Young Voters Are Abandoning Obama-But Not Running to Romney (Explains empty seats at Ohio State)

The Daily Beast ^ | Sunday, May 6, 2012 | Mark McKinnon

[kristinn]

It's no surprise President Barack Obama officially kicked off his re-election campaign on two college campuses on Saturday. You're supposed to apply pressure at the site of bleeding. And the president's support among young voters is bleeding away.

Though their elders vote at higher rates, the Millennial generation, aged 18 to 29, represented almost one in six votes in the 2008 presidential election. And they voted for Obama over Senator John McCain by a two-to-one margin.

While others in the media are focused on the upward trend in the president's approval ratings over the last four months in this age group, as shown in the latest Survey of Young Americans' Attitudes toward Politics and Public Service from Harvard University's Institute of Politics, there are troubling signs for the campaigns and the country embedded more deeply in the numbers.

SNIP

In terms of policies and priorities, the group appears more right-of-center than imagined. Almost four in ten believe cutting taxes is key to growth. Just 19 percent think government spending is the answer. And those who believe health insurance is a right dropped from 61 percent in 2008 to 43 percent in 2012.

The top ten issues ranked in importance for this cohort were: creating jobs, reducing the deficit, lowering the tax burden for all, becoming energy independent, ensuring affordable access to health care, creating a world-class education system, addressing Social Security, preventing the spread of terrorism, protecting individual liberties from government, and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Combating the impacts of climate change fell near the bottom of the list.

Surprisingly, little support is expressed by 18-to-24 year olds for the Occupy Wall Street protests, at 19 percent. (A plurality of 42 percent are unsure.)

[Mygirlsmom]

More opportunity for my kids then ;) (all three are working right now. And they will vote, but not for Obama)

[LibsRJerks]

Better the little snots stay home and sleep like they normally do”

Exactly. These young brainless morons ruined the country for the past 4 years. My business partner and I try our best to weed out the liberals for the past 3 hiring sessions as we do not want any part of them. Let them eat their hopeychangey cake and choke on it..

**
Exactly. Good for you and your business partner. Keep weeding.

The young people I know and TRY to discuss politics with are so hopelessly uninformed and knowledgeable about this country’s history — that they truly and really should NOT vote.

I don’t think most do anyway ...where are all these Paulbots? It seems like they’re not even turning out for him as he’s not getting any votes. For all their loudmouthed bluster, they haven’t been able to effect any sort of shift as far as Paul is concerned.

[kristinn]

To all who are trashing the young, please read this excerpt from the article. We are winning the argument with young voters:

In terms of policies and priorities, the group appears more right-of-center than imagined. Almost four in ten believe cutting taxes is key to growth. Just 19 percent think government spending is the answer. And those who believe health insurance is a right dropped from 61 percent in 2008 to 43 percent in 2012.

The top ten issues ranked in importance for this cohort were: creating jobs, reducing the deficit, lowering the tax burden for all, becoming energy independent, ensuring affordable access to health care, creating a world-class education system, addressing Social Security, preventing the spread of terrorism, protecting individual liberties from government, and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Combating the impacts of climate change fell near the bottom of the list.

Surprisingly, little support is expressed by 18-to-24 year olds for the Occupy Wall Street protests, at 19 percent. (A plurality of 42 percent are unsure.)

[max americana]

We try our best to be ‘subtle’ in our interviews (wink). Obviously, we never ask “who did you vote for?” or they’ll catch on..

Then again, we had the occasional Obama sticker at the back of the car’ candidates (our office is right above the parking lot) and we send one of our managers to do the interviews so not to waste our time.

[prairiebreeze]

If Romney chooses a veep running mate who is young and appealing to the youths, such as Paul Ryan or Rubio, that might increase his percentages some.

[thulldud]

I think your desire to change the constitution may just happen, but you may not like the results.

Back in the Sixties we were all given the mantra, "old enough to fight, but not old enough to vote?" It seemed to make sense, until you realized that being old enough to hold a gun and shoot when ordered doesn't entail the maturity to decide what should be shot.

But in those days maturity itself was under attack.

I'd like to see that pesky constitution returned to more of its original form, mainly by repealing every amendment that includes the clause "Congress shall have power", etc.

