Are Republicans the party of a bunch of older people?  It is even commonly referred to as the GOP, Grand Old Party.  According to a Bloomberg article, among the Millennial generation, 18- to 29-year-olds, Trump earned 37 percent, and a 2016 poll said only 1 in 5 leans Republican.  So what is being done to energize this young generation to come on board? 

One organization that has decided not to sit on the sidelines, but to get the Millennials involved is the Maverick PAC.  Senator Ted Cruz, wanting to recruit top young professionals in the state of Texas, founded it in 2004.  In 2009, it went national after George P. Bush became its chairman, currently having 35 chapters throughout the U.S.

Its goal is to provide young professionals with access to elected officials, national thought leaders, and high-profile CEOs through low-dollar events, building out an organization of the best and brightest from the next generation.  The national co-chair, Fritz Brogan, proudly told American Thinker that it is the largest young conservative organization in the country that now raises money for campaigns, enabling this generation to get engaged in the political process.

They also give access to members by setting up meetings with leaders of the Republican Party.  Notable speakers include speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Vice President Mike Pence. 

Congressman Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) is a big supporter of this organization and donated a lot of time during the conference to speak with the younger generation.  Having three Millennials of his own, he is constantly asking the all-important question: in what direction do you want America to go?  His feeling is that Republicans need to stop focusing on the social issues; instead, they should concentrate on economic and security challenges facing the U.S. today.

He emphasized to American Thinker, "This younger generation grew up under eight years of President Obama, who wanted to give everyone what they wanted and radically expanded the government, creating a huge national debt.  Millennials have to understand how President Obama took a state-funded Medicaid program and turned it into a lower-middle-class program.  We should be speaking about the flexibility in the Reform Health plan that will get people on regularly funded insurance programs and into jobs and off Medicaid."

He went on to say that the Millennials must do their homework and not believe everything they hear or read.  "The CBO health care score says 24 million people will be thrown out of coverage, but everyone needs to read the fine print.  They are talking about people who don't currently have coverage.  Remember, President Obama tried to make everyone buy insurance, and the younger people did not want it.  The press and the Democrats also use deceptive language by implying Republicans want to cut Medicaid when the bill only reduces the percentage of expansion."

The congressman also speaks about the need for Republicans to step up to the plate.  "If we are to get the support of younger people, we need to fix this broken system.  We have been in power six months and have accomplished very little.  I have told leadership we need to pick up the pace.  We are not giving the younger generation a very good lesson on how to govern."

If Republicans do not want to become an obsolete party, they must have an agenda that appeals to Millennials.  They must have a campaign that explains what they stand for and how they plan to make America great again.  The younger generation will not be fooled by rhetoric; they want to see results.  Hopefully, Maverick PAC and groups like it will energize the younger generation to get involved.

The author writes for American Thinker.  She has done book reviews and author interviews and has written a number of national security, political, and foreign policy articles.