I think its generally true that kids tend to mimic their parents values
+_++
I think you are right, but what should be considered then is how many xers were exposed to their grandparents more than their parents. I know my grands were a big part of my life until we moved to Florida when I was 12 and incidentally I started going "downhill" when we made that move and I was then parented exclusively by my actual parents.
I'm sure that plays a part in many cases, but I am far more conservative than my late grandmother (born in 1909!) so one hasta be careful with those generalizations.