Millennials Better Embrace Democratic Candidates, or They'll Get Republicans

[MineralMan]

It works both ways. Threatening older Democrats with Millennials ignoring elections is just silly. Hell, I'm 72 years old. I'm not the one who'll be living under a Dominionist government. I'll be dead and gone. It's the Millennials who will face the consequences if they don't turn out and elect Democrats, not me.

On Election Day, watch for me at my polling place, where I'll cast my vote for every Democrat on the ballot. I'm on the Millennials' side. But, I just have one vote. They'd better show up and vote, too.

BTW, this post was inspired by:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=10807070

[fallout87]

1. Agreed!!

I was back and forth on how to respond to that thread.

Did they not learn their lesson in 2016???

Why do WE (democrats) have to cater to them? I'm a millennial but I want democrats on the ballot... not politicians that are Independents/ socialists 97% of the time and then switch at the last minute.

[MineralMan]

2. Almost all general election races are binary.

Either the Democrat or the Republican will win. So, vote for the Democrats, folks. It's your choice who you want to live with in government. If you stay home, you don't get a damned thing. If you vote, you get to choose.

I don't understand why so many people can't grasp that simple thing.

Vote or take whatever happens. That's how it works, folks, whatever age you are.

[Squinch]

3. I like this, and the article in the la Times did piss me off,

but we do have to remember that it WAS the la Times and not any actual milennials that made the original obnoxious "or else" statement.

We all know the media LOVES to manufacture fights among Democrats. We have to be careful not to take up the mantles of thise manufactured fights.

[redstatebluegirl]

4. They want us to embrace them when they bash anyone over 40 and

then stay home and pout if they don't get the candidate they want? Nope, I have tried to reach out, they just say that I am the reason they don't have good jobs, or I'm the reason their tuition is so high. I totally give up.

[eleny]

5. So you don't school them on the history of Reagan era policies?

It's hard when you're obviously a blue girl in a red state. You're surrounded. It's the pits. But please just try to get a few solid talking points and stick to them. I always feel like screaming in the face of stupid. Like any second I'm only going to be able to blather. So I just have a few talking points and hope to build from there over time.

And let's face it, when Roe is overturned or slowly strangled the millennial generation and their kids will be in the crosshairs of the grim reaper. Then it will be their fight as it was ours back in the 1960s and 70s. They'll be facing what they said to you about where the fault sits. There's a talking point for you and me both.

[Blue_true]

8. The basic problem.

People should have learned from the sixties and seventies. But if you look at the elections of 1980, 2000, 2004, 2016, it appears that people have learned nothing, if their favorite candidate don't win the democratic primary, they sulk, or worse, work to blow up the party's nominee. It is both enraging and depressing, and trying to talk to one of those people to convince them not to self destruct is like talking to a tree.

[eleny]

14. I don't try to convince but am ready with some talking points

Then I leave it at that.

Convincing the entrenched is almost futile. But throwing up my hands and giving up is out of the question. I want people to remember where they heard the truth when the poo hits the fan. At my age I finally realize that this fight started long before I was born and will go on after I'm gone. I have to do my part.

[Blue_true]

18. I was too young to know the significance of the national guard killing four students at Kent State.

My view is shaped by historical accounts and my sense of what is and is not just. Some on the right now use Kent State as justification for guns on campuses, ignoring the distinct probability that the national guardsmen were most likely righties that saw a chance to kill what they saw as worthless hippies.

I brought up Kent State because I have learned that people that take an either or view will make up their own justifications, regardless of what happens to show their view was wrong and led to a bad result. People that you spend time talking to should have learned from the election of Reagan over Carter (due to bad blood from the democratic primary), or Bush II over Gore (Gore didn't "excite" some people), or Bush over Kerry (young people that were most likely for Kerry failed to turn out), or the worst of all, Trump being elected because some people didn't get the nominee they wanted. I honestly feel that the only voter group that gets it are African Americans, democrats can literally count on strong percentage numbers from them, I think that is because African Americans know and understand what is a difference and don't get taken in by the no difference BS. Instead of talking to whomever you are taking to, you will have a much bigger impact by helping to crowd fund drives to register vote eligible African Americans in your city and county.

