-delivered speech, but I’m a big fan of reading speeches. And when I read his speech, I felt kind of annoyed.

Any parts in particular?
When he claimed that the Iraqi government and the Bush administration were following his lead on withdrawal, while ignoring the fact that the only reason we can start pulling out is because of the surge. Obama opposed the surge and said that violence might even possibly increase. I didn’t like when he made a promise to cut taxes for 95 percent of American families and pay for every cent of it. How is he going to do that?

On a slightly different note, were you surprised by McCain’s VP choice?
Well, my friend texted me to let me know, and I thought he was joking. I had only heard about Palin a couple of times on blogs, so I was pretty surprised. I’m excited now, but for a moment I was unsure of the choice.

Why is that?
She’s a little bit green, although being governor is great experience for being president. I wish that she was a little farther into her term.

Alaska State Senator Lyda Green, who is a Republican, said of Palin, “She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?” Do you think overlooking Palin’s age, first of all, and relative newness to government is a bit hypocritical on McCain’s part, since his campaign has frequently brought up Obama’s foreign policy inexperience and youth?
I’m not surprised the GOP establishment in Alaska doesn’t like her. She’s been working to reduce the control of special interests and corrupt officials, especially Republicans. She is a risky pick, since McCain has been emphasizing experience his whole campaign. But it is extremely hypocritical of Obama’s campaign to call Palin inexperienced. Although Obama has been senator for two more years than Palin has been governor, you could argue that she’s accomplished more as governor than he has as senator — but, then again, it’s not really that hard to accomplish more than Obama has.

Everyone keeps using the phrase “one heartbeat away from the presidency.” Would Palin be a capable president in her own right?
I think she could, but she is not as battle-tested and experienced as McCain. It does make me a bit uneasy, but so far she has proven herself to be a very capable governor. She has really energized the Republican base. Yesterday, fifteen more of my friends on Facebook became supporters of John McCain.

Palin’s views are pretty far right, even relative to Bush and McCain: she sued the current administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species, she thinks creationism should be taught in public schools, and she opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest. McCain has long had a reputation as a “maverick” but in recent years has embraced the religious right – for example, from calling Jerry Falwell an “agent of hate” in 2000 to speaking at Liberty University in 2006. Do you think this rightward turn will alienate more moderate voters, or solidify the conservative base?
The thing about Palin is that while she is very conservative, her party does not come first. I would describe her as a conservative maverick. McCain would be a moderately conservative maverick. It’s a good match.

What about people who are saying that this an obvious or even insulting play for the female vote? Do you think Clinton supporters will be swayed?
I don’t think that Palin was a pick to play for the female vote. I think the pick was mainly to energize conservatives and steal the spotlight from the DNC. And I don’t think Clinton supporters who supported her candidacy primarily because of her political views will be swayed by the choice of Palin for VP, nor do I think McCain expects them to.

What do you think about the rather, er, feisty protesters at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul?
Those people seem pretty crazy and extremely counterproductive. I hate when protesters take out their rage on people who have nothing to do with what they’re protesting. Maybe the person whose car they smashed supported their cause. What does protesting the war have to do with ruining people’s property or making a mess in the street? It’s just bizarre.

Any thoughts on whether the RNC should cancel or postpone in response to Hurricane Gustav?
It’s not really possible for them to cancel or postpone. This event has been in the works for something like sixteen months. But they should alter the convention, both in content and tone.

How so?
Get rid of the party atmosphere: less confetti, less partisan name-calling, more talking about McCain’s vision for the country. It’s also a good opportunity for people like Laura Bush and Cindy McCain to ask Americans to give to hurricane relief. But I definitely think McCain and Palin should still give their speeches. They just might have to change them around a little.

UPDATE: While trying to find the CUCR website, I discovered that Googling “Columbia University College Republicans” comes up with a Viagra ad in the link. Go on, try it. Lauren told me that the GOP-ers actually have a new website here, but that thing keeps popping up. So to speak.

Cross-posted at Youth Vote ’08