Sunday, October 26, 2014

Source: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/millennials-lean-left-but-reject-political-parties/

Millennials Lean Left, But Reject Political Parties

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A new poll shows that the youngest generation of American voters is rejecting both political parties at a much higher rate than previous generations, but digging deeper into the numbers it’s clear that Republicans will have a harder time attracting these voters than Democrats:
Half of millennials identify as independents up from 38 percent in 2004, according to a new poll.
These are the highest levels of political disaffiliation the the Pew Research Center has recorded for any generation in its 25 years of polling.
But more millennials have Democratic leanings — half identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party compared with 34 percent who identify as Republican or lean toward the Republican Party, according to the survey.
Millennials hold the most liberal views on many political and social issues, including same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization. Sixty-eight percent support gay marriage, up from 44 percent in 2004. During the same period, the proportion of Gen Xers who support same-sex marriage increased from 40 percent to 55 percent and the portion of Boomers increased from 30 percent to 48 percent. Even more millennials approve of marijuana legalization — 69 percent, up from 34 percent in 2006.
On abortion and gun control, millennials’ views do not differ as much from older generations.
Millennials are more approving of Obama than older generations — with almost half —49 percent — approving of how Obama is handling the presidency. Gen Xers and Boomers approve about equally, with 43 percent and 44 percent approving respectively.
Support for bigger government was also highest among millennials (53 percent) compared with Gen Xers (43 percent) and Boomers (32 percent).
In other words, even though millennials identify as political independents to a greater degree than other generations of voters, they still tend to hold views that are more likely to lead them to vote for Democrats rather than Republicans. Given that, Republicans looking for good news in the fact that the generation most closely identified with President Obama seems to be rejecting the party more than previous generations need to be cautious in the enthusiasm. Quite obviously, when it comes to the issues that motivate voters the millennial generation is still more closely allied with Democrats than Republicans, and that is going to remain the case as long as the GOP continues to hold fast to the socially conservative agenda that it is most closely identified with.
At the same time, of course, Democrats shouldn’t be jumping for joy either. The fact that a majority of younger voters don’t identify with either party seems to be indicative of the dissatisfaction that they have with politics in general. The optimism of the Obama campaign of 2008 and been tempered, harshly, by the reality of governing over the past five years and it hasn’t been pretty at all. Will these voters be as enthusiastic for a post-Obama Democratic party as they were when he was at the top of the ticket, or will they follow the example of previous generations of younger voters and return to the practice of sitting out elections? One need not look very far to see what can happen to Democrats if younger voters stay home, because we saw it in the 2010 elections. In 2008, according to the exit polls, voters age 18 to 29  accounted for 18% of the electorate and voted Democratic by a 66% to 32% margin. In 2010, again according to the exit polls, that same demographic accounts for just 12% of the electorate and voted Democratic by a 55% to 42% margin. While this change in the millennial vote isn’t the sole reason that Democrats performed so poorly in 2010, the fact that some of President Obama’s most ardent supporters decided to stay home that year certainly didn’t help, and it’s not going to help Democrats in 2014 either if the same thing happens this year.
As time goes on, we’ll likely get a better idea of where this generation of voters stands. Most likely, though, we’re looking at a group that is going to be largely liberal when it comes to social issues while at the same time being cynical about the political process as a whole. That’s likely to present challenges for both political parties.

58 comments:

  1. This is just showing that the younger generation is going towards a more liberal approach but if the younger generation doesn't start voting, congress is going to favor what the older generation has to say because they are the ones voting and getting every representative they want. So if the younger generation wants the congress to start doing the things they see is right or actions they want to see we need to have more than 12% of us vote.

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  2. This article shows that my generation is more liberal on key issues but still are independent. I think this shows dissatisfaction with both the Democrats and the Republicans.

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  3. Time has proven that the younger generations generally are far more Democratic than other age groups, but it's not all that surprising that the Millennials are starting to not identify with a party. With the poor job that the Democrats have done in office throughout the last six years, its not a shock. At this point, it seems that a third party would be beneficial. We need someone who has the liberal social views, yet conservative counterpart for other issues. I feel like the Millennials would be able to identify more with that group.
    However, you all may disagree with me, my views are strange....

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    1. I feel like we could make this party and we would have a lot less of a hard decision to make.

