Millennials Grow More Liberal, but Identify as Independent

[alp227]

Source: National Journal

Young Americans are becoming more likely to identify as political independents and have largely soured on President Obama, but don't expect them to abandon the Democratic Party anytime soon.

According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, the millennial generation — comprised of those born after 1980 — is the most liberal of any of the past four generations and embraces a more expansive role for government in society.

Pew found that half of millennials consider themselves independents, while 27 percent identify as Democrats and 17 percent identify as Republicans. However, when the independents were asked which party they lean towards, those figures jump to 50 percent for the Democrats and 34 percent for the GOP.

Millennials are also the only generation in which liberals outnumber conservatives: 31 percent identify their political views as liberal, while 26 percent say they are conservative and 39 percent call themselves moderate.

Read more: http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline-on-call/millennials-grow-more-liberal-but-identify-as-independent-20140307

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other coverage of this survey: Politico, AP, The Atlantic, Crooks and Liars, PBS, Al Jazeera America, Time, US News

Pew summary of research here.

[RKP5637]

1. I think I'm a Millennial in an older package! LOL n/t

[Thor_MN]

13. Millennial Classic

I think I am too.

[RKP5637]

25. I love it, excellent description! n/t

[Bryce Butler]

2. My generation.

[RKP5637]

3. Yea!!! I like the Millennials!!! Gives me hope for the future!

[MillennialDem]

16. One of the oldest Millennials here (born in 1980)

[Bryce Butler]

40. I was born in '85

[sakabatou]

43. '87

[LiberalArkie]

4. Yea, too liberal to be a Democrat, so have to define themselves as independent.

[temporary311]

5. This is pretty much what I've done.

[RKP5637]

8. Yeah, my thoughts too. The democrats moved rightward of me, but I stayed one. I can

certainly see them identifying as independent. I have hopes that the democratic party will come back.

[LiberalArkie]

15. I say I am a Liberal, kind of like I say I am a Jesus person, not a Christian.

Both groups left me and moved away. I think I am still in the same thought pattern I have always been.

[RKP5637]

27. Well said! The dems left me as did religion. Some days I feel I'm standing on the street while

some dems are up in the penthouse having a party I'm not invited too. Relative to Jesus, I am not a religious person, but did attend church, Sunday School, sang in the choir and all.

I've kept the good parts I learned in church, we were kind to everyone, did not persecute people, shared and were sincere. The "new" religions, some, have also left me standing on the street, many partying with persecution, discrimination and hatefulness. All things I was taught as a youth to avoid and still do today.

[Scuba]

26. Exactly.

[NorthCarolina]

6. Of course, because neither political party represents Liberals....by design. nt

[Skittles]

7. I can understand this

since they really have not seen much of real Democrats in action

[Scootaloo]

10. either that or your concept of "real democrats" hasn't updated in about thirty years

Sad but real possibility

[Skittles]

14. WTF is that supposed to mean?

[Scootaloo]

24. That the democrats today are "real democrats"

And that today's "real democrats" are very different from what used to fit the bill way back when

[seabeckind]

9. After watching the poll taken

in the man on the street interviews on the late night shows....

I think the millennials say independent because they're afraid that there might be a followup question that would force them to identify a trait of either a conservative or liberal.

And they're not that informed. It's not covered on DWTS or Idol and avoided like the plague on FB.

(on edit) Sorry, turning into a jaded, grumpy old man who's cramming for his annual blood test and can't have his usual repast while watching Rachel. I'll feel better Monday afternoon.

