By Emily Cousins | Staff Writer
Over winter break, the Baylor chapter of Young Americans for Freedom separated from the national organization because ideals did not align, according to a statement put out by the group. The group has renamed itself the Baylor Bull Moose Society with goals to be a new face for the Republican Party.
Fort Worth senior Zachary Miller was the chair of the Young Americans for Freedom until his membership was taken away after a few encounters on social media.
“Eventually I suppose they decided to revoke my membership because of my interest in pursuing a version of conservatism that prioritizes the needs of working class Americans over massive multibillion dollar corporations,” Miller said.
Miller said the group has now dissociated from the organization. The Bull Moose Society is an independent organization, and they will have a lot more control over the decisions made.
“Our goal is to promote common good conservatism at Baylor; and so that would look like conservative ideas, conservative policy proposals which made the American worker, promote the American family, uplift poor, ensure that Americans who have a traditional Christian faith can freely express those views and live out a life in accordance with their traditions to the greatest degree possible,” Miller said. “So that’s what we were looking to do. That’s what our values are, and now we’re free to do it.”
Marieta, Calif., sophomore Ken Hollingsworth, membership chair of the Bull Moose Society, said Young Americans for Freedom was too focused on making liberals mad, and not about proposing good conservative policies as a solution.
“We want to create a society where we can have a lot more policy driven conversations, a lot more intimate settings where it’s a smaller group, possibly where we’re not trying to host huge events or speakers, where we’re allowed to debate policy debate ideas, bring forth conservative values that are actually going to win and going to provide the best for American people and do the most good for the conservative movement,” Hollingsworth said.
The ideal differences between Young Americans for Freedom and the Bull Moose Society stem from a great evolution within the Republican Party itself, Miller said.
Miller said there are two main sects in the Republican Party: the Reaganites and Populists.
“I think that the Republican Party the next two years will mostly be concerned with infighting,” Miller said. “These two factions … are going to tear each other apart until one of them emerges victorious, and I think it’ll be Populist. I don’t think that there will be any space anywhere in America for establishment Republicans, fusionism and Reagan Republican’s attempts to represent.”
Miller said he doesn’t foresee a third party breaking off from the Republican Party.
“I think that we’re living through a political realignment,” Miller said. “I think that the Republican Party is moving more towards working class, socially conservative policies.”
The Bull Moose Society is a different type of conservative group that aims to accept the change within the Republican Party.
“Our organization will be refreshing and a welcome sight because we’re looking … to make the Republican Party into an option for people that is consistent with the Christian mission,” Miller said. “The Christian worldview with Christ’s teachings. We’re not going to do half-and-half. We’re going to go the whole way.”