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  4. With our age today, I agree that it will be difficult for both political parties because a lot of teens and young adults don't pay much attention to our political system anymore. Besides high schoolers taking AP GOV, other seniors don't know much about it. Even though issues like Gay Marriage, and the legalization of Marijuana has increased in support from the millennials, there is a pretty equal support for both democrats and republicans. I think it still is based on a lot of influence from their parents or guardians, and or families political views. Honestly, I don't know who will win. It is pretty tied to me.

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  5. Our younger generation of voters is really is decreasing, and we are becoming less on the democratic side of things, considering the numbers that were just represented above. If we want to start making changes to this, then we need to get more than this small amount of people to vote. Our generation of voters is looking more liberal as years go on, and many more people need to vote if we want to see a difference.

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  6. The younger generation is very demanding when it comes to politics. I think that the can stand in either liberals or conservatives when they are affected by certain problems making chose or follow that political parti. The younger people not voting affects the political process but it doesn't count much when they actually vote. I don't think that it matter whether they vote or not.
    This article feels more democrat that republican because is saying that "a group that is going to be largely liberal when it comes to social issues while at the same time being cynical about the political process as a whole." and really they do act like that because they are only looking for the better way to solve their issue and I don't see anything wrong with that.

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  7. From what I read this article seems to be talking about who's likely going to be voting and whos not. Also when it talks about the polls, you kinda have to remember that polls aren't always correct. So the numbers they are giving could be non accurate. I think it was talking about how baby boomers will be voting more since they have more of a understanding of whats going on. Rather than millennials.

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  8. I'm not surprised with the findings. Yes, our generation is more liberal on a lot of issues, but we are not educated in government and politics enough to identify with a party. That or we have been growing up in a time where government has given us a really bad impression and left a bad taste with many young people.

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  9. When they say that millenials are more democratic than they are republican they only include about half of us. The other half doesnt lean either way they dont lean at all! So although the democrats have more than republicans,republicans could catch up. Although I do agree with a lot of things the democrats stand for I also agree with things the republicans stand for, with both parties fighting for my vote it will be hard deciding who to vote for because who is going to covering most of the things I want taken care of? And if neither party has a better side then I wont vote is what a lot of millenials are probably thinking. Politicians need to realize that old people have had their turn and they voted on things important to them, its our turn and the policy agenda needs to be focused around us because its our future as well as our kids and do you want them growing up in this world?

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  10. Republican's theoretical taking over of the Senate will prove even more political gridlock while under the Obama administration if to occur, resulting in even more young independents and dissatisfaction with government. The fact that there are that many independents among millennials. This doesn't result in more support for the Republican side but less for the Democratic side. As young people become more informed, and less party identification occurs, seemingly an underdog such as the green party or another might become dominant for their liberal views as the young generation appears to be in favor of. Currently, millennials are responsible for a small demographic in voting terms as said in the article, if turnout were to be greater, we could see Democrats take office again yet unlikely to occur. Any dramatic change in political parties won't be for another generation but seems to be approaching. Republicans and the GOP are becoming dated, Democrats ratings are going down and their support dwindling. It'll be interesting to see what happens next.

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  11. The Millennial political ideology of being liberal should not be a surprise. The society Millennials have grown up in is liberal, from acceptance of same sex marriage to the use and legalization of marijuana. They have also grown up with the constant negative view towards the presidency, "Thanks Obama" is common catchphrase among many who make jokes about the state of the federal government right now. This view of cynicism is not going to change anytime soon unless in the eyes of the Millennials, the government gets it's act together and makes progress. However, with Millennials not voting, their "wishes" are not going to be granted and therefore will not be happy with the political process if they do not participate.

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  12. This article proves that the younger generation is constantly growing tired of both major political parties. We differ from the older generation because we had more time to analyze and gather more information about both parties and their actions.nn/Now that we are provided with more information, we are beginning to see both parties for what they really are and what goals they actually strive for. Neither party is doing a good job with helping us out as Americans, but instead taking us deeper into the slump that we are into. Even though we know so much about the present political parties we still are not voting as much as we should. That just shows how lazy are generation is becoming.

