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I think with regards to the demographic argument, most fail to take into account that most individuals become more conservative with age and experience in the real world and common sense overtakes adolescent idealism. However, we will always have some segment of the population permanently stuck in the adolescent stage of human development-liberals.
Despite the love of right-wingers to quote this same old maxim, it has not been proven to be true. Combination of what year you were born, with personality and biology acting on views.
Kind of an urban myth. Political leanings are more related to what generation you belong to, rather than becoming more conservative as you get older. That theory does not hold any longer. (I know--old conservatives are going to tell us that they, personally, started out liberal, but it is meaningless out of generational context, and faulty logic as well as not a true sampling).
"...But academic research indicates not only that generations have distinct political identities, but that most people’s basic outlooks and orientations are set fairly early on in life. As one famous longitudinal study of Bennington College women put it, “through late childhood and early adolescence, attitudes are relatively malleable…with the potential for dramatic change possible in late adolescence or early adulthood. [b]ut greater stability sets in at some early point, and attitudes tend to be increasingly persistent as people age...”
....Americans who came of age during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, and are now in their 70s and 80s, have fairly consistently favored Republican candidates, while those who turned 18 under Bill Clinton and his two successors have almost always voted more Democratic than the nation as a whole...."
"...The first reason is personality. Indeed, a review of 92 scientific studies shows that intellectual curiosity tends to decline in old age, and that this decline explains age-related increases in conservatism....a review of 88 studies in 12 countries shows that older people are generally less tolerant of ambiguity, and have a higher need for closure and structure. This is often manifested by their stronger set of principles and rules, and a tendency to dismiss information that conflicts with their views....judgment, in particular information-processing capacity. In most people (and I’m sorry to break the news) the speed of information-processing, a core ingredient of judgment and intelligence, peaks around the mid 20’s. To make matters worse, most people become considerably slower after their mid 40’s..."
I think with regards to the demographic argument, most fail to take into account that most individuals become more conservative with age and experience in the real world and common sense overtakes adolescent idealism. However, we will always have some segment of the population permanently stuck in the adolescent stage of human development-liberals.
My two children (34 and 32) have slowly drifted towards being more conservative, so to speak.
They always had their own different points of view, which differed greatly from mine when they were growing up. However, things started to change once they graduated from college, started working, purchased homes, and planned for their futures.
They both voted for Obama during his first run. This past Presidential Election, Mr. Trump was not their first choice for a Republican candidate, but as my daughter had noted . . . She would rather swim than sink.
Needless to say, their immigrant grandparents and their parents are quite proud that have taken advantage of what this great country has to offer.
The generational shifts are definitely problematic for Republicans, with their weak support among the younger age cohorts. However, elections in this country take place in specific geographies, and Democratic voters are overly concentrated in a minority of states and districts - which certainly overlap a great deal with the younger, more diverse areas.
Democrats will only move back into the majority if their appeal expands into a significant number of places that voted the current administration and Congress into power. Recent special elections have suggested the party is having some success in doing so, but the midterms later this year will be far more revealing. If they can't capture at least one house of Congress and several governor offices given the president's unpopularity, Democrats will need to undertake some serious measures to get back on track.
Updated millennial poll and which party they are leaning toward.
"...An NBC News/GenForward poll released Monday showed that 63 percent of millennials disapprove of the way Trump is handling the presidency. Forty-six percent say they strongly disapprove...
"Half of the millennials polled also say they either plan or are leaning toward voting for the Democratic candidate running in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, while a quarter say they would support or are leaning toward the Republican candidate...
The other quarter of millennials say they are not planning to vote for either a Republican or Democratic candidate, which could suggest that they do not plan to cast a vote..."
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