My must read of the day is "Republicans’ young-people problem," by Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post:
Obama’s 34-point victory among 18-to-29-year-olds in 2008, and his 24-point margin four years later, showed that he had an ability unique among politicians — Democrats or Republicans — to motivate and unite an age group that has been the perennial sleeping giant of American politics. But Republicans have held out hope that without a historic figure like Obama leading the ticket, millennials will be back in play in 2016 and beyond.
A cursory read of Pew’s massive survey seems to suggest that those hopes have merit. Half of all millennials describe themselves as political independents, more than 10 percentage points higher than any other generation tested by Pew. Just three in 10 (31 percent) said there was a "great deal" of difference between the two parties. The president’s approval rating among millennials has tumbled. […]
Nearly seven in 10 millennials (68 percent) support same-sex marriage, a marked increase even from a decade ago, when 44 percent backed it. Fifty-five percent of millennials say illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United States and have a chance to apply for citizenship. Fifty-six percent of millennials say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. On each of those issues, millennials’ views come far closer to the Democratic Party’s position than where the Republican Party — and in particular, its base — finds itself.
Cillizza wants us to accept the notion that this study shows young are more liberal than before, and it’s not just because of Obama. That’s a premise that makes little sense.
Young people are always an inconsistent voting block. Sure the ones that came out in 2012 largely voted for Obama over Romney, but turnout that year amongst 18-24 year olds was substantially lower than what we saw in 2008.
How can we truly disassociate these liberal leanings from Obama when he's still in office? He’s still hammering in a liberal agenda and campaigning with that message across America (and at countless college campuses). It’s absurd to assume that the propensity to lean left would exist independent from this president. Right now, the sample is tainted.
This study found that 53 percent of millennials "favor a bigger government that provides more services," but I'm not convinced that the desire for big government is tied to anything other than social issues.
Liberals have successfully tied every part of their message to an emotionally driven, social argument—especially over the last six years.
If you don’t support X entitlement, you just hate poor people. Who would want to be a part of that group?
That’s not conservatism, but liberals have convinced a lot of young people it is.
The argument that young people are becoming more liberal than before is largely the result of caricatures created by the left to portray conservatives as void of empathy.
I wouldn’t put too much stock in this study suggesting anything other than young people are socially liberal, and that is not evidence that millennials will become a generation of Democrats.
Political ideologies shift and adapt as time goes, and while "socially liberal" may be a term now, and it’s one I would use to describe myself, I doubt it will have the same meaning—or even exist—in 20, 30 years.