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  13. the reason that younger generations are becoming more and more "independent" on party stances varies. one reason is that younger generations tend to be more rebellious against established authority or tend to take their own " independent" stance. for example, in our toddler ages we have wondered why our parents are in charge then as we aged on we would either favor our mother or father more. however, there is an extraordinary instance where a person will favor niether and take their own stance. now picture the parties of the government being the parents. the same thing takes place. however over the last few decades, this extraordinary instance of independent stances has grown exponentially. whether this is healthy for politics or not, it will be difficult for both republican and democratic governing parties

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  14. I feel like this can go both ways with its outcome. It's good that the youth are proving their point that they do believe both sides of politics aren't going to label them. Both parties have their faults and now they are starting to realize just how serious it's become because it's leading a whole generation to not take a stand and vote. But on the other hand just because the youth are standing up and speaking out by not voting that doesn't really solve anything in the end. If they don't vote their voice of what they want won't be seen. In all that the government would have to look out on what the older folks because they are the ones that are voting and expressing their opinion on their choice.

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  15. As a part of the Millenials generation I personally feel that more of the younger people today need to vote, otherwise you have no reason to complain that our government is terrible and you dont like our president or our representatives. If you really wanted a changed government then why not look into who youre voting for and what they are trying to represent. I feel that if more of the younger generation steps up and votes maybe all these old people wouldnt be getting it as easy as we work our butts off to pay for the things we want most and to provide for our future generation that will change all of this again. I just feel that everyone has their own opinion on politics and they need to take advantage of the opportunity that they are given to vote

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  16. Maybe this is a whim, but if half of Millennials are identifying as independent maybe that's a major reason as to why this generation doesn't feel like voting. They are dissatisfied with any political leader and that is shown through simply not voting. If you're forced to choose a representative of the party you most approve, but are concerned that your policies will not be met then not voting is I guess one way of doing things. Please remember this is just a thought though. Maybe young people just don't vote and they need to vote to have their voice heard more. I don't know. That 50% of Millennials that identify as independent definitely need to be researched though. As they get older they will have more a voice (this is a fact) and who knows where politics will go.

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  17. I'd personally say that I fit pretty well into the group that this article's describing. I've not been disillusioned by politics as much as the two party system, though, when it comes to the GOP and the Democrats, I definitely favor the Democrats. However, despite my dissatisfaction with the 2 major parties, that wouldn't lead me not to vote, it would lead me to really learn up on the views on the positions of all of the candidates and vote for whoever I think is right for the position, with no real consideration for party, whether it's a major member or an independent. I think if everyone voted that way, the two party system would be weakened and we could have a more open system based on actual issues instead of party names.

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  18. When you look at it polls are not always right. So if this article says that we will vote a certain way we might just do that, the bandwagon effect. But it could be right... and we could vote in favor to one than the other but i think it could go either way.

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    1. The bandwagon effect is irrelevant within this article. This article is not saying to vote a certain way or to vote for certain issues. It is just saying that based on research taken, Millennials tend to label themselves as independents. Not Republican or Democrat.

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  19. I agree with the percentages in this artical. I do beleive that many of us students do share a political view on the way that our government is seen to us. Many things are wrong with the way that it is ran but there isnt enough people who are willing to take a chance and change it.

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  20. Surprisingly, this doesn't surprise me. Nowadays I've met more and more people my age who identify as independent despite what political parties their parents side with. I'm personally happy to hear that more millennials identify as independent because I agree with our Founding Fathers who equated parties to factions, which would result in tyranny. When people group themselves to a party, they don't always necessarily agree with all that the party specifically represents. If we want change so badly, we can't align ourselves to a label; that confines our representation. It looks like more of the independents tend to have liberal/democratic VIEWS, which is better than just finalizing these individuals as belonging to a certain party. Just because someone belongs to a certain party is not a good reason to vote for them.

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  21. It's interesting to see that half of all millennials are going as independents. The younger generation has a big impact on voting and seeing that they don't affiliate with either party makes it difficult for them to vote accordingly which is why I think this age group doesn't vote as much as they should. Millennials can actually see all of the problems that each party is bringing toward them, and they don't have much help. I think that each party needs to listen to the 50% that doesn't truly have a stand, and see what they need to fix.

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  22. The younger generation is leaning more liberal. but does this make them democrats? No it doesn't. These young people who label themselves as independent are the millennials. the one's who can and will change the outlook of politics in the future. In this day and age, the young people are becoming more educated and vote for who they want to vote for and not choose or be influenced according to their parents point of views. The millennials are trying to get out from under the governments grasp on them and the millenials want to make their own choices.This could be a cause for their independent views.

