The not-so-liberal American future
Democrats hope that young Obama enthusiasts will maintain their overwhelmingly liberal orientation even as they grow older and their life circumstances change. …
That conclusion, however, contradicts the evidence of 40 years of exit polls. In 11 presidential elections since 1972, voters over 65 have voted more Republican than voters under 30 in every contest but one (1988, for some reason). In none of the 11 elections did young voters tilt more Republican than the overall electorate; their levels of support for Democratic candidates in each campaign topped those of the general electorate by an average of five points.
These figures conclusively rebut the progressive hope that youthful liberals generally maintain their fervent commitment to liberalism as they age and mature. The voters who lean Republican in middle age and beyond are the same people, after all, who leaned Democratic in their younger years. For all their diabolical cleverness, Karl Rove and other cunning conservatives haven’t yet developed a scheme for creating new voters in a lab who emerge pre-aged to a seasoned 65 with an unstoppable instinct to vote for members of the Bush family.
Blowback
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The big problem for National Socialists is that their constant promises there will be lots of lebensraum should they loot Poland and France rarely pan out.
viking01 on December 2, 2012 at 10:07 PM
Can we just note that Michael Medved thought Romney was going to win big. Can we just note that Michael Medved thought McCain was going to win big. Can we just note that Michael Medved has more GOP shill in him than analytic capability? Jess sayin.
Warner Todd Huston on December 2, 2012 at 10:11 PM
Heh look where we already are with Social Security, Medicare, etc. Most Americans are already bought.
CW on December 2, 2012 at 10:11 PM
An older, wiser socialist is … a tired old socialist.
C’mon, Medved, I see them every time I visit the organic market.
Seth Halpern on December 2, 2012 at 10:13 PM
Remind me how many liberals were actually mugged by reality.
Seth Halpern on December 2, 2012 at 10:16 PM
Damned shame too.
astonerii on December 2, 2012 at 10:17 PM
There may be something to this. When the older silver ponytailed dregs of society–the ones who “were there during the 60′s-70′s–die off, the ones who are left won’t have that emotional liquor of “the cause” to be drunk on. I think the left knows this and thats why they are trying to bring back the same old tired issues back..racism..womens rights..abortion..solidarity to unions..the environment etc, in an attempt to have young people associate these things with being a part of youthful vitality.
It should work about as well as Woodstock II.
Mimzey on December 2, 2012 at 10:18 PM
Yeah..but they’re dying off.
Mimzey on December 2, 2012 at 10:19 PM
Beat me to the punch.
Sean Hannity is not a bloody prophet for predicting what anyone but liberals or the hopelessly deluded could see was coming. Similarly, Michael off-his-Meds-ved is not any more accurate a predictor of history for painting a picture of the future that – I dare to assume here – we all know is not happening.
Seriously, show me ANY hard evidence that this nation as a whole isn’t leaning farther left.
MelonCollie on December 2, 2012 at 10:30 PM
18-29 year old demographic is more pro-life than any other age group??
astonerii on December 2, 2012 at 10:48 PM
Wishful thinking. The war is over, we lost. Let it burn.
Aodhan on December 2, 2012 at 10:53 PM
wwll, that’s true sometimes…but think FDR and the Depression.
that is the model that the left is using. People voted D the rest of their lives
r keller on December 2, 2012 at 10:53 PM
Another slanted poll coupled with Lake Wobegone Syndrome does not make my generation pro-life. I’m sorry. If I had to guess I’d say that was the result of people appeasing their guilty conscience by ticking a box, much like how supposedly we poll as a Christian nation but don’t even begin to act like one.
It doesn’t help that we’re near-frantic just trying to get our careers off the launch pad.
MelonCollie on December 2, 2012 at 11:01 PM
Obama got 6+ million fewer votes than in ’08 in a population that grew with more eligible voters?
Mimzey on December 2, 2012 at 11:06 PM
Hah, read the last line here. It solves all the leftist Utopian pipedreams
Schadenfreude on December 2, 2012 at 11:20 PM
The destruction that the Obamunists are about to unleash on this country is going to change everything.
When the our children begin to suffer the consequences of voting themselves and their children into slavery and poverty liberalism will self destruct.
single stack on December 2, 2012 at 11:26 PM
Wait for the backlash. And that won’t be long from now.
Hopefully not too late to recover.
petefrt on December 2, 2012 at 11:28 PM
To use a nuclear analogy, when liberalism hits critical mass there will either be an uncontrolled ‘explosion’, or a controlled burst of power unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
Pray for the former.
MelonCollie on December 2, 2012 at 11:32 PM
Medved is delusional.
Bill Whittle is correct: the problem is not demographics or GOTV, etc. The problem is cultural. Until the culture turns around and heads the other direction (becomes more virtuous), libs will keep winning elections.
And no, I’m not holding my breath.
