Could Millennials Mean Trouble for Hillary?

[polichick]

Peter Beinart's article THE RISE OF THE NEW LEFT was just discussed on The Cycle.

Here's a bit of a really good read:

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America’s youngest adults are called “Millennials” because the 21st century was dawning as they entered their plastic years. Coming of age in the 21st century is of no inherent political significance. But this calendric shift has coincided with a genuine historical disruption. Compared to their Reagan-Clinton generation elders, Millennials are entering adulthood in an America where government provides much less economic security. And their economic experience in this newly deregulated America has been horrendous. This experience has not produced a common generational outlook. No such thing ever exists. But it is producing a distinct intragenerational argument, one that does not respect the ideological boundaries to which Americans have become accustomed. The Millennials are unlikely to play out their political conflicts between the yard lines Reagan and Clinton set out.

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If Millennials remain on the left, the consequences for American politics over the next two decades could be profound. In the 2008 presidential election, Millennials constituted one-fifth of America’s voters. In 2012, they were one-quarter. In 2016, according to predictions by political demographer Ruy Teixeira, they will be one-third. And they will go on constituting between one-third and two-fifths of America’s voters through at least 2028.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/12/the-rise-of-the-new-new-left.html

[sharp_stick]

1. Don't know if somethings up this time

but if I had a nickle for every time I heard about the rise of the "new left" in whatever iteration and age over the last 30 years I probably wouldn't have to pay for parking in NYC next time anyway.

[polichick]

2. I guess the coalition de Blasio organized is giving people hope...

myself included.

I know this much: THE LEFT will rise again - with or without the Democratic Party

[HooptieWagon]

3. I don't think they will vote for corporatist Dems. nt

[craigmatic]

5. We'll vote for Hillary but she's going to have to run as a liberal and govern that way too.

[HooptieWagon]

6. I hear ya.

My concern is she'll run as a liberal, and then make a hard right once elected. TPP is a big concern.

[craigmatic]

4. I'm a millennial and what's going to happen is not so much a new left like the 60's

we're really not radical we're more conformist. The gays will marry, we'll probably fight fewer wars, and the government will finally grant universal healthcare. Also turnout will increase in off year elections and democrats will finally be liberals again and eventually you'll see more Eisenhower type republicans after they lose enough elections. It's going to be funny seeing republicans pull that third way shit on their own people.

[polichick]

7. You're "more conformist" but "democrats will finally be liberals again"??

[craigmatic]

10. I can explain that

Ours is a generation of group think because the internet has raised us that way. Our left won't be radical college kids trying to burn down the institution. We'll be more like the WW2 generation more conformist and trying to work within the system.

[polichick]

11. Good luck with that - my generation has been working within the system...

Now we have one corporate party with two faces and 1% who own almost everything.

[leftynyc]

8. If they got off their asses to vote

but they really do that in pretty small numbers.

[polichick]

9. Could be they've decided that both parties suck...

I don't disagree.

Let's face it, we have two corporate parties and a system rigged to keep these parties in control. Might take millennials a bit to figure out what's next.

[leftynyc]

12. If they think they're the first

to figure that out, they're dreaming. But while they're trying to change the system appointments are being made to the supreme court, governors and state legislatures are passing laws, congress is passing laws. The world isn't going to stop while they figure it all out. Sometimes it is the lesser of two evils - but it beats allowing the greater of two evils in - that's just reality.

[polichick]

13. That's how they keep this system working...

we're so afraid of the greater of evils that we settle for the lesser of evils.

At some point we have to do something else.

[hollowdweller]

14. I think this is a really good article

It explains a lot of what is going on right now.

When the poor were getting poorer well a lot of them don't vote so who cared??

But, as the article points out now it's the middle class and even those with higher educations that are essentially being forced into the underclass.

In the 80's when this happened people were willing to accept it, because so many US companies were going out of business.

In the 90's when things picked up people were given just enough to keep them tranquil and inflation kept their buying power up.

But now companies are making tons of money and the whole talk about inequality has percolated into the national conversation.

Now as foreign goods that were cheap to people on US salaries go up US consumers are forced to pay more for the foreign goods at the same time as the quality is inferior to the same goods that were produced in the US.

A lot of the middle class and more well educated people both vote and know how to organize. Plus even jobs people went to college for are going to guest workers and stuff.

It's not going to happen overnight, but like the article suggests it's building. About the only thing they can do to stop it is to convince employers to pay people more and I don't see that happening. The only other thing is to try to prevent them from voting and they are trying that but it's just pissing people off more.