[BlueStater]

12. I don't blame Millennials for not exactly feeling much warmth towards Boomers.

Boomers gave them two of the worst presidents of all time (Bush and Trump), supported an idiotic war that got thousands of members of their generation killed, and *constantly* blame them for fucking up the entire universe when they still don't have any real power in the world and the majority of DC has been controlled by Boomers for nearly 30 years now.

I'm not saying you're like that personally, but that's the way prejudices work. Negative experiences with certain people tend to give you a negative perception of their group as a whole, as silly as that is.

[Demsrule86]

13. That is nonsense...And the greatest generation gave us fucking Reagan.

Reagan Democrats...it is just divisive to blame different age groups.

[MineralMan]

15. I'm suggesting that they think about THEIR future,

Not mine. When I vote, I'm thinking about them, not me. I've never in my life voted for a Republican. If they're passed off at me, they're passed off at the wrong person. Truly...

[KPN]

45. So that's what I tell my 3 adult kids all the

Last edited Wed Jul 4, 2018, 12:02 AM - Edit history (1)

time. Their response: we are. We’re not playing this game ... in so many words. I was very frustrated with them in 2016 ... only one of them voted ... for HRC. We do all live in Oregon so it really didn’t mean much or have a lot of significance re: the outcome. But while I’m frustrated, I also hear and understand their frustrations.

What you are saying is not convincing to them. What they respond to is genuine commitment to the working class and the environment (social, economic and environmental sustainability). They also don’t have a high level of trust in our 2 party system — at least not as it is/has been — and therefore not a lot of faith in elections. Frustrating and sad for sure, but real.

[volstork]

6. Looks like Millennials are BECOMING

Democratic candidates!

[JaneQPublic]

11. Good!

Hell, I'd even be glad to hand over the government to the Gen-Z'ers if it were constitutional for folks that young to hold office.

We'd all do better with the Parkland kids in charge than with Spanky and his gang.

[Blue_true]

7. Aren't both your parents in their Nineties?

You could have more than 20 years of bad governance. But your life should be relatively settled if you don't have kids, so the damage to you should be limited. I am single and sometimes get the "if the far left wants to blow itself up, let it" urges, but eventhough I am childless, I do have nieces and nephews that are childbearing age or have a child.

I just don't get the "democrats better or else" posts. To me, that is like saying to your hiking mate, "Give me your granola bar, or I'm going to jump off that cliff there". The outcome of electing a republican because one is peeved at the Dem is just that stark.

[OilemFirchen]

17. That's the real rub, isn't it?

Most Boomers are retired now and so entering a Dystopia will have less, if any, effect on us than on young adults. Short of losing Social Security and Medicare, we're pretty well set. And if we lose those programs, one can only imagine what government assistance millennials and their progeny will lose. Will their student loans, about which they're rightfully indignant, be called in? Will they still have jobs when the inevitable recession / depression hits? Will they be able to purchase a home with interest rates in the teens or worse? We're only gonna be around for a couple or three more decades. How will their senior years be affected by dramatic climate change? Howsabout their kids?

It's an empty, toothless, rather embarrassing threat. Your analogy is spot on.

[Blue_true]

25. Intelligent machines will be a big problem for them.

Will the people that have the money to buy intelligent machines share the gains from the use of those machines with the rest of society? I have seen enough in my life to think that the owners won't share, under the mistaken belief that won't bite them or their kids in the behind.

[MineralMan]

46. Yes, and I'll be voting for Democrats until

I'm no longer breathing. I know the difference between the two parties.

[Blue_true]

50. The same here. But my guess is I will push up daisies before you will.

My genes are long livers.

[EffieBlack]

9. Thank you!

[Tarheel_Dem]

10. It's called cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. Of course they should have input in their...

futures, but that future looks very bleak if they choose to sit on their hands to "teach Democrats a lesson". It's just sad to see all the hard fought rights that prior generations thought they were passing on to their descendants being dismantled at a break neck pace. Millennials better get their entitled asses in gear, and help us older folk to staunch the bleeding.

[MineralMan]

16. The future starts tomorrow,

and next week and next year.