[Doctor_J]

11. Which makes sense since we have two conservative parties to choose from

[Mag238]

34. When election time comes around, we are supposed to support just one of them.

DU policy: But when general election season begins, DU members must support Democratic nominees (EXCEPT in rare cases where were a non-Democrat is most likely to defeat the conservative alternative, or where there is no possibility of splitting the liberal vote and inadvertently throwing the election to the conservative alternative). For presidential contests, election season begins when both major-party nominees become clear.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

[Doctor_J]

35. which we all do, here at DU

but the millenials and other new/casual voters, having not become tied to a party, are unlikely to look at the last 7 years, when Dems have had majotities and the WH, as any sort of advertizement for the party. Most of the major promises made in 2008 have been abandoned, the banksters still roam free and wreak havoc on the country, the entire Bush administration remains unprosecuted, TPP and KXL loom, the defense budget still claims billions that could be used for jobs, and their (the millenials) future remains just as bleak as it was when our party took over. Obama and Pelosi and Reid had a chance to lock these voters up for life by following through on the promise for "change". They fucked it up, big time, and all of the young voters self-id as independents instead of Dems.

[Mag238]

38. May I respectfully inquire....

as to why you are a Democrat, given that you have such deep criticisms of the people the Dems have put into power. I don't mean to ask why aren't you a Republican, which is obviously out, given your views. But why not be an independent yourself, like the millenials? Or, failing that, why not support one of the minor parties that have radical criticisms of the banksters and other capitalists? Do you feel more can be accomplished inside the Party than out? Or is it that the Dems are the lesser of two evils?

I'm trying to understand the mentality of the many people on DU who have radical criticisms of the Democratic Party and its star politicians, but who hold their noses and vote for the next Democratic candidate, no matter how much he will promote the interests of Wall Street ahead of the interests of the American people.

[Doctor_J]

41. Because they are far better than the only viable alternative, and contain SOME good people

Bernie Sanders, Barbara Boxer, Alan Grayson, Sherrod Brown, Tammy Baldwin, Keith Ellison, Elizabeth Warren, the CBC and a handful of others are decent folks who actually tend to act on the behalf of Americans. There is not a single Republican in the US who I would piss on if (s)he was on fire.

Our party representatives range from leftist (those mentioned above) to far right (obama, Clinton, Duncan, Rahm, et.). Meanwhile the Repukes range from far right to fascist. From what I gather, roughly 95% of them, including the reps, senators, governors, state assemblypersons, all of hate radio, all of cabal news, and most of the rank and file, are what would usually be considered either evil or rabid. As shitty and useless as it is in its current form, with far right wingers in charge, at least our party is not overrun with hateful, murderous traitors. I am disappointed in the president, since I twice spent my money and vote on him. I despise Cruz, Bachmann, and Ryan with every fiber of my being. I just wish the president did too. Unfortunately he cares more about Ryan and Cruz than he does about me.

[Mag238]

42. Good, thorough reply.

Although I don't share your view.

[JackRiddler]

12. Are the Democrats going to learn this lesson?

[RKP5637]

28. Often it seems TPTB in the dem party have one-way communications with no ears turned on. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

17. Bernie Sanders, millenial.

Cool.

[Grassy Knoll]

18. Some Famous Black Guy Said..,

R for reverse.... D for drive, and you don't get the keys to the car back because
you drove it in a ditch. ( Video Help ? )

[blkmusclmachine]

19. Imagine if the Democratic Party stopped being GOP-lite...

[RobertEarl]

20. What do kids want these days?

Answer that question, democrats, and they will vote for you forever.

One thing they want is to be left alone to do with their bodies whatever they want, and the dems have been moving that way, so it is no surprise they are leaning dem.

[ffr]

21. I'd be skeptical if those numbers weren't more left leaning.

I always fall back on the definition of what's being described and would base my answer on that definition. Conservative to me is not a Republican, it's a traditionalist. While there are Democrats who are liberal, I associate the word liberal as being broad minded, an intellect. And an independent would be someone having views favoring a little of both or not fully understanding what they are.

Right there, if I was a Millennial, I'd be throwing the stats off and so too would be anyone who's thinking in a similar fashion. Before such a poll is conducted, words identified to be key components of the questions need to be clearly defined and understood by those being surveyed. Which may explain why 30% identified as Dems, but less as liberals and why 24% identified as Rethugs, but more defined themselves as conservative.

When Pew first began surveying the millennial generation in 2004, 38 percent identified as independents, compared to 30 percent who identