Ron Paul's Unique Youth Support

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/ron-paul-fringe-candidate-shaping-2012-race_n_926947.html

Ron Paul has been re elected to the House of Representatives time and time again by those who live within the 14th district of Texas. He serves those within his district similar to any American Congressman who lives in Washington DC: reading legislation, responding to constituents, seeking votes etc. Despite this commonality, Ron Paul has been able to become an iconic figure to college students throughout the country who support his libertarian viewpoint.

Ron Paul certainly doesn’t have the charismatic appeal that Obama was able to leverage to harness college student votes. And at 76 years old, he surely can’t relate to musical artists like Lady Gaga, Jay Z, or Taylor Swift all whom are considered cultural icons of a generation. Despite these differences, Ron Paul has been able to use his libertarian views to become the unelected leader of the Young American’s for Liberty movement, which has chapters at many colleges across the United States. Ron Paul’s libertarian viewpoint struck accord with college students who are discontent with those in Washington, and feel that the founders’ views for the country have been forgotten. Paul travels around the country holding rallies at college campuses and students flock to offer their support. His support has become such a force for change that he has been able to run for president and usually is able to put a small dent on elections. He does this without any solid backing from Republicans or Democrats who both think his views are too radical to be taken seriously. He is able to make a dent in these major elections by solely utilizing the support college students have offered him and the work they put in coordinating his movement.

Post made by:
Dan Becker

Michael Moore

After reading this article: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/14/140471057/michael-moore-on-his-penchant-for-trouble I chose Michael Moore as an unelected leader. Michael Moore studied journalism at the University of Michigan-Flint,and after dropping out of college briefly worked as editor for "Mother Jones." Not until his second film Bowling for Columbine did he earn a reputation and an Oscar. Michael Moore has personal power because he has gained followers by simply being himself. His followers feel he's knowledgeable and likeable and Michael is simply doing and talking about things he would normally do. Because people agree with Michael's message and support his cause they have made Michael an emergent leader. When it comes to Michael's leadership style, in my opinion, I would say he is a middle of the road manager because he wants to get informative messages out about society that he hopes will build/strengthen relationships. He's not looking to just direct people with his information but to also move them to change as you can see by the content of his movies. According to the contingency Model Michael would probably have a low LPC because of his Leader Member Relations(if we take the entire country into account), Task Structure(talking about controversial subjects and getting people to move for change),and Position Power. And according to this model Michael would need to work on building relationships. Since Michael does not have any real legitimate power I think its okay for him to have a Low LPC because he doesn't need to build relationships for his profession. He has already established a brand and his followers have already decided that they like him as a leader or else they wouldn't follow him. If Micheal wanted to increase his fan base and get the support of majority of America I would advice him to work on his relationship skills. For more information about Michael Moore follow this link: http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Quasheena Ellis
Team 6

Comedy Central Presents...

When it comes to un-elected leaders, Jon Stewart (host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (Colbert Report)have emerged as political forces for todays youth. As the posted article points to, nearly 30 percent of Americans aged 18-29 turn to the two activists as their trusted news source.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/entertainment/march_2009/nearly_one_third_of_younger_americans_see_colbert_stewart_as_alternatives_to_traditional_news_outlets

Using comedy, Colbert and Stewart have influenced about one-third of the nation total.

It seems to me like college-aged and young adults trust Colbert and Stewart and seek the two out hear their political views. As a result, the stance that these men take on issues heavily effects how their viewers feel about it. Young adults don't seem to have the patience to sit through traditional news prgrams that their parents did. More and more they turn to the internet or faster means to try to retrieve their news and political information. But Colbert and Stewart have created programs that allow people to retrieve news and laugh at the people who make it. There shows are seemingly fast -paced and current with news that effects younger demograhics. This allows them to have such an influence on young minds.

Celebrities Changing Politics

http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/17/forbes-tracker-celebs-oped-cx_daa_1017celebs.html

This article although dated back to 2007 is extremely relevant to our topic. It is concerning celebrities influence in the 2008 presidential election. A poll was given to 2,213 people of all ages and genders; each person was asked how they would respond if different celebrities such as Rosie O’Donnell and Oprah supported a candidate either positively, negatively or not at all. No matter if a poll taker responded negatively or positively, it is proof that these people do in fact have influence over the public opinion. The idea that this elite group of people can have such extreme power supports the trait approach to leadership. Celebrities are looked at as more powerful people; even though they technically have the same number of votes as everyone else. It is often said that people in such a position are born leaders. In the text it describes these people as leaders because they often possess desirable traits such as self-confidence, and sociability. The text would also call these leaders, emergent and are able to utilize referent and even expert power. Even though someone such as, George Clooney, may have the same amount of knowledge about politics as the average person we give them this personal power and thus the ability to influence our decisions.

Emily Seaholm
Team 6

Introduction to Team 6 Blog

Through out this semester Team 6 who includes, Dan Becker, Tyler Hubert, Quasheena Ellis and Emily Seaholm, will be discussing the idea of leaders who do not have legitament leadership power yet still are able to influence many. There are individuals who help form the public opinion such as leaders of social movements, media celebrities and shapers of public opinion. We will be studying what attracts followers to these people and how they use this power.