Splashman on December 2, 2012 at 11:52 PM
I totally agree, Mimzey. The young lefties are cutting the ends off their Tofurkey roasts, politically speaking. When 0bama was elected in 2008, the youngest Carter voter at the time would have been 50 years old. There is a reason the Democrats don’t have such a deep bench. They decided to ride the Boomer money train all the way to the end, a perpetual re-capturing of antique liberal victories to swell the hearts of the old hippies and open their wallets.
Imagine the damage to these throwbacks once the higher ed bubble bursts, and vulnerable eighteen-year-olds are studying Shakespeare in English class instead of re-translated Rigoberta Menchu—or getting trained as highly-paid skilled laborers.
Sekhmet on December 2, 2012 at 11:54 PM
I agree that until we learn how to restore the culture, we will be losers. Whittle is right. Breitbart is right. And Antonio Gramsci was right.
petefrt on December 2, 2012 at 11:59 PM
There’s going to be a civil war.
single stack on December 3, 2012 at 12:04 AM
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
“The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage ”
-Alexander Tyler, (1787), Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh
The US is at #8
growl on December 3, 2012 at 12:12 AM
Word.
petefrt on December 3, 2012 at 12:17 AM
Yup. I’ve never seen that quote before, so thanks for sharing.
BTW, did you buy a Powerball ticket? (Yes, I’m being sarcastic.)
Splashman on December 3, 2012 at 12:36 AM
The pilgrims in 1620 were escaping bondage in the Netherlands when they sailed for Plymouth. As of 2012, most of our nation celebrates their bonds, and happily vote for more.
Splashman on December 3, 2012 at 12:43 AM
I’ve seen this many places, and as early as… 2003ish maybe?
Only upside here is it appears that Eastern Europe appears to be in 1 and 2… if they can survive the descent of America and the financial implosion of the EU without being eaten by Russia.
Gingotts on December 3, 2012 at 1:48 AM
BTW, @growl, there appears to be some disagreement as to attribution of that quote. See here on Snopes, and here for “The Truth about Tytler“. Short version: there is still little certainty about who formulated the “Why democracies fail” paragraph. And the “cycle of democracy” section likely came from a businessman named Prentiss.
This is an example of a quote that gets passed around enough that an apocryphal authorship becomes “fact” through sheer repetition.
It’s still an excellent quote, but you might want to keep the authorship issue in mind.
Splashman on December 3, 2012 at 1:49 AM
And this is why the Democrats need to own the medical care system so they can kill off the old people.
And I’m not really even joking, that is what it is going to come down to, just like in the UK. Get rid of those old people who are a net drain on the system and vote for the opposition anyway.
crosspatch on December 3, 2012 at 2:37 AM
Thanks for the info. I will leave off the attribution in the future but the statement still applies. The US is at #8. The US is a Republic but the voters have (re)elected liars who want to be reelected.
growl on December 3, 2012 at 2:39 AM
…why they are trying to bring back the same old tired issues back..racism..womens rights..abortion..solidarity to unions..the environment etc, in an attempt to have young people associate these things with being a part of youthful vitality.
Democrats are trying to amp-up these issues because they not only “work” or influence youth emotionally BUT ALSO they agitate and appeal to new/newer immigrants from Socialist and/or COmmunist nations who are falsely encouraged by the Left in the US to believe that that is what America is (for them to “get with the US” by getting involved in such and voting for those issues as to Dem candidates and legislation).
I see that effect all.the.time especially on people who are newer arrivals from, mostly, China, Mexico and Korea (and other Asian countries) OR their children born here who have grown up acquiring their parents’ former government influences. Even among those who claim they’re here after “fleeing” former conditions, it’s never their former GOVERNMENTS they’re fleeing, just their situations under those governments. So once in the US, they continue to pursue those same issues that you mention: because they think it’s what “the people” are to do to better themselves. Or something.
Lourdes on December 3, 2012 at 3:11 AM
The thing about that “youth vote” that bothers me — remains unexplained — is as to the so-called appeal of Obama on his so-called promise to lower tuition rates or prevent them from rising…
while facts defy that promise. They ARE rising and HAVE risen under Obama and worse, he’s RAISED PENALTIES they’ll be paying (youth will be paying, as in, college-attending ones) for the government loans they’ll all mostly be getting (and needing), AND, he’s made it far more expensive to exist for “youth” including their acquired debt under Obama when they’ll all be required to be paying their tax burdens, not to mention supporting themselves and figuring out how to support dependents.
It makes no sense to me how any “youth vote” could even tolerate Obama to vote again for him, what with the reality of what he’s already done to pretty much ruin their opportunities and futures.
The idea that he’s there to “keep their tuition rates from rising” is ludicrous, especially since he’s been there already to rise them already.