[SubjectTrip]

19. Millennials simply want proportionate representation in congress.

As they should.

[MineralMan]

21. Then they should vote.

That's how it works. Are they expecting the rest of us not to vote?

[SubjectTrip]

23. I expect that many of them will this November. n/t

[Mosby]

44. we will see

In the last midterm, 2014, a whopping 17% of 18 to 29 year olds voted.

If they want to be relevant and move the Democratic party further left, they need to vote.

[xmas74]

47. They've been the most resistant at our GOTV booths.

Few want information about the local candidates and aren't that interested in much else.

Right now we're doing a big push to vote no on Prop A in August. (Right to Work) We have Boomers stopping by, retirees who are proud Union, Gen Xers stop by and ask about the statistics (wages, work related deaths, etc. One asked about the premie stat.) Gen Z stops regularly and asks questions about voting and volunteering. We have the least visits from Millenials.

We've had several ask about medical marijuana on the November ballot. They usually think it's recreational. When it's explained the look I get is of annoyance. Ive had a few tell me that they'll register to vote and maybe volunteer if recreational pot is on the ballot.

(For the record :the most interest in medical at the tents is from retirees.)

No, not every Gen Y is like this. There are some who are very aware but from public crowds this is all I see. There is total disinterest.

[louis c]

22. And if they don't get their way, Fascists are OK with them?

Just like 2016.

Why do I always see these divisive comments from a newbie with no contribution?

[SubjectTrip]

26. I don't really see how my comment was divisive. It's a simple fact.

Millennials want to feel represented in congress. If anything, your response is divisive ("newbie with no contribution" ). Shoring all the blame for Trump onto millennials is myopic.

[louis c]

57. Republican talking points

If you don't get your nominee, sit out the General election. you're better off with a Republican.

They say that and you say that.

[George II]

28. "Millennials" have a lot to learn. They can insist on 100% of their ideology, but.....

.....more often than not they'll wind up with 0%.

Me? I prefer a Democratic candidate who agrees with me 80% of the time than a republican who agrees with me on virtually nothing.

[SubjectTrip]

30. When I said "proprotionally represented" I meant by age, not ideology. n/t

[George II]

38. That's going to take a while. For one thing, more than half of all Millennials....

....aren't even qualified to serve in the Senate.

[crazycatlady]

32. Many Boomers were first elected when they were in their 30s

It is time to get a generation of leaders in office who understand the issues that younger constituents face.

Another thing people on this boomer centric forum fail to do is compare apples to apples. How did the boomer generation turn out at the polls at the age of 25? That's a much fairer comparison.

[LiberalLovinLug]

34. Welcome to DU!

and you have every right to make your own comment, and not be accused of supporting fascism just for daring to ask for representation.

[SubjectTrip]

41. Thank you

I really hope I don't need to preface such posts with "btw, yes, of course I voted for Hillary." I also meant representation by age, not ideology, just to clarify again. Technological disruption is one example why this age representation should be of key importance to millenials. Not to paint with too broad of a brush, but older boomers don't seem to quite grasp the influence that technological disruption has and will continue to have on our politics like millennials do (who grew up along with this technology). One only needs to watch that painful hearing with Mark Zuckerberg to see this. Speaking of technological disruption, if current trends continue we could lose 73 million jobs to automation by 2030. Losses may be offset, but you're still going to have a lot of jobless people. No one is really talking about this. I had a conversation with a representative about this and he had no idea!

[LiberalLovinLug]

42. ha. Yeah, around here, it might be prudent to put that line about voting for H in a sig line

I agree though, and not just that Dems must be prepared hopefully WHEN not IF they gain a majority of power back, sans the courts. Because you just know that Fox News and the Republicans even without Trump, will be well prepared to blame Democrats when those jobs start dropping off. Lets get all our talking points lined up well beforehand. Like Repubs turning their backs on alternative energy investments while in the majority has put America behind the eight ball in creating new jobs for the new millennium.

[treestar]

55. I'm not sure that needs to be and certainly not by age group

You don't need people your age in Congress; you need people who are liberals.

[louis c]

20. I've been saying this for 2 years

I'm 65 and I feel exactly the same way as you do.