Congress had plenty of power to start with.

[Ronin]

I suspect that a lot of the first time voters from 2008 are going to stay home this time around.

They may still like Obama on a personal and “coolness” level, but they’re not totally stupid. They can look around and see that things are going totally to crap.

Even the wastrels have to realize that there’s not going to be much in the way of good times in the future if we don’t get a President who can find his ass if he uses both hands.

They’ll tell all their friends they plan to vote for him, but on election day they’ll be too busy — mostly planning on ways to score with the heartbroken Lib chicks after Obama concedes.

[ansel12]

They're trying to re-create the 60's success they had with kids. Don't think it's going to work.

The young being leftists is new, it started in 1992.

Nixon won 52% of the 18 to 29 year old vote in 1972.

In 1968 the Democrats won 47% of the (21) to 29 year old vote, in 1972, they won 46% of the 18 to 29 age group, in 1976, after Watergate, and with the weak, moderate (and under suspicion) Ford, against what appeared to be a social conservative Democrat with a strong military back ground, the Democrats picked up 51% of the 18 to 29 year old vote.

In 1980 Democrats got 44% of that age group, 1984-40%, 1988-47%.

[Paladin2]

May Zer0’s inner tube be pinched between his rim and his bead.

[tanuki]

Thanks for posting. The article does a lot to clarify the ‘08 ‘youth vote’ in my mind.

Frankly, if half the kids stay home, they’ll do almost as much a service to Romney as they would voting for him. And if this is reflected in other demographics (unions, minorities, etc.), at the very least, Obama has a fight on his hand.

[ansel12]

You may like the New York Times quote, mentioned here.

**While “old enough to fight, old enough to vote” was one of the catch-phrases of the 1960s, the sentiment behind it had been expressed decades earlier during both World War II and the Korean War. But for many years there was opposition to lowering the voting age, including from The New York Times, which repeatedly argued against it. “The requirements for a good soldier and for a good voter are not the same,” said a 1967 Times editorial. “For the soldier, youthful enthusiasm and physical endurance are of primary importance; for the voter, maturity of judgment far outweighs other qualifications.”

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/1971%3A+18-Year-olds+get+the+vote%3A+with+the+Vietnam+war+as+a+backdrop,...-a0153512262

[hinckley buzzard]

The 18 to 29 year old demographic are the most ignorant and shallow, with the poorest judgment. It would be good for America if the voting age was raised to 30.

[Future Snake Eater]

18 to 29 also has some of the most rabid conservatives you’ll ever meet. Don’t be so quick to dismiss someone in that age group.

[hinckley buzzard]

You may be amused to learn that a substantial faction of the Constitutional Convention wanted the vote to be seriously restricted, and one plan was to limit the vote to property owners. The system we got was a compromise out of necessity, based on pragmatics, not principle.

[PapaBear3625]

This is bad for Obama. College students don't just supply votes (sometimes multiple times, as they vote on-campus. off campus, and by absentee in their home state), but they also supply a lot of the activists, volunteers, and get-out-the-vote workers on election day.

If they stay home, he's screwed.

[hinckley buzzard]

The reason we won the youth vote in the 60's, even 1972, was that back then young adults voted pretty much as their parents did. The 60s changed all that, by design--to encourage the "youts" to rebel against their parents and vote for the leftwing asshole of the day. The rest is history.

[thecodont]

The 18 to 29 year old demographic are the most ignorant and shallow, with the poorest judgment. It would be good for America if the voting age was raised to 30.

Old enough to serve as a U.S. Representative, but not old enough to vote?

;)

[ansel12]

You need to reread post 28, the youth vote did not become democrat until 1992.

[ReformationFan]

“The young people I know and TRY to discuss politics with are so hopelessly uninformed and knowledgeable about this country’s history — that they truly and really should NOT vote.”

I agree. The majority of them have sadly been brainwashed by cultural marxism and have never really been exposed to conservative ideas and how it’s in their best interest to vote conservative. Perhaps they’ll realize it once they hit their 50s and are still paying off Maobama’s stimulus package of 2009.

[ReformationFan]

I’m beginning to think the only folks who should be allowed to vote are those paying taxes. Of course the Dems would fight this idea tooth and nail. The majority of their voter base would disappear.