Skip to main content
Part of complete coverage on
 

Young, female and undecided

By Cat del Valle Castellanos, Special to CNN
updated 12:34 PM EDT, Sun October 21, 2012
Cat Castellanos says she's in the demographic Mitt Romney needs to win over.
Cat Castellanos says she's in the demographic Mitt Romney needs to win over.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • I'm fiscally conservative, socially liberal and undecided, says Cat del Valle Castellanos
  • Obama is now less of a rock star, but compared to Romney, he's Aerosmith, she says
  • Castellanos: I'm the demographic Mitt Romney needs to win over: young and female
  • I may be young, but I'm certainly not worthless, and I'm not in the "47%," she says

Editor's note: Cat del Valle Castellanos is a writer and a regular contributor to Maria Shriver's Open Field Network. For her father Alex's recent take on the election, click here

(CNN) -- While I was raised with conservative values, I grew up in a progressive town, Washington, D.C., where openly gay teachers were normal and a pregnancy didn't mean you had to visit a cousin in Europe for nine months.

I'm fiscally conservative and socially liberal. As I wait for the final presidential wrestling match Monday night, I'm three debates down, drowning in attack ads, and I still don't know who to vote for.

Debates are great fodder for Jon Stewart and SNL's "Weekend Update" (who doesn't love a good babbling-Biden joke?), but for me, the debates haven't changed anything.

President Obama is less of a rock star than he was four years ago. Still, in comparison to Mitt Romney, he's Aerosmith. I get the feeling that Obama has thought about the future of American youth and has made a clear effort to bring them into his cause.

See what one undecided single woman is seeking

Let's face it, it's cool to vote for Obama. This is why any young celebrity supporting Romney will make headlines a la Lindsay Lohan and Stacey Dash. (Who is Stacey Dash? Here comes a joke in itself: She's best known for her role as "Dee" in the movie Clueless.)

Become a fan of CNNOpinion
Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments.



Ignoring the crash-and-burn and B-list celebrities on his side, I'm wondering: Why hasn't Romney made any effort for the youth vote?

Romney reminds me of everyone's embarrassing Grandpa Eddie, who thinks gays can be "turned" and doesn't understand why you can't roll down your windows on an airplane. His ultra-conservative lifestyle -- his adherence to his faith's ban on drinking, his tendency to say "shoot" and "darn it" -- tells us he's from another generation.

Opinion: Does Romney 'get' women who work?

His now infamous "47%" confession didn't help. True, 47% of the nation wasn't going to vote for him anyway, but I don't want a president who thinks, "Half of you are worthless -- but choose me!" It's probably not the smartest political strategy to tell people they are incapable and then ask them for their vote.

FL race tightening; DNC chair responds
Obama: Romney has 'Romnesia'
Mitt's math: The Romney tax plan
Romney, Obama poke fun at themselves

I'm the demographic Romney needs to win over: Young, female, undecided. My conservative side wants to like Mitt, but he's not making it easy. Don't tell me you're out of work and understand unemployment when you are worth $200 million and post-grads like me can't find a job. Don't say, "Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that," like you're throwing out an old sofa. Planned Parenthood is not a "that."

Give me something, anything, to work with. A recent "Saturday Night Live" skit had Jay Pharoah portraying Obama. He said, "There's your choice, America: Stick with what's been barely working, or take your chances" with Romney.

Unfortunately, that's the best summary I've heard of the 2012 election.

Opinion: The speech every woman should hear

Obama, my socially liberal side supports you, but what about the national debt? Hope and change were great slogans, but they are not plans. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... Am I voting for you when I should know better?

Romney, show me you are human. Inform me with reason but connect to me with emotion. Use that connection to get your point across. I know your hair looks like it came off a Lego man, but there has to be more there than plastic.

I may be young, but I'm certainly not worthless, and I'm not in the "47%."

In fact, I'm the most valuable American Romney could have: 100% undecided.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Cat del Valle Castellanos.

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
updated 7:35 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
Yury Fedotov says progress has been made but not fast enough to help millions of trafficking victims
updated 10:58 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
Mark Quarterman says the slaughter of elephants for their tusks is at its worst in decades. As the price for ivory soars, Africa's militant groups are killing elephants to pay for arms and ammunition.
updated 7:29 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
Wendy Weiser says the Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona voting restrictions was a win for voters, but why stop there? It's time to modernize the U.S. election system.
updated 7:37 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
George Gascon, a former police chief, says immigrants are less likely to report crimes if they fear police. It's in law enforcement's interest to bring them out of shadows
updated 8:49 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
Peter Bergen says it's up to the public to decide if the terror attacks on U.S. soil prevented by NSA spying are worth giving up privacy.
updated 11:39 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
James Millward says if Chen Guangcheng's departure from NYU owes anything to Chinese pressure, his is but one, high-profile case.
updated 10:46 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
Bruce Schneier says the United States is conducting offensive cyberwar actions around the world.
updated 7:42 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
President Obama will speak in Berlin one week before the 50th anniversary of the famous speech by President Kennedy.
updated 8:36 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
CNN let readers choose the topics for the new Change the List project. The votes are in.
updated 9:49 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
Gloria Borger says the president should be leading the debate on balancing security vs. privacy.
updated 8:55 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
Alex Footman says he and a former co-worker successfully sued a movie studio over their experience as unpaid interns.
updated 6:44 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
Peter Bergen says the public record tends to cast doubt on the NSA's claim that its electronic surveillance has helped stop numerous plot.
updated 7:53 AM EDT, Mon June 17, 2013
Fifty years ago, President Kennedy defined civil rights and equality as a moral issue. Patrick Kennedy says today's moral issue is that people with brain injuries and mental illness face stigma and inadequate treatment.
updated 3:47 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2013
The story of the boy bashed on social media after singing the National Anthem in mariachi costume is instructive.
updated 10:57 AM EDT, Sun June 16, 2013
Bob Greene says the Lone Ranger rode into town, fought injustice and got out. He didn't stop to tweet that he just saved the day.
updated 12:25 PM EDT, Sun June 16, 2013
Ruben Navarrette says that what many of us really want for Father's Day is an attitude adjustment for our kids.
updated 9:00 AM EDT, Mon June 17, 2013
At the outset of his term, the new president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, will confront a thicket of national and international challenges.
updated 4:58 PM EDT, Fri June 14, 2013
Clifford Nass says talking to your car, even when you've got your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, impairs your driving because it really confuses your brain.
updated 2:43 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
Nadia Bilchik writes how she grew up in a cocoon of white privilege in South Africa. But she grew to understand the horror of apartheid and the greatness of Nelson Mandela.
updated 2:54 PM EDT, Wed June 12, 2013
Ronald Deibert says unintended consequences of the NSA scandal will undermine U.S. foreign policy interests.
ADVERTISEMENT