Ross Douthat asks whether conservatives have their own version of Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the spirited millennial socialist currently living rent-free in the collective consciousness of Capitol Hill.

Serious Q inspired by @Ocasio2018: Is there any young conservative politician with a significant following? Anyone who genuinely excites the very-online or the grassroots right? — Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) December 12, 2018



Specific answers flooded in, some better than others, and some crowdsourced specifications emerged. To speak to the millennial masses, an AOC equivalent must have a relatable personal story, an understanding of media and how to manipulate it, plus real cultural fluency.

Unfortunately this sort of person won’t be born from a petri dish. They can’t be manufactured in the basement of AEI or Heritage, pieced together by wonks and the donor class, before being released into the world. Following boomer blueprints for what a cool millennial conservative should look like, mad political scientisst would create an ugly cronenberg monster, a smorgasbord of platitudes in an ill-fitted empty suit.

The person who best excites “the very-online” demographic that Douthat describes does exist. But Ben Shapiro isn’t an elected official. His millions of young followers and podcast listeners would miss him, and the dorky lib-destroyer is better suited to campus auditoriums than the halls of Congress.

Young blood isn’t the problem. Reps. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Elise Stefanik of New York, and Matt Gaetz of Florida are all technically millennials, born after the 1981 start date. But they appeal to Fox News, not the dark web. And while Rep. Duncan Hunter of California certainly acts like a millennial with his fidget spinner and entitled attitude, he appeals more to federal prosecutors these days than the young politicos who prefer CPAC to spring break.

The unsatisfying answer to Douthat’s question is reflected in demographics. According to Pew Research, more millennials identify as liberal, 63 percent, than conservative, 25 percent. The Generation X picture is even bleaker. But all hope is not lost for the limited government crowd. Conservatives have a Navy Seal with an eye patch.





At first glance, Rep-elect Dan Crenshaw looks and sounds a bit like many of the Republicans who make up the Congressional Veterans Caucus. He did three tours overseas. He talks first principles. He comes from Texas. What makes him different, though, is his attitude and his talent for mixing it up instead of regurgitating talking points.

If the Right keeps betting on young guns in rolled-up sleeves, it loses the future. Lucky for Republicans, Crenshaw doesn’t talk supply-side economics in front of whiteboards. He shoots from the hip on “Face the Nation” and does pretty well. He roasts comedians on “Saturday Night Live,” an ability developed among enlisted troops in Iraq instead of donors at cocktail parties.

He just gets it. He is real, not manufactured. And Crenshaw isn’t a one-to-one match for Ocasio-Cortez. He is significantly better.

The bartender-turned-politician has a martyr complex fed by an indulgent and sympathetic media. She has talent but whines as often as she says nonsensical things about the benefits of her discredited ideology. The soldier-turned-legislator, in contrast, actually understands what he talks about. And Crenshaw has a smart strategy when personally attacked, as one commentator summed up nicely: “engage, don’t rage."

Crenshaw doesn’t enjoy the fawning media attention Ocasio-Cortez receives. He will have to scrape out an audience one viral moment at a time. But he can do it, and Republicans should help him. Crenshaw is the best thing they have to offer anyone under 40.