The Kids Will Be Alright
The generation that came of age during the five presidential terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman leaned Democratic for its entire life. So have those young liberals of the 1960s, who learned American politics through the glamour of John F. Kennedy. The babies of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who entered political consciousness during the Reagan years, lean Republican. Think Alex P. Keaton, the conservative child of hippies from the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties.”
These identities are a more useful guide to American politics than the largely useless cliché about adults starting off liberal and slowly becoming more conservative. Like a broken clock, that cliché can seem accurate at times, mostly thanks to luck.
It is loopy to think that the 1980s television character Alex Keaton is a valid cultural reference, let alone a role model for people who were not born when Family Ties was on the air. Heck, their parents might have been newborn babies and don’t recall Family Ties. David Leonhardt might as well have used The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and it would still be just as out of date and tin eared.
But the larger point is that the Reagan-era Republicans completely remade themselves when Lee Atwater deployed the very racist Southern Strategy and picked up disaffected southern Democrats, and Jerry Falwell delivered the theocrats. Unless the Republicans can peel off another layer from the Democrats, they are going to be the party of the Confederacy for a long time, and they will not win national elections. The Republican need to win the next generation, but it seems unlikely. This is the world that the Republicans built for themselves and the world that they occupy.
The Republicans are not going to win the next generation with their restrictive/constrictive world view and culture war issues from another era. They are going to need to evolve into something more appealing, but then they would become Democrats.
Click here for reuse options!Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Tengrain
Fully caffeinated with twice the sugar, unabashedly liberal. Award-winning Americans United blogger, blogs at Mock Paper Scissors, and sometimes at Crooks and Liars.
You can follow @Tengrain on Twitter, or you might see him enjoying coffee somewhere in Seattle at any given moment of the day.
55 responses to The Kids Will Be Alright
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fahvel July 8th, 2014 at 12:21
Not so sure – a generation wrapped up in mini info via the smart phone is an uneducated and ill informed group.
DownriverDem July 8th, 2014 at 13:34
But they are reading and that is a good thing. Culture issue wise, I just don’t see them voting repub. Repubs hate everyone but old white men.
RAPTOR555 July 8th, 2014 at 14:01
Repubs actually donate over 8 times more to charitable organizations that help the needy; the much higher percentages of the recipients being liberals. I’m an old white man, a conservative and not a republican, and I donate ($2,600 in 2013) even though I’m on a strict budget and a fixed income. How about you?
William July 8th, 2014 at 17:25
I’m an old white man, a conservative and not a republican, and I donate ($2,600 in 2013) even though I’m on a strict budget and a fixed income. How about you?
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Mathew 6:4.
Now about that repubs donating 8 times more to charity.
Could you please post that link. I’d like to read it.
Thanx in advance.
fahvel July 8th, 2014 at 12:21
Not so sure – a generation wrapped up in mini info via the smart phone is an uneducated and ill informed group.
DownriverDem July 8th, 2014 at 13:34
But they are reading and that is a good thing. Culture issue wise, I just don’t see them voting repub. Repubs hate everyone but old white men.
James E Bailey July 8th, 2014 at 14:01
Repubs actually donate over 8 times more to charitable organizations that help the needy; the much higher percentages of the recipients being liberals. I’m an old white man, a conservative and not a republican, and I donate ($2,600 in 2013) even though I’m on a strict budget and a fixed income. How about you?
William July 8th, 2014 at 17:25
I’m an old white man, a conservative and not a republican, and I donate ($2,600 in 2013) even though I’m on a strict budget and a fixed income. How about you?
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Mathew 6:4.
Now about that repubs donating 8 times more to charity.
Could you please post that link. I’d like to read it.
Thanx in advance.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 12:31
I’m not seeing Conservatives winning over the next generation. According to Republicans, we’ve opened the floodgates with same-sex marriage and they will all be indoctrinated. Mwha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
RAPTOR555 July 8th, 2014 at 13:54
LMAO, Only a lib would be proud of that.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 12:31
I’m not seeing Conservatives winning over the next generation. According to Republicans, we’ve opened the floodgates with same-sex marriage and they will all be indoctrinated. Mwha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
James E Bailey July 8th, 2014 at 13:54
LMAO, Only a lib would be proud of that.
RAPTOR555 July 8th, 2014 at 13:20
If they don’t become conservatives they will have to rely on the government for subsistence just like all the other socialist countries. We are heading toward socialism at a staggering rate and will probably become a second-rate country within a few years. Just look at Greece, Italy, France, etc. and their cost of living in order to pay for their citizens on the dole. History shows this to be true.
DownriverDem July 8th, 2014 at 13:36
Hey rap man, I’ve been a liberal my whole life and have worked my whole life. I do not rely on the government for subsistence. Go back to the rightwing sites where your views are welcomed.
RAPTOR555 July 8th, 2014 at 13:52
I thought the subject matter was about kids; the next generations. Are you a kid?
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 15:08
Keep trolling our readers and you will be banned. Thanks!