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  23. I think its very important that our generation votes because all our generation ever talks about is that we can change the world and how we are living but they aren't doing anything about it. To do something about it we need good leaders and we wont have that if they don't vote for who they see is best fit. From reading the article is appears that the millennials only vote for small things like law passings, such as marijuana and same-sex marriage. Sure these are important and can help change the way we live but we also need to get our lazy butts off the couch and go vote for the leaders.

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  24. I think this could just be a solid reflection of the population diversity change in America itself with the minority majority groups growing. And because of this the "Millenials" chose not to favor a specific side but yet swing back and forth alittle to what they feel it right.

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  25. There are a few advantages and disadvantages to Millenials identifying as independent with largely liberal political ideology. For instance our generation may not be constructed with party alliances as past generations may have been, and will feel free to vote as they see fit rather than vote to retain an alliance to a political party. I believe this will allow the government to better address issues that the voters care about and to better act on their policy agendas with hopefully higher approval ratings from the public. However it is not good that a possible offset of identifying as independent would be to sit out elections all together. Participation is a cornerstone of the democratic process and regardless of which candidate appears most popular or best supported, it is important to make your own voice heard and to show support for whichever candidate, or more importantly which issues, you feel are most representative of your personal political ideology. Especially with the Millenials being considerably more tolerant and liberal than past generations, with higher approval shown on issues such as gay marriage and marijuana legalization, in order for this to have any impact on the reach of American government and politics, we need to participate in order to influence how our country is run.

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  26. I think there is a reason George Washington warned us about political parties. Whether you lean right or whether you lean left, there is no winning completely. I think the millennials are seeing that and that is why a good portion of them are not identifying with either party. They'll lean more left because the more liberal ideals that fit our general thoughts. It's kind of sad though that there are lots of people out there just not voting.

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  27. If democrats want to maintain the presidency and the senate they need to get young independent people to vote. If the majority would vote democrat then thats the voters they need to get to the polls. If they don't old people will dominate is the elections and it possibly wont fairly represent who Americans actually want in office. It's time for the youth to get much more politically active.

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  28. Reading this article, It just shows me even more so that I am more toward the Republican side. But I also know nothing really about either side.And also. with my generation, I think we really need to start voting. Regardless of how the 2 major parties aren't doing what we want.

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  29. Not entirely suprising about the young generations passive approach to politics. I think it is interesting that many consider themselves independent but lean towards democratic views. This could affect the way the people will react toward the midterm election of the democrates fighting to maintain the majority in the senate. Democrates need supporters but it doesn't look like they will recive it from the younger generation.

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  30. While a lot of millennials do have similar opinions related to government, I feel that a lot of millennials also miss the fact of the actual party they are voting for and are looking more towards the face or name of the representative in that party. A lot of millennials haven't been educated very well on U.S. Government, or lack a care for the government to care which party is which and how to vote for them. The fact that millennials are leaning more towards democrat doesn't particularly surprise me, but I feel that they shouldn't be decided right away since it could be true that they are mainly independent.

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  31. To be honest, I already knew that younger generations tend to lean to the left side. Our generation today likes to just "go with the flow" and not stand for much. Someone wants to smoke wee? Lets all go smoke weed! This isn't standing for someones freedom, this is standing for nothing at all. Our generation is voting democratically, and I personally, don't agree with it.

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  32. The fact that Millenials tend to lean towards the more liberal side is not surprising. The advancement of technology, especially the internet has added a new era of socialization and a new way of spreading incite on current issues. The current generation due to the new ways of socialization have become more aware, open and sensitized to social issues then the older generations. The liberal views of the Millenials pose both a negative and positive affect. The younger generation adds more support for the democratic party based on their focus on social issues but the younger generation tends to be the least likely generation to vote. That is why many issues have not been resolved because the number of support in votes is not sufficient.

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  33. The reason that millenials identify with being independent is because we are so dissatisfied with the government that our interest in politics is fading. Even though I do agree that most millenials lean towards more liberal ideology, the fact that we are disinterested in voting is what's keeping this generation independent. It seems the only people who are voting are single-issue voters, and their votes tend to be libera regarding same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana. If you were to talk to our generation, it's clear we are unhappy with how the government is run.

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  34. The millennials are to focused on making big statements with their votes and the lack of knowledge of the things offered and the lack of motivation to have an opinion will ultimately exclude us from the votes altogether.

