Young People Are Staying Liberal

[babylonsister]

https://politicalwire.com/2018/03/01/young-people-staying-liberal/

Young People Are Staying Liberal
March 1, 2018 at 4:47 pm EST
By Taegan Goddard

Jonathan Chait: “For obvious reasons, the broadly liberal demographic trends in American politics have received much less attention since the 2016 election. Yet the fact remains that America is politically sorted by generations in a way it never has before. The oldest voters are the most conservative, white, and Republican, and the youngest voters the most liberal, racially diverse, and Democratic. There is absolutely no sign the dynamic is abating during the Trump years. If anything, it is accelerating.”

“The most recent Pew Research Survey has more detail about the generational divide. It shows that the old saw that young people would naturally grow more conservative as they age, or that their Democratic loyalties were an idiosyncratic response to Barack Obama’s unique personal appeal, has not held. Younger voters have distinctly more liberal views than older voters.”

[Binkie The Clown]

1. I was quite a conservative in high school.

Then about 50 years ago I began to see the light and have become more liberal with every passing year.

[NurseJackie]

2. Same here... but "my" politics at the time mirrored that of my parents. It was...

... college and being on-my-own and feeling less inclined to seek their approval on all things political that freed me from parental pressure. I'll bet that many of our generation have similar experiences.

[Binkie The Clown]

3. My parents where Eisenhower Republicans. My best friend in high school turned into a raging neo-Nazi

by the time he hit college. That was a wake-up call for me.

[marlakay]

4. I got conservative in high school

When a friend got me into church. Stayed that way about ten years then went back liberal rest of life.

[Gothmog]

5. My kids make me feel conservative at times

[babylonsister]

6. WOW! Why? How? Very interesting

ftr, I know you are not.

[Awsi Dooger]

7. The 2016 exit poll had tons of good news

It was hilarious when Obama was asked after the result if we'd ever see another Democratic president. He scoffed at the question because he knew all the long term trends were positive.

I was particularly shocked when the gap between self-identified liberals and conservatives dipped below 10% for the first time since I've been tracking that category, which is roughly 25 years. It was 35-26. The gap was 12% when I started following. And it doesn't have to be parity because self-identified moderates have a left tilt.

The so-called Silent Generation (born 1928-1945) is keeping the opposing party afloat but obviously the reality is that every four years more of them are gone and simultaneously the millennials vote in more dependable fashion.