The Hollywood Liberal

Are the Democrats Losing the Young?
It turns out that maybe being young and liberal isn’t necessarily in our blood after all. Despite historical trends that peg young people as Democrats, a new Pew Research survey suggests that recent economic woes have led fewer 18- to 29-year-olds to identify themselves as Democrats. —JCL The New York Times: The college vote is up for grabs this year — to an extent that would have seemed unlikely two years ago, when a generation of young people seemed to swoon over Barack Obama. Though many students are liberals on social issues, the economic reality of a weak job market has taken a toll on their loyalties: far fewer 18- to 29-year-olds now identify themselves as Democrats compared with 2008. “Is the recession, which is hitting young people very hard, doing lasting or permanent damage to what looked like a good Democratic advantage with this age group?” asked Scott Keeter, the director of survey research at the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan group. “The jury is still out.” Read more

It turns out that maybe being young and liberal isn’t necessarily in our blood after all. Despite historical trends that peg young people as Democrats, a new Pew Research survey suggests that recent economic woes have led fewer 18- to 29-year-olds to identify themselves as Democrats. —JCL

The New York Times:

The college vote is up for grabs this year — to an extent that would have seemed unlikely two years ago, when a generation of young people seemed to swoon over Barack Obama.

Though many students are liberals on social issues, the economic reality of a weak job market has taken a toll on their loyalties: far fewer 18- to 29-year-olds now identify themselves as Democrats compared with 2008.

“Is the recession, which is hitting young people very hard, doing lasting or permanent damage to what looked like a good Democratic advantage with this age group?” asked Scott Keeter, the director of survey research at the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan group. “The jury is still out.”

Read more

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