Lourdes on December 3, 2012 at 3:17 AM
I look at it this way. With them being able to self terminate the child for convenience , this way they are not doing the whole liberal teaching in the home. I know it sounds sick and twisted, but then again it does make sense.
watertown on December 3, 2012 at 6:42 AM
Then again to add to my thoughts :
Immagrants need to wake up also. Of course that is hard to do. They come from countries where gov takes care of them… or so they think so the democratic party seems like a perfect fit. Which I find funny because many of the LEGAL immigrants I know are very hard workers. Very pro family ( ask a hispanic if they live with family, I can rest assure you that they do or are very very close knit )… so the message needs to be from conservatives that we dont want to get rid of them. The liberals play on this fear that we all are racist white people, though there might be a very small minority that are, this goes with every demographic and party.
watertown on December 3, 2012 at 6:47 AM
That is true, but FDR had one thing the libs of today do not: WWII. Those people who voted D the rest of their lives actually though FDR’s policies ended the GD when it was WWII that ended the GD, not any of FDR’s stupid redistributionist policies.
Odysseus on December 3, 2012 at 7:26 AM
Of women who say abortion was an important issue, they voted Obama* by more than two to one.
*That is, they voted to keep murder legal.
itsnotaboutme on December 3, 2012 at 7:38 AM
Yes, they were so grateful for FDR prolonging the Depression like that.
The Depression–just like the recent Great Recession–was a bad economy caused & prolonged by liberalism but blamed on conservatism.
itsnotaboutme on December 3, 2012 at 7:42 AM
This may be true of LIBERAL attitudes, but we’re now faced with a group that has been taught for their entire public school and college experience that there is nothing wrong with COMMUNISM.
clippermiami on December 3, 2012 at 7:54 AM
I’m struggling to think of anything that Medved has been on the right side of. He’s an appalling RINO who has called every election in the last 20 years wrong.
He has repeatedly said that he thinks Barky is a really great guy, and and genuinely wants the best for all Americans. His shilling for Romney was embarrassing.
It’s high time MSNBC but him and Scarborough together for the new Breakfast show Morning RINO.
CorporatePiggy on December 3, 2012 at 8:09 AM
I don’t believe that. You’re not looking at the facts.
Are most Americans really bought? How many are really just ignorant? How many look over the political landscape and don’t see much difference between the two candidates in their own little worlds or districts or states and just decided… screw this. Why should I care. Nobody else does. Why should I even vote. There’s no difference.
Don ‘t blame the customers for what they order when all the choices suck on the menu.
I do not believe that if most people… I say most people.. if given the chance to decide between freedoms and slavery willingly choose slavery. Especially when it concerns their children’s future. But are we giving them a choice? A real clear choice? Are our candidates within the GOP exposing lies or ignoring them? Do they expose the truth or do they cower from it out of fear of being called extreme?
The Democrats have passion. They passionately and persistently argue, yes falsify, that the Republicans are going to kill you, dirty your water, dirty your air, take bread from the mouths of your children, throw grandma of a cliff…. and the GOP responds how? By just saying they won’t? Calling their opponents nice? Saying they want to reach across the aisle?
How many people really follow the news as closely as most of us here do? How many people think they are watching real news by sitting in front of MSNBC? And when finally our Republican candidate has the opportunity to confront the lies of the other side when the whole nation is watching.. does he? Or does he sit there and agree that he “supports the President” on almost everything? So when average people might hear rumors of Obama starting his campaign out of a domestic terrorists home… then watches the GOP candidate say “Obama’s really a nice guy”.. maybe they think to themselves… “well.. he can’t be that bad because if he was… the Republican would have said so.”
Our side so far isn’t fighting hard enough or passionately enough. So don’t throw out the electorate because you think they’ve been bought off. maybe they’re actually smarter than we realize. They look out over the landscape and hear one side warning about the end of the world if you vote Republican and the other side responds with a smile and says “That’s silly. We love Democrats. We want to be bi-partisan. We’re not extremists like the TEA party people are. Obama’s a nice guy. We support the President.”
JellyToast on December 3, 2012 at 8:09 AM
Not only that, but they’ve also been taught that all of our problems are caused by capitalism and that socialism is the solution.
single stack on December 3, 2012 at 8:57 AM
These quotes are misattributed, there is no evidence that Tyler said them. Such cynicism is silly anyway.
thebrokenrattle on December 3, 2012 at 9:02 AM
The age factor appears correct until you look at minority demographics: older black, hispanic, chinese, asian, middle eastern, all of whom love socialism or controlled societies
It looks like it is more cultural, than age correlated
These groups reject the culture and many in these groups consider the Constitution a reflection of a culture they hate.
On the other hand, the majority segment is still a big segment and the so called takeover point for hispanics may crash into the age of maturity of the majority culture
There is a point where self loathing fizzles out and an awareness of being loathed takes precedence. It is linked to survival. The cold feels colder as one ages. I do not think the conflict is over
entagor on December 3, 2012 at 10:48 AM