[suprcali]

24. This should not be hard to understand

Look at what's happening now with the Republican congress. They are not doing their jobs as a separate branch of government. Bunch of yes, sir! Bunch of water carriers.


Wake up!

[George II]

27. Damn right. "Purity" doesn't matter when you no longer have any rights or lifestyle. Thanks.

[Act_of_Reparation]

29. It would also be nice if boomers would stop electing Republicans.

But broadly speaking, people aren't reasonable or prospective. Their age group is irrelevant.

If you want to win millennials, you need to market yourself to them. Threatening them doesn't work, and neither does sitting around hoping they'll come to their senses.

[peggysue2]

31. x 1000, MM. Once again

I did not respond to that OP because of the combative headline. It rankled me nonetheless because that's the main intention of threats and bully-boy tactics.

This is simply another attempt to divide people, be it along Democratic political perspectives, gender, age, race, ethnicity, class, etc. It's all an attempt to fracture the mounting army of voters who have said in unison:

This will not stand. That's enough. We're coming for your seats.

Though it's been said many times before: the enemy is not the Democratic Party nor our democratic Republic. The lines have been drawn very clearly. You either vote for our Democratic candidates, all stripes and sizes, or you're voting for the Imposter-in-Chief and his odious enablers.

Everything else is noise.

[workinclasszero]

33. That's a fact!

[Gothmog]

35. I agree with your analysis

[Freethinker65]

36. Perfect.

[Honeycombe8]

37. I agree. nt

[Takket]

39. Rush (The band, hot the hate radio guy) said it best

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

You can't escape supporting a candidate simply by not voting. So you may as well vote.

[LiberalLovinLug]

40. "Millennials Better Embrace Democratic Candidates, or They'll Get Republicans"

Then Democrats better embrace millennial's issues, or we all get Republicans.

This OP is laughable and divisive.
So you think that voters, in this case millennial voters, should bow to the platform, or lack thereof, of politicians, rather than the other way around? That politicians should craft their policies behind closed doors and then declare that voters MUST support what THEY want rather than listening to the millennial voter to find out what would get him or her to the polls?

Brilliant.

[xmas74]

48. So what Millenials want is the only thing that matters?

Thanks.

Sure seems like I supported things that didn't directly benefit me when I was in my twenties.

[LiberalLovinLug]

51. Of course its not the ONLY thing that matters. But it is hardly a demographic they should ignore.

The question was should Democrats listen to millennials concerns or
Should the onus be on millennials to dampen down their expectations and just limit their demands to whatever their representative politicians say they should be.

Hmmmm. Which one seems like the more winning strategy?


Its not an either or. Unless I'm mistaken, a 72 year old lifelong Democrat won't be withholding his vote just because their Dem rep listened to the more liberal of his constituents and promised a higher minimum wage, or better healthcare, or maternity leave.

[xmas74]

53. It's been turned into either them or us.

Frankly, I'm tired of it. If they want to cut off their nose to spite their face then go for it.

No one bent over backwards to court me. No one. I was young, I showed up, I did the grunt work and I was often dismissed or ignored. I'm not a Democrat to make friends or get my way. I'm a Democrat because I believe out of the two parties it's the one that cares more about the working class, women, minorities, education, the environment and so much more.

When did values become something we need to court over? And why is it the next generation is already lining up and registering to vote while we're expected to kiss up to a voting bloc that only cares directly about themselves?

I'm tired of the "kiss Gen Y ass" game. They chose to stay home, knowing what could happen. I'd rather court the upcoming generation who actually seem interested in making the world a better place.

[LiberalLovinLug]

54. It's only Them or Us if that is how we want it

Frankly, I'm tired of false generation gap concern. If you are a liberal thinking person, it really doesn't matter your age. You basically believe in the same issues. Even you admit that as an older person (I am assuming based on your posts) you listed "education" and "environment" as two of yours, even though say free tuition would not directly affect you. And caring about the environment may oly be for future generations that you may never see.

Well, more 'millennial' liberal people also care about older citizens concerns like Social Security, medicare, etc... because liberals have this thing that conservatives lack in , that is empathy for others. And also an understanding that everything is connected, and one day they may need the services later that they fight for today.

