Young Cons a YouTube surprise hit

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By Karen Goldberg Goff

My conservative view is drill baby drill/

You can say you hate me, but I'm praying for you still

- David "Serious C" Rufful, "The Young Con Anthem"

What began as a spring-semester lark has turned into a bit of celebrity for two Dartmouth College sophomores.

Josh Riddle and David Rufful call themselves the Young Conservatives. Since penning and filming their music video "The Young Con Anthem," in the spring, they've become accidental celebrities. As of July 1, their video has been downloaded more than 436,000 times, and they have 6,470 Facebook friends.

Part of the appeal probably is the irony of two white guys in suits rapping on an Ivy League campus. However, Mr. Rufful says many are following the duo (www.theyoungcons.com) because they inject the Grand Old Party ideals with new energy.

"We felt that our values could be energizing and inspiring," Mr. Rufful, 20, says from his home in Rhode Island. "We want to unite kids our age and make it cooler to be conservative. We wanted kids to see our message, but we did not expect this reaction at all."

The Young Cons have been featured on Fox News several times, including "Closing Thoughts With Mike Huckabee."

"They don't fit the mold, and they don't look like most rap stars," Mr. Huckabee says.

Taxes are the subject and I will spit them verbally