Jessica

Vozel

Read Jessica's bio and previous columns here

July 16, 2007

LateNightShots: A Disturbing Look at the Republican Party’s Next Generation

I am equal parts embarrassed by and afraid for my generation. If the current breed of hate-filled, smug Republicans in Washington D.C. isn’t enough to turn your stomach, the newest crop of Capitol Hill cronies – fresh college graduates and 20-somethings making an income from lower-tier government positions, supplemented by handouts from their parents, just might.

This past Thursday, in The Washington City Paper, a free publication for the Capital City, writer Angela Valdez explored the disturbing underworld of Washington’s elite young people who congregate in real-life Georgetown bars, as well as in the cyber-world of “LateNightShots” forum, an invite-only social networking site akin to wildly popular Facebook and MySpace but with more money and an exaggerated sense of entitlement.

Valdez, in her article titled “Members Only,” unveiled a set of party-goers who, according to their LateNightShots profiles, are overwhelmingly Republican, Episcopalian or Presbyterian, and white. Their profiles are peppered with mentions of their college Greek affiliation and country club memberships, and they discuss on the forums the merits of BMWs vs. Mercedes and Gucci vs. Belgian loafers. However, talk of money and its accompanying snobbery are not the most offensive elements of the site. No, truly disturbing are the forum topics that yield such misogynistic gems as: “Optimal Number for a Woman” which, in LNS-speak, means sexual partners. As one male concluded, “I think one sexual partner for every two-to-three years is acceptable for a girl from a good family. Sex just isn’t something girls should be doing if they are interested in marrying me.”

Another charming male begs the question, “How many women are there on any given night at Smith Point (the quintessential bar for LNS users) who purposefully didn’t take their pill that morning with the hopes of getting impregnated by a $30k/year Hill staffer? I bet 15-20 on a good night.” There is an eerie sense of the men knowing that they hold the power, and, despite quotes like the two above, the women on the site seem to do nothing but prove them right.

I wish I were making this up. It doesn’t end with misogyny, either. There are plenty of offhand references to “skinny, feisty Ethiopians” who make life difficult for our preppy heroes who are merely out for a good time and happen to run into black people in Washington D.C. who challenge their white supremacy. They also post a link to a site that has a video feed of the Texas/Mexico border, proclaiming, “Catch Immigrants LIVE!”

Granted, these comments could easily be overheard on college campuses, and even dive bars across the United States. What you won’t hear at your local bar, however, are the snarky online comments left for the writer of the piece. One angered LNS member writes, “(T)hey hate because they are jealous. Jealous of our priviledge (sic), jealous of our economic success, jealous of our fun. I hate to say it but they hate us for the same reasons the terrorists do. Perhaps that’s why they all want us to withdraw from Iraq and hand victory to Al Qaeda on a silver platter?” Many carried on in the same vein, accusing Angela and all liberal “hipster intellectuals” of debilitating jealously.

Comments like the above are what distances young Republicans from your run-of-the-mill frat boy who tapped the keg of cheap beer one too many times and said a few things he would come to regret. These men and women cannot grasp that one can conduct a life that is not self-absorbed and endlessly juvenile and still be happy. They make no apologies and refuse to turn the mirror on themselves to find out why it is that people are so disgusted. Surely, this is not America. Democracy is not an excuse to gorge oneself on alcohol and drugs on Daddy’s credit card (countless posts at LNS reference “skiing” in bar restrooms, a euphemism for snorting cocaine) and then insult everyone who calls you out on it.

Sadly, however, given the state of the current administration, that the new crop of Republicans would be no different is hardly surprising. Republicans may not be resorting to public racist remarks, but 2008 presidential contenders showed their commitment to civil rights when just one, Tom Tancredo, attended the NAACP convention.

Then, GOP sex and drug scandals from this summer alone include Sen. David Vitter’s prostitute visits, Florida State Rep. and McCain campaign co-manager Bob Allen’s bathroom propositions to an undercover cop, South Carolina State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel’s cocaine dealings and North Carolina state legislator David Almond’s sexual harassment of a female employee. Although Democrats are hardly innocent of scandal, Republicans seem to consistently outnumber them and more often get away with it.

Accountability should be the new goal for American politics, both for current and future leaders. Certainly, the last thing we need is another round of White House employees who find themselves untouchable and exempt from scrutiny – and who turn an accusatory eye to those who dare to scrutinize them.

© 2007 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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