The confluence of two recent articles points out a big issue for Democratic leadership.
The Coming Generation War
Pelosi. McConnell. Trump. Biden. Sanders. Clinton. Every one of them a baby boomer or older. Every one defined by political lines that are decades old.
Meanwhile, the median American is 38. HALF of all Americans are under 38. 43% of all Democrats were born in 1981 or later. By 2024 this will be 50% of Democrats. By 2029, just ten years away, Millennials and people younger than Millennials will make up the majority of America’s voting-age population. By 2039 they will be 62% of all voters.
The article points out that AOC’s views are close to the median for her age cohort. In other words, AOC isn’t a radical young Democrat, she’s the AVERAGE young Democrat. And the ones coming after her are even more tilted in that direction. 66% of Generation Z (those born after 1996) support single payer health care. 63% support free college. 63% support a federal jobs guarantee. And the Millennial voters’ (1981-1996 birthdates) support for the same positions is only slightly lower.
If the Democratic party doesn’t want to recognize that, they may find that a large proportion of their potential future voters don’t want to be Democrats at all anymore.
Which brings us to the next article.
College Democrats protest new DCCC vendor policy
In March the DCCC unveiled a new policy stating that any vendors who wished to work with the party – campaign advisers, consulting firms, etc. - had to sign on a set of terms. One of the terms is that they must refuse to do work for any candidate who is challenging an incumbent Democrat. In other words, the DCCC isn’t just explicitly preferring old Democrats over younger/newer ones, it is attempting to use economic power to force advisers to prefer the old guard as well.
Sixty-eight chapters of the College Democrats have begun urging voters to boycott the DCCC, spearheaded by the powerful Harvard College Democrats. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of course, had already explicitly and publicly opposed the rule, as have several other young Democrats.
This move, along with the underhanded ways that they’ve already been trying to manipulate the 2020 primaries, is giving the impression that the DNC is drawing a line in the sand. And they may soon find a large, large portion of their constituency walking over that line and not coming back.
The Coming Generation War
Pelosi. McConnell. Trump. Biden. Sanders. Clinton. Every one of them a baby boomer or older. Every one defined by political lines that are decades old.
Meanwhile, the median American is 38. HALF of all Americans are under 38. 43% of all Democrats were born in 1981 or later. By 2024 this will be 50% of Democrats. By 2029, just ten years away, Millennials and people younger than Millennials will make up the majority of America’s voting-age population. By 2039 they will be 62% of all voters.
The article points out that AOC’s views are close to the median for her age cohort. In other words, AOC isn’t a radical young Democrat, she’s the AVERAGE young Democrat. And the ones coming after her are even more tilted in that direction. 66% of Generation Z (those born after 1996) support single payer health care. 63% support free college. 63% support a federal jobs guarantee. And the Millennial voters’ (1981-1996 birthdates) support for the same positions is only slightly lower.
If the Democratic party doesn’t want to recognize that, they may find that a large proportion of their potential future voters don’t want to be Democrats at all anymore.
Which brings us to the next article.
College Democrats protest new DCCC vendor policy
In March the DCCC unveiled a new policy stating that any vendors who wished to work with the party – campaign advisers, consulting firms, etc. - had to sign on a set of terms. One of the terms is that they must refuse to do work for any candidate who is challenging an incumbent Democrat. In other words, the DCCC isn’t just explicitly preferring old Democrats over younger/newer ones, it is attempting to use economic power to force advisers to prefer the old guard as well.
Sixty-eight chapters of the College Democrats have begun urging voters to boycott the DCCC, spearheaded by the powerful Harvard College Democrats. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of course, had already explicitly and publicly opposed the rule, as have several other young Democrats.
This move, along with the underhanded ways that they’ve already been trying to manipulate the 2020 primaries, is giving the impression that the DNC is drawing a line in the sand. And they may soon find a large, large portion of their constituency walking over that line and not coming back.