RAPTOR555 July 8th, 2014 at 15:45
Are my opinions not valid on this site? I don’t know what you consider ‘trolling’ but I have been civil to everyone here which is not how I’ve been treated so far. I hate to assume but I have no choice than to assume that by ‘trolling’ you mean disagreeing with someone else’s post via an alternate opinion. If that’s the case, can I assume again that if I don’t agree, I’m not welcome here because I have different opinions? So much for open-mindedness which most liberal’s claim to be. Please give your defination of ‘trolling’ so I don’t have to ‘assume.’ Thank You!
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 15:50
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trolling
trolling
Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander, because it’s the internet and, hey, you can.
Read your own comments after reading this.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 16:09
He’s obviously very confused over his own identity. I don’t like trolls bothering our readers. It’s really simple.
tiredoftea July 8th, 2014 at 13:48
Umm, ahh, no, it doesn’t.
Tengrain July 8th, 2014 at 16:09
So the option is be a conservative or be on the dole?
I’m calling BS.
–Tengrain
James E Bailey July 8th, 2014 at 13:20
If they don’t become conservatives they will have to rely on the government for subsistence just like all the other socialist countries. We are heading toward socialism at a staggering rate and will probably become a second-rate country within a few years. Just look at Greece, Italy, France, etc. and their cost of living in order to pay for their citizens on the dole. History shows this to be true.
DownriverDem July 8th, 2014 at 13:36
Hey rap man, I’ve been a liberal my whole life and have worked my whole life. I do not rely on the government for subsistence. Go back to the rightwing sites where your views are welcomed.
James E Bailey July 8th, 2014 at 13:52
I thought the subject matter was about kids; the next generations. Are you a kid?
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 15:08
Keep trolling our readers and you will be banned. Thanks!
James E Bailey July 8th, 2014 at 15:45
Are my opinions not valid on this site? I don’t know what you consider ‘trolling’ but I have been civil to everyone here which is not how I’ve been treated so far. I hate to assume but I have no choice than to assume that by ‘trolling’ you mean disagreeing with someone else’s post via an alternate opinion. If that’s the case, can I assume again that if I don’t agree, I’m not welcome here because I have different opinions? So much for open-mindedness which most liberal’s claim to be. Please give your defination of ‘trolling’ so I don’t have to ‘assume.’ Thank You!
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 15:50
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trolling
trolling
Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander, because it’s the internet and, hey, you can.
Read your own comments after reading this.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 16:09
He’s obviously very confused over his own identity. I don’t like trolls bothering our readers. It’s really simple.
James E Bailey July 8th, 2014 at 16:20
NOTHING I posted can be described as cynical or sarcastic remarks by any stretch of the imagination. If I inadvertently did, please point it out and I will apologize if one is warranted. I merely voiced my opinion on the subject matter at hand and never called anyone names as you did here by calling me a “prick.” You are only angry because someone has an opinion you don’t agree with. Admit it!
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 16:24
He called you a troll. That was the Urban dictionary’s definition of a troll.
Mark didn’t call you a prick.
You are offensive. I joked around in the comments and you came up with this, “Only a lib would be proud of that”
Calling me a liberal is like calling me pretty. Just don’t try being a jerk to our readers.
James E Bailey July 8th, 2014 at 19:19
He didn’t call me a prick? I cut and pasted this from above:
trolling
Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically
unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent
by-stander, because it’s the internet and, hey, you can.
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 19:25
You really are an idiot. Goodbye.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 19:39
Did he finally get banished?
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 19:43
Yup, I figured if I was totally sick and tired of him and didn’t want to read another comment of his that probably most everybody else felt the same way.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 20:06
I love our Conservative regular here. They add something to the discussion and they’re polite (even though they are ALWAYS wrong:-)
But he was trolly.
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 17:04
I provide you with a definition and provide the link where it came from and you flip out. Excuse me. I have done had it with you. If you are not anything but nice and courteous you are gone. This is a liberal site, not a RWNJ site. You are the guest.
tiredoftea July 8th, 2014 at 13:48
Umm, ahh, no, it doesn’t.
Tengrain July 8th, 2014 at 16:09
So the option is be a conservative or be on the dole?
I’m calling BS.
–Tengrain
tiredoftea July 8th, 2014 at 13:52
Yes, a new generation of kids who have witnessed a Congress intentionally bring us to the brink of bankruptcy, the decline of their parent’s ability to provide for them because of a stagnant economy which Congress ignored, oppressive college debt, and religious hypocrites who demand tithes to support their mansions and jets while forcing women to be unable to get needed health services. Yup, that’s sure going to have them flocking to the right!
tiredoftea July 8th, 2014 at 13:52
Yes, a new generation of kids who have witnessed a Congress intentionally bring us to the brink of bankruptcy, the decline of their parent’s ability to provide for them because of a stagnant economy which Congress ignored, oppressive college debt, and religious hypocrites who demand tithes to support their mansions and jets while forcing women to be unable to get needed health services. Yup, that’s sure going to have them flocking to the right!