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  35. I feel like Millennials do have a political ideology that leans more to the democratic side. However, I don't think that the Millennials realize that their views on some cases do lean to the left. I feel as if most Millennials just try to hop onto a bandwagon in having a strong dislike for Obama yet have to positive view for the legalization of gay marriage and marijuana. Since a majority of Millennials approve of those, then more would just join or go along with everyone else to be like everyone else. Especially people at a young age often, but not always, try to be like others and to fit it. So they'll try to have similar views as others. As long as Millennials lean left, Republicans still have a 50/50 chance at winning the Senate. There can still be room for error and still have a very close vote.

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  36. It seems rather curious why Millennials are so greatly diverged from previous generations. It's not just that they're more liberal but also that their support for certain issues seems to change significantly as well. Millennial support of gay marriage went up from 44% to 68%, in contrast Gen Xers went from 40% to 55%. Millennials aren't just more excepting and open to different things than previous generations, they're also more open to changes in opinion. Maybe it's simply a youth thing, younger minds are less rigid. Perhaps the internet has something to do with it. Of course this is not fact necessarily, but I'm just going off the article and what I know about people in our age group.

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  37. Micah J. Segura HoughOctober 28, 2014 at 9:43 AM

    From reading this article it seems like a trifling idea why the Millennials are greatly separated from Generation X and the Baby Boomers. My guess is that it's from the way their opened to the world, past generations were rewired to only tolerate and stand for certain issues, while the Millennials are biased to stand or to go against. As the study shown, only 44% up to 68% percent of the Millennials supported Homosexual (gay) marriage while for Generation X, 40% up to 55% support it. Millennials are more open up to changes in society and opinion more than the past generation, and probably in the next few generations, the future generations will be fully open to changes.

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  38. Jemellee Eve De BelenOctober 28, 2014 at 9:44 AM

    It seems that Millennials are the most liberal ones in terms of supporting some issues like same-sex marriage and legalizing of marijuana but the fact that they do not like being associated with any political parties is kind of disappointing. It seems like in the eyes of the millennials, these political parties are not doing anything good that deserves the support of the young voters.

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  39. The deviation of Millennials from the norm of the previous generation is a curious matter. It does appear to be true that most young people lean to the more Democratic side, as Democrats are usually more open to change and social reform, a sentiment many young people can agree with. However, young people are highly influenced by the opinions of their peers and this can lead to the bandwagon effect, drawing more democratic votes. The Millennials have a great potential to make a change, all they have to do is use their great power to vote.

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  40. It is obvious why Millennials are more likely to lean left, because as the society changes, so do the values, and beliefs that people have. Liberals are more pro-change, so some of the new societal values will come into play, if more liberals are elected into government positions. However, a lot of millennials claim to not be affiliated with any political parties, which is strange, considering how much they agree with the Democratic beliefs, and goals

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  41. In my opinion it is weird to see that this is happening. Maybe it's due to the fact that it has to do with the bandwagon effect. Meaning that even kids now see what others are doing and then they will do the same just to fit in. Many of the Millennials approve of marijuana and gay marriage and voted for it, so will everyone else and that is why Obama had a good look out because of that. But either way maybe there is a fair chance of equality of the Republicans winning the Senate.

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  42. From the article you can see that in each of the three generations the younger one is slightly more democratic than the one before it. Either this is a trend that pretty soon the majority of people will be more democratic, or just until certain social issues, like gay marriage, are resolved. But it seems these young liberals are not going to help out with the social issues they care about, because they do not vote. So who is to say which party will be most prominent if it's members do not vote?

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  43. The lack of voting amongst americans is affecting the political results.But on topics such as same-sex marriage and legalizing marijuana, the votes supporting these causes has increased. Identifying ourselves in the political world is easy for one can say I'm Democrat and be 42% Republican. These millennials have a political ideology, but they are more on the Democratic side as it appears.

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  44. Grace Utto-GalarneauOctober 28, 2014 at 9:46 AM

    Just from reading this article it just goes to show that our generation needs to start voting more to get what we want. With this generation we are more to the left side because we are all lazy or just go with the flow. I'm not saying all the people in our generation are like that but a big percentage is. And it also said that voters age 18 to 29 accounted for 18% of the electorate and voted Democratic by a 66% to 32% margin.

