Democrats Win Youth, But Republicans Have a Chance
Reader Comments
GOP Will Come Back
Bush decided to invade Iraq for no good reason and that caused the GOP to crash and burn nothing more, nothing less. Had he just finished the job in Afghanistan and stopped Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the GOP would have the majority in Congress today and be real popular. Lesson number one is don't invade a foreign country for no good reason. I predict the GOP will recover though now with all the power in Democratic hands. Most Americans are against gay marriage and abortion and agree with Conservative values, the only reason Obama won was his promise to stop the war in Iraq and the downturn in the economy in Bush's waning days as president. Now Obama will have to take the blame for all the stupid Democratic spending on bailouts and welfare and health programs that are bankrupting America. Ron Paul won a considerable amount of the Conservative youth vote, so don't tell me young people aren't smart enough to vote Republican, They just need a better standard bearer than Sarah Palin who looked too green for the job, and McCain who seemed out of touch.
gop's youth appeal
the gop's homophobia and racism have killed them with young voters, especially those with higher educations...they grew up around minorities and out gays...they are their peers..now i think the gop might still be able to appeal to younger voters without tossing the social conservatives overboard,[under 30's aare very mixed about abortion] but until the party makes the racist wing walk the plank, they're toast..
it also doesn't help that the gop is totally incoherent on pocketbook issues at this point
Wisdom comes with age/experience
Hey, I voted for McGovern in the first presidential election when I could vote. Then I did a two year stint in West Africa in the Peace Corps, and saw firsthand what life is like in societies which don't have the rule of law, and have become dependent upon the generosity of others for their welfare. I made a hard turn to the right afterwards.
However the GOP had clearly lost it's way these days. It's gotta stop getting involved with what folks do in the privacy of their bedrooms and their doctors' offices. I have historically voted for the GOP because of their mantra of personal responsibility and fiscal conservatism. What happened to that? Also, the party has a serious image problem (old white folks who aren't terribly bright and are overly religous). I eagerly look forward to a GOP with fresh new faces and some articulate younger leadership who can explain to our kids that their futures are being mortgaged by the spendthrift ways of the Democratic party. As a plus, the GOP should learn to work with the Democrats once in awhile for what is best for our nations, rather than constantly ranting against any and all proposals put forth by the Dems.
agreed jim
welcome to socialism boys
Youth
There is a saying /That uf you are young and not a liberal you have no heart. But if you are older but still a liberal you have no brains.
The older we get the more understanding we have of human nature. Also we become less and less eager to have the Mommy State run our lives. In the near future this will become more apparent as big government begins to run more and more of our private lives.
Good Article
The Author hits it on the head most young people tend to be more libertarian but that doesnt mean that theyre not cheap. Republicans can capitalize on this if they show that they mean limited Goverment in all aspects of peoples.
only one reason for that
Im 18 and you wont catch me going democratic, they need not to break it down by race but by class levels the only kids i knew that voted obama was because they thought he was gonna legalize smoke. the poverty strickin ones that refuse to get an education. thus obtaining the thought that the government owes them somthing thus meaning I have to pay for their costs of living its all bullbutter.
There isn't a "rigidly lefty" left
The hangup conservatives need to get over is their fixed notion that there is a "left" out there which continues to adhere to the narratives of the Vietnam and Cold War eras and can be reliably held up as an example of what they fear or disagree with. The old left dissolved with the passing of the old issues, only its root tendencies survived the homogenizing Clinton era, but those root tendencies are all the right tendencies--making intelligent use of government to solve human problems, managing the political order with scientific principles while using human skills to be inclusive to the undereducated portions of the public. The remaining hard left are adult baby boomers who have evolved into moderation in middle age from the radicalism of their youth; they are potent adversaries to conservatism because they know how to organize and how to inject core ideas into the discussion, but are old enough and wise enough not to engage in destructive radicalism. The baby boom generation always belonged to liberalism and they are back, minus the excesses of radical leftism which conservatives won't find living examples of to score points against. It is the mature baby boom leftists who will harness the easygoing culture of today's youth to finish off movement conservatism...
Young and Stupid OR just inexperienced?
Yep, hate to admit it but even I was STUPID enough to buy in Jimmy Carter's dogma back in the day.
16% Mortgages, 10% unemployment, Tight credit and a US military so weak we couldn't even get TWO HELICOPTERS to fly across the desert to rescue OUR citizens from Obama's buddy ruling Iran these dayz.
HMMMn? Wonder why I'm a CONSERVATIVE?
Obama is the first REAL Democrat (Carter X TRILLIONS)we've had since then.
He's doing a GREAT job of turning our youth RIGHT!
Kids are pretty smart, they'll figure it out.
My daughter LIKES "her" money!
Hate Rants Won't Attract Voters to GOP
Republicans (both of them) are deluding themselves if they think voters will return to the flock based on "governing philosophies". The GOP has been captured by marginal fanatics who offer only negative positions: "We hate taxes, government,immigrants, the French, abortion, minorities, gays,anyone who is not an evangelical Christian, and everyone he disagrees with us on any of these issues." The GOP preaches small government and fiscal conservatism but Dubya converted a massive surplus to a massive deficit. Very few people with a conscience will be attracted to haters like Limbaugh (drug addict), doctor assassins or Rusty DePass, the SC GOP honcho who recently compared the first lady to a gorilla. If the GOP wants to recover it needs to rebuke the haters and develop positive proposals for the country we all love.
