Patters

Young voters hint at electorate shift - USATODAY.com

A USA TODAY/MTV/Gallup Poll of registered voters 18 to 29 years old shows Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain by 61%-32%, the most lopsided contest within an age group in any presidential election in modern times.

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Some Republicans fear that whatever the outcome Nov. 4, movement of this generation to Obama could set political views through their lifetimes, reverberating in future elections.

"This is the equivalent of the Reagan brigades, where a whole class of people identify with a politician," says Dan Bartlett, a veteran of the Bush White House, calling it "a real wake-up call" for the GOP. Bartlett, 37, grew up during Reagan's presidency, which begat a generation of young conservatives.

DarrylS

But he knows Ayers, Rezko and a bunch of other shady figures.. the voices of the young should be heard..

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

BelichickFan

Not to worry, the party out of power always looks good; just like the backup QB on most teams. Maybe it's more extreme right now but when the Dems get full control and nothing gets better it will sway back again. Sorry to interrupt what's bound to be a Democrat Circle Jerk though.

Patters

In all honesty, I think the Republican Party is going to face some difficult challenges even if McCain should somehow honestly win this election. The party has alienated a majority of women, blacks, Hispanics, and gays, putting it in a nearable untenable spot. This situation is only going to get worse for the Republicans. Add to that the possibility that the younger generations are leaning strongly Democratic, and the Republicans face a crisis. They will have to change their tune on something -- immigration, affirmative action, social programs for the needy, abortion, etc. But, in doing so, they will force some conservative Republicans to at least take a second look at the Democratic Party as well as to look at third parties.

My real worry is that if the economy really tanks, McCain's solution will be war while Obama's solution will be more in the spirit of the New Deal. Both approaches are effective at addressing economic meltdowns. Which would you prefer? Seriously.

Real World

This reminds me of the media talking about the impending doom of the democratic party back during the "republican revolution". Voters 18-29 are almost always more liberal/left than they are conservative/right. Add in a down cycle for Coke, a rehetorical preacher in Obam-uh, and "making history", and you get the increased bounce inside of that demographic. People become more conservative as they get older, so the fact that young people are left leaners doesn't surprise me. Half those people have never voted, don't understand politics well, or aren't working to provide for a family. I will say this, the dems have to deliver if they succeed in winning this election. If they don't, we'll be talking about their demise, and the GOP resurgence, in the next election cycle. When it's Coke or Pepsi, that's how it goes unfortunately. One side sucks, so the other wins, then that side sucks, and the other makes a comeback. All the while, nothing changes, and the people suffer.

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Fogbuster

The economy will be fine once those who caused this debacle -- the criminals like Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and all their accomplices -- have been replaced with people who want to help ALL of America instead of just some special interest group.

With the trouble-makers no longer in the way and wreaking their havoc, the U.S. economy will rebound stronger than ever before. Proper regulation over the markets -- which Frank, Dodd and their comrades bitterly opposed, but which the Bush administration and John McCain desperately called for -- will never again allow scam artists to take advantage of poorly designed social engineering by ideological robots (Frank, Dodd, & Co.) in the form of the CRA to destroy the economy.

America is not the Soviet Union or any other failed social experiment. Americans trust people to act on their true conscience, not on some fiat from a dictatorial government, be it England's King George or the "new messiah", BarackO. To true Americans God is God; the government is never going to replace God.

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"All that is required for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing."

Fogbuster

You are misreading the tea leaves. Republican party "alienating" women??? How? Sarah Palin has energized women of every race, nationality, religion, and any other criterion -- oh, except the lunatic fringe, but you weren't counting them, either, I'm sure. (Right?)

How else has this ticket "alienated" anyone?? By standing up for goodness and decency? for families? for personal responsibility? How has McCain-Palin "alienated" anyone??

The only group whom I can imagine might take offense at McCain-Palin would the rigid ideologues of the extreme radical same-sex lobby, who will find their efforts to force same-sex into every household opposed.

Outside of this small radical fundamentalist group of ideological straight-jackets, McCain-Palin appeals to every other demographic.



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"All that is required for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing."

DarrylS

I know you will not take the time to watch this, but will try anyways...

YouTube - 60 Minutes: A Look at Wallstreet's Shadow Market P1

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Patters

I suspect there's an older generation of Republicans sinking into irrelevance, and they are flailing about and lashing about looking for someone else to blame for fear the legacy of their views will be a sinking economy and an unstable world. They are too old to take personal responsibility for the failures of their ideas because they can't face up to the fact that it will be part of their legacy. I feel a little bad for them.

Stokes

I have a few thoughts here:

It always seems to me like younger people lean more heavily Democrat, but there is a shift to Republican as they age. Right now the Dems also have a charismatic figure leading them with which younger people can identify. Republicans this year had a choice between a 73 year old who hardly uses a computer and a flip-flopping robot, so I don't think the shift is entirely unexpected. Also factor in how unpopular the face of the party for the last 8 years is and how his administration is perceived.

I also think it is a reflection of how the Republican party has become lost in recent years. The best example is how they threw fiscal responsibility out the window, and really let America down in the time they controlled both the White House and Congress.

I do think it is more difficult to keep together the Republican coalition of economic conservatives, social conservatives, foreign policy hawks, non-interventionist old school conservatives, libertarians, etc. Ideally I'd like to see the socially conservative wing of the party be de-emphasized and focus on some core values that appeal to average Americans (recognizing of course that most Americans are religious, but I don't think they need it espoused by government). I'd love to start with how about we stop with the running up huge deficits, cut taxes across the board BUT also be in favor of closing corporate loopholes, support all types of energy including renewables, and come up with real solutions to stop the growth of entitlement programs by both monitoring efficiency and just plain old making government programs do more or do the same with less dollars (this should also be extended to military spending). Some of these things they already support, but some aren't there yet, and some (like spending) they have the general idea, but no specific plans to implement to actually fix the situation.