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Hernando Today

Mr. Baker takes on Washington

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By JEFF SCHMUCKER

Hernando Today

Published: October 22, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Whether it's debating with members of U.S. Congress, inspiring youth to become involved or establishing call centers for candidates in the 2010 elections, Jordan Baker is ready to make a difference.
His main obstacle at 14 years old — he still needs his mother to drive him.
But Jordan, who for years has harbored an interest in history and debating, won't let age keep him from speaking out. His mother, Annie, said once her son became interested in economics and national issues, it was all she could do as a home school parent to keep up.
"He loves to debate and sometimes he leaves me in the dust," Annie said. "I got interested after he did and then had to get updated books from when I studied these topics."
And if he could find his voice, why couldn't others? Jordan called to arms his fellow home schoolmates and this summer formed the Conservative Christian Teens of America, which includes himself, as president, and 29 others.
While many teens enjoyed the outdoors during their summer vacation, Annie said her living room was filled with teenagers who were discussing government and national issues, crafting arguments and practicing their public speaking.
"I'm so proud of them. They're a great group of kids, especially to sit through three hours of economics," Annie said.
That hard work paid off this Saturday as the group met and debated with U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, at Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Discussions centered on a proposed Parental Rights Amendment that would protect parents' rights when raising their children.
Although Brown-Waite said now is not the right time to push the amendment through, Jordan openly disagreed and urged the congresswoman to vote her principles, whether she thinks she'll win or not.
"I know that you are not suggesting to me or my peers that we should not do 'hard things,'" Jordan said. "Someone worked really hard at both creating and passing Amendments 13, 15 and 19 so that race and gender would have equal value and the right to vote. Do you not agree that those Amendments were worth fighting for, no matter how long the process took?"
In the end, Brown-Waite said she would take another look at the proposed amendment and think about what the teens had presented her.
"It's great to have young people open up and express their views in a convincing manner," Brown-Waite said. "Normally, public speaking is the last thing people want to do, but we had some great speakers today."
Others have taken notice of Jordan and his group. Conservative leaders, including Jason Sager, President of the Department of Constitutional Protection, have already asked him to speak at events.
And while speaking and debating is exciting — and Jordan loves a good debate — he wants his group to move to the next level by becoming more involved in the political process.
In the coming months, he said his group will begin organizing phone banks to help Republican candidates running in the 2010 elections while also expanding his group membership to include other teens throughout the community.
"We're looking for good local candidates who support our beliefs," Jordan said. "Many of our national leaders started right here in cities such as this, so why shouldn't we?"

Reporter Jeff Schmucker can be reached at 352-544-5271 or jschmucker@hernandotoday.com

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