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  45. Millennials definitely go towards the democratic side because democrats believe in the same things like for example same-sex marriage and legalizing marijuana. A lot of Millennials will go with the bandwagon effect and say they dislike President Obama's presidency because most of the generation X and baby boomers believe so. Republicans I feel are going to try their hardest to show the Millennials that they should vote for them since I believe a lot of generation X and baby boomers will vote for Republican because of their anger towards President Obama.

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  46. It's hard for me to sympathize with the rest of my generation because I have every intention to vote on many many things.... simply because I have the right to do so. Why wouldn't I? I think the main reason for a lack of political affiliation aside from political dissatisfaction is that this generation is uneducated about politics and they have very little interest. So while they may lean strongly one direction they don't realize that fact because they don't have a full understanding of each party.

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  47. I feel like the reason that millennials have a lower voting percent as every other generation is because we don't spend time watching the news and keeping up with the government like we should. Baby Boomers and Generation X didn't have a lot of things to do, but with us we have way to many things to do and don't and or can't fit watching news into our daily lives.

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  48. There are many benefits to having our generation being the Millennials actually look into voting, because if we want to see the change happen in the world is starts with the youth. We need to have our voices be heard and not have the government only be able to listen to the old people out there. And also even though the Millennial Generation is leaning more towards the Democratic side the Republican side still has a chance of taking the Senate.

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  49. As stated in this article, our generation (the Millennials) are going even more towards the Democratic/liberal side than the Republican side because in recent polls, every generation has been seen to be more pro same sex marriage and pro marijuana legalization, showing that change, improvement and equality are becoming a big deal to every generation in America. Even with this results, last week, we read that Republicans have a greater chance to win the election than the Democrats which confuses me because seeing these results makes you think the Democrats are easily going to trample the Republicans. Another point to be made is that the Millennials, most identifying more towards the Democratic side, aren't as big on voting as a Republican are, which could be a problem in the next election if statistics are accurate.

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  50. Its not surprising that the Millennials are more democratic then republican. But that doesnt matter if they don't vote. There may be more democrats in the Millennials then the republicans. But the republicans have the advantage in other age groups. Also the other age groups have a lot more participation in voting. So that means that the republicans have the advantage in the upcoming election if the Millennials follow the pattern of a decreasing vote rate.

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  51. I think Millennials don't really choose sides when it comes to politics because neither side satisfies our needs. Even though most of the Millennials lean towards Democrat, they still don't fully understand our needs. I think what needs to happen now is that both the Republicans and the Democrats need to pay attention to what we want and start thinking of ways to fulfill them. If not, the nation's youth will be left undecided when it comes to choosing what political party to choose.

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  52. Due to the hyper-socialization of life after high school and the entirety of the internet itself, millennials are the generation that is most exposed to the words of many people and thus their opinions. Interconnectivity brings about radical socialization, and thus social change will be of the same magnitude. Today, we see millennials leaning really only slightly left. The majority of the voters polled have likely seen both sides of each argument, and more and more it seems that what they will read on the internet will lean left but what they will listen to from adults from older generations will lean right.

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  53. It did not surprise me when the article said that Millennials lean toward the left side. For example, same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana. A small amount of younger people vote or are involved with politics compared to other age groups. This makes error in the election and in our government. Many young people are not satisfied with our government and say they want change yet most do nothing about it. A lot think that their one vote won't matter when in reality, many people are doing the same thing making a difference. Millennials need to start being more involved if they expect things to change.

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  54. I somewhat understand why this and younger generation wouldn't really become involved but lean more towards the Democratic side. Democrats are very open minded to change and many younger people would prefer that. We have more of a "laid back", relax type of vibe and go with what are peers are doing. While with voting this would cause them to most likely vote for the Democrats.

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  55. Our generation not identifying with either political party could help change the democrats or republican parties into more of what the new young generation wants. If they aren't getting our votes they are going to change their policies into something we would want more easily because they want to stay in office and control congress and if they don't they know we will find someone else who more represents us to vote for.

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  56. What I found interesting was that 50 percent of the Millennials today are choosing to be independent. Most don't completely understand the opinions each side has whether they be democratic or republican, so they remain unsure of which to pick or are just in between when taking a stand. I for one think that every time and issue about the country comes up about war, or gay marriage, or illnesses, there is either two sides to it involving political parties. Which is what Washington urged us not to do.

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