I'm not sure I understand some of what your wrote. Are you implying that a whole generation is a lost generation? Or that this Gen Y version of a Democrat is overly demanding or radical? So we should just forget about them and concentrate on the very youngest, and the very oldest?

I'm sorry but I think many who are regarded as more liberal millennials (I really hate using these kinds of generationally divisional terms) probably want most of the things you want. They just might be louder about it. They just are saying "its about time to get started on these things". Surely there is room in the tent for them too. I think you are creating some generalized stereotyped model of a millenial as ones that are spoiled and won't vote unless they are bribed with some gifts. That "they" only "care directly about themselves". Well those 'gifts' that you don't want to "court" are exactly your demands "the working class, women, minorities, education, the environment and so much more".

What about all the so called millenials that voted for Hillary last time? that was probably her largest demographic. The thing with liberals is that most issues they care about, no matter what age, is not about only caring about ourselves. Thus the "socialist" labels, for good or bad. Millennial liberals are no different in that regard than younger and older ones.

And what happened to politicians being employed by us, and it not being a wrong thing to ask them to do their jobs for you.

[treestar]

56. +1

[melman]

58. +1

[JHan]

43. I think it's a mistake to keep making this about "generational"differences.

The assignation of certain traits and expectations among swathes of people because they were born within a certain time period means you miss profound differences among demographics. And among baby boomers AND millennials you will find a diversity of views and perspectives. It's like the meme that Baby Boomers had it good growing up and now spoiling everything for everyone when in actuality it was mainly white, middle-class folks who enjoyed the leave it to beaver experience. Other groups didn't have it so easy, after all, why did the Civil Rights movement exist in the first place? How did the women's movement and push for reproductive rights happen? So not every boomer is a Republican, not every boomer voted for Reagan, or is a property owner with investments in derivatives and always hungry for a tax cut.

As for millennials, Stephen Miller is a millennial and responsible for the most malignant immigration policy we've seen in America in decades. And far too many white millennials embraced Trump so there's that. You also have young bitter men upset that life hasn't given them what they want, becoming "incels".

So these rich assumptions made about entire groups of people is a reflection of the typical laziness you find in the pundit class. Pundits, whose ascendancy has coincided with increased civic ignorance.

But the eternal dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party is something I've thought about and I think it points to something George Lakoff has theorized: The genderization of the political parties where Republicans are the men and Democrats are the women. When Democrats fail to be the Nurturing Mothers they are expected to be, they are forever shamed. The reasons for blame are often specious: "I wasn't inspired to vote" : waiting for Mummy to tell them exactly what to do and how to vote, "There was no single message I could get behind" ( As if any candidate or political party in the history of politics ever had a singular message about any policy - beyond the most saccharine of slogans or the most inane platitudes like "make america great again", "so and so candidate doesn't agree with me 100% of the time" -as if a candidate is supposed to appeal to you specifically, as if you are the only person who matters in the universe... "so and so candidate changed his or her mind on this particular issue I super care about ( and let's face it this criticism is mainly directed at women)" - because a position you had 10 years ago should forever haunt you for the rest of your life despite explanations or the very common human experience of evolving on ideas.

Republican aggression is excused away and rationalized: see " economic anxiety", and liberal "arrogance" and all the other superficial excuses Republicans justify their behavior. Democrats, on the other hand, are expected to be rebellious fighters and the grown ups in the room. When Obama was swept into office, the hot take then was he needed to compromise with Republicans who boldly stated they would obstruct him at every turn - apparently, this wasn't "inspirational" enough to get people to vote during mid-terms. So with those dynamics at play in American electoral politics, it doesn't surprise me that people are complaining and navel-gazing, and framing Democrats in weak terms for all the wrong reasons. Further, you can't expect your representatives to fight for you if you won't give them the power to do so with the tools they need.

[JI7]

49. The difference is not generational but racial. Old non whites

Will vote more liberal than young whites.

The generational difference is more in how much they vote. But this is true of all generations . Younger people always have lower turnout . As they get older it will increase whilethe newer younger ones will be low.

[QC]

52. They also need to stay off my goddam lawn!

And quit playin them goddam Beatles records so loud!