m2old4bs July 8th, 2014 at 14:51
I don’t know. I hope that it is as Tengrain posits but I see so many young, very young, people who are already so steadfast in their religious fundamentalism, who are so unable or unwilling or both to see the other side of the coin on issues, who are in complete denial that someone else could have a valid opposing view, and who are adamant to a fault in their belief that Libertarianism is the one and only true expression of Republican and conservative values. Their hatred of anything and anyone else but their own is deep-seated in ignorance and fear. They will not discuss nor listen, but will preach and insist the validity of their viewpoint and demand that whoever they are speaking to (not with) recognize their patriotism and constitutional knowledge, as lacking as it may be on either count. You can not reason with them for they are as rigid as petrified wood and as empty in critical thinking as an empty soup can. These young, zealously religious, people see politics as a means to validate their views, like we all do, but they do not believe that anyone else’s opposing views need to be validated or even considered. I find it all very sad indeed, to be so young and so brainwashed that one can neither see nor honor the past as a foundation for the present, and can not see a future wherein others are as equal in all regards as one sees life for themselves.
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 15:42
More than likely the individuals like that will either change or amount to nothing in their lives and will have little sway on public opinion later in life. It is the people that educate themselves and deal with all people that become the most rounded and influential.
Tengrain July 8th, 2014 at 16:07
And on the other hand, in the urban left coast, I see school-aged kids roaming about in packs (as they do), mixed races, sexes, and mixed orientations.
They do not see the things that divided their older generations, they just see their friends. They roll their eyes at the street preachers, and the straight kids stand up for their gay peers.
They just do not see inequality as an option. I find them inspiring.
Rgds,
Tengrain
m2old4bs July 8th, 2014 at 14:51
I don’t know. I hope that it is as Tengrain posits but I see so many young, very young, people who are already so steadfast in their religious fundamentalism, who are so unable or unwilling or both to see the other side of the coin on issues, who are in complete denial that someone else could have a valid opposing view, and who are adamant to a fault in their belief that Libertarianism is the one and only true expression of Republican and conservative values. Their hatred of anything and anyone else but their own is deep-seated in ignorance and fear. They will not discuss nor listen, but will preach and insist the validity of their viewpoint and demand that whoever they are speaking to (not with) recognize their patriotism and constitutional knowledge, as lacking as it may be on either count. You can not reason with them for they are as rigid as petrified wood and as empty in critical thinking as an empty soup can. These young, zealously religious, people see politics as a means to validate their views, like we all do, but they do not believe that anyone else’s opposing views need to be validated or even considered. I find it all very sad indeed, to be so young and so brainwashed that one can neither see nor honor the past as a foundation for the present, and can not see a future wherein others are as equal in all regards as one sees life for themselves.
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 15:42
More than likely the individuals like that will either change or amount to nothing in their lives and will have little sway on public opinion later in life. It is the people that educate themselves and deal with all people that become the most rounded and influential.
Tengrain July 8th, 2014 at 16:07
And on the other hand, in the urban left coast, I see school-aged kids roaming about in packs (as they do), mixed races, sexes, and mixed orientations.
They do not see the things that divided their older generations, they just see their friends. They roll their eyes at the street preachers, and the straight kids stand up for their gay peers.
They just do not see inequality as an option. I find them inspiring.
Rgds,
Tengrain
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 16:24
He called you a troll. That was the Urban dictionary’s definition of a troll.
Mark didn’t call you a prick.
You are offensive. I joked around in the comments and you came up with this, “Only a lib would be proud of that”
Calling me a liberal is like calling me pretty. Just don’t try being a jerk to our readers.
RAPTOR555 July 8th, 2014 at 19:19
He didn’t call me a prick? I cut and pasted this from above:
trolling
Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically
unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent
by-stander, because it’s the internet and, hey, you can.
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 19:25
You really are an idiot. Goodbye.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 19:39
Did he finally get banished?
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 19:43
Yup, I figured if I was totally sick and tired of him and didn’t want to read another comment of his that probably most everybody else felt the same way.
Anomaly 100 July 8th, 2014 at 20:06
I love our Conservative regular here. They add something to the discussion and they’re polite (even though they are ALWAYS wrong:-)
But he was trolly.
mea_mark July 8th, 2014 at 17:04
I provide you with a definition and provide the link where it came from and you flip out. Excuse me. I have done had it with you. If you are not anything but nice and courteous you are gone. This is a liberal site, not a RWNJ site. You are the guest.
Rusty Shackleford July 9th, 2014 at 08:40
Even by his own metric, basing political ideology on the merits of whoever’s president when you reach voting age, he should realize that for many of us Millennials, that’s Bush, right? Not exactly the greatest sales pitch for the GOP for my generation. Hell, even the Republicans don’t want him anymore.
Rusty Shackleford July 9th, 2014 at 08:40
Even by his own metric, basing political ideology on the merits of whoever’s president when you reach voting age, he should realize that for many of us Millennials, that’s Bush, right? Not exactly the greatest sales pitch for the GOP for my generation. Hell, even the Republicans don’t want him anymore.