Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Republicans Collapse Among Young Americans

Fellow Geezers and Geezettes, it's time to pick up a cane and pass the baton. (Too bad for the kids - it's covered in our poop)

Youth Survey(.pdf) Democracy Corps/Greenberg Quinlan Rosner

INTRODUCTION

A major, multi-mode survey of America’s young people recently conducted by Democracy Corps shows young people profoundly alienated from the Republican Party and poised to deliver a significant majority to the Democratic nominee for President in 2008.1

The political stakes with this generation could not be higher. In 2008, young people (ages 18-31) will number 50 million, bigger than the baby boom generation. By 2015 they will likely comprise one-third of the U.S. electorate. While participation among young people still lags well behind other generations, turnout increased two election cycles in a row and, in 2004, jumped nine points (to 49 percent).2 In 2004, younger voters were the only generational cohort outside of the World War II generation to support John Kerry (56 percent). In 2006, younger voters supported Democrats by a 60 – 38 percent margin, the highest of any generation.3

The looming disaster Republicans face among younger voters represents a setback that could haunt them for many generations to come. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama lead Rudy Giuliani—the most acceptable of the Republican offerings among youth—by significant margins, assembling a diverse coalition of support and leading the vote among independents.4 Exploring attitudes toward the parties themselves, young voters’ reaction to fundamental issues and their perceptions of the GOP suggest a fundamental alienation from the Republican Party, a crisis that will not leave with the Bush administration.

Young people react with hostility to the Republicans on almost every measure and Republicans and younger voters disagree on almost every major issue of the day. The range of the issue disagreements range from the most prominent issues of the day (Iraq, immigration) to burning social issues (gay marriage, abortion) to fundamental ideological disagreements over the size and scope of government. This leaves both potential Democratic nominees with substantial leads over Rudy Giuliani, but importantly, both Democrats still have room to grow their support among younger voters. The current problems with the Republican brand are not fully reflected in young people’s preferences in for President.

Very interesting...all the more reason for the Bush administration to ensure that the '08 elections are not allowed to happen (or if they do, the outcome is preordained).

Fermi. Think back when you were a young voter and your government was not run under the ideals you had hoped for. I had to be 21 to vote and I wanted change in a big way. So many rumors and facts did not jibe after WW2 and it immediately followed by the fear of Communism.

I can understand why the younger new voters want nothing to do with the Republican Party because if offers nothing for a future. These kids want a government they can trust. My own grandkids are in their early 20s and are put off by what they've seen in our leadership. Listening to the Republican candidates is scary as they all seem to want a police state at home as well as a global police force headed up by America.

My generation read all the warning signs of Big Daddy and the fear of being brainwashed and even drugged to buy what the Big Daddy sold. The next generation was raised on television which focused on insulting humor rather than character development. So the next generation wants to fix what is broken and by all accounts it sits in a broken government led by the GOP.

I had such ideals for America in 1953 and joined up with many political groups for young people. I was a YR (young republican) and we represented a strong ethical group full of integrity and hope.

The GOP since Reagan, or maybe before, has ignored the young Americans and they were raised under the leadership of lies and manipulations. Of the front runners in the Democrats I see a much brighter future for this generation as the Republicans have offered nothing. Nothing!

Until the GOP can offer some form of hope for America I say let the young Americans vote for their Democrats. They might be right! If they feel more comfortable under a collective government, let them try it. It might shake up the GOP to get off their holy arses and start correcting the multitudes of mistakes they have made.

I mailed off a long letter to the Arizona Republican Party chairman this morning explaining why they have been part of the reason for America being in such trouble. I expect them to be partisan but to allow the destruction of the Constitution goes too far.

I'm already thinking of the future of our American freedoms and it will take a total rebuild of the GOP to set the perfect balance that our founders had hoped for. If the GOP has no corrections in their plans for a future, they will not have a future. I fear that a complete government of Democrats only will take us into socialism. If this happens it will mean the Republicans lost by default.

The biggest problem IMO that seemingly set this country back, was when the 'boomers' grew up and changed into what they rebelled against as youth.

The country made so much headway when those young people acted against the system.....but as they grew older they grew greedy and content with a life of luxury vs. one of ideals. When that happened, the movement was gone, and the old system found it's way back from the dead.

Time for a new crop of young people to rise up and resist and make changes. The old crew is mostly gone, or IS the problem. It's time they were shown the door.....to the rest home.

There is no way to know what direction a movement would lead, but I can assure you it will be different than the one now. And that's okay by me.

The GOP has long abandoned young Americans all together. There's going to be a price to pay for this arrogance.

It's the radical Christibans via the likes of Becky Fischer and her indoctrination camp in South Dakota that are recruiting the young these days for God's Own Party.

Exactly!!

Currently, all the GOP can offer are scare tactics and fear and the young republicans drink it up like Kool-Aid. I cite Ms. Elizabitch Hasselback (R) on The View. Every time Iraq is mentioned during the 'Hot Topics' segment of the show, she starts her rant off with, "In a time of war."

Excuse me, the United States IS NOT in a 'war.' Iraq never did anything to the United States to warrant a 'war.' The United States is in an occupation to CONTROL that black, gooey stuff in the ground - anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.

Sandy, It's very kind of you to offer to "let them vote for their Democrats" rather than trying to figure out a way to coerce them into voting for "your" republicans. My niece, at 18, was about to cast her first presidential vote in 2004, I asked which direction she was going to vote and she told me that her dad told her she must vote republican because if she didn't and the democrats won she would be drafted and sent to Iraq.
Before the GOP can be rebuilt it needs to be totally destroyed down to its very foundation. From that may emerge the third party many of us would like to see.
I haven't always been a rabid democrat and wont always be one, you might find that many of us lefties are not so far left as you might imagine. Socialism is not our goal but a nation of this size requires that certain social programs be put into effect.
A nation of 300 million cannot be run by a federal government that is small enough to drown in a bathtub. That in itself was rather a lie, they really just wanted an opposition small enough to drown in a bathtub.
Youth is fickle though and tends to side against whoever is in power at the moment. If a democratic dynasty begins in 2008, attempts to correct the problems caused by the current administration will inevitably lead to it's downfall. By then, hopefully, the GOP will have rebuilt itself and be ready to take the baton and lead us out of whatever mess emerges from a Democratically run government.

is the GOP also losing the evangelicals?

"But in last November's Congressional races - where Democrats regained control of both the House and the Senate - some Republican defeats came at the hands of a new religiously-inspired movement, which some are calling the "evangelical left".

Switching allegiance?

The reality may be that the new movement is more centrist - and fed-up with being lumped in with the orthodox religious right leadership.

It is not so much that swathes of once Republican-supporting evangelicals are switching allegiance but more a question of taking a sceptical look at the narrow agenda that has defined their relationship with the Republican Party, according to John Green, of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

"

perhaps they have awakened a sleeping giant, that they cant control.

now where have i heard that before?????

Good post, Greger.


Well said! "Starve the beast" as Grover Norquist would say.


I seldom - almost never look at Time magazine, but happen to glance at the cover of a recent issue the other day. It touted these "new evangelicals" and the caption indicated that the Dem Party had "abandoned religion for generations". What a crock!

These "new evangelicals" have been around all along. They are no more powerful, nor less, than they were when they helped elect that adulterer and his Lesbian wife in 1992. <sarcasm> A lot of those "new evangelicals" are people of color. White people, like the editors of Time magazine, tend to forget that. I guess in the bright lights, those darker people just fade into the shadows until the Librul Media decides to shine a spotlight on them for a moment.

Abandoned by the Dem Party. Abandoned by the Librul Media is more like it.