New Democrats

A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that the youngest voting bloc, those age 18-29, are trending toward the Democratic Party. Perhaps trending isn't the right word. Avalanching? Tidal Waving? Landsliding? However you characterize it, the numbers are staggering. According to the study, 58% of this demographic identify or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared to 33% who identify or lean toward the Republicans. The 25 point gap represents a more than doubling of the gap since 2004 where it was only 11 points.

To be honest, though, this study doesn't surprise me. In the past eight years under a Republican administration--for many in that demographic this represents a significant formative phase in life--we have experienced a total cluster fuck in Iraq coupled with a complete blundering of Afghanistan where we could have done some good, torture at the hands of Americans, a failure to address climate change, burgeoning costs for secondary education, a flip from record surpluses to record deficits, stagnant wages and job growth, explosive health care costs, plummeting value of the US dollar... there's more, but my fingers are tired.

How could you live through this and then identify with the Republican Party? According to the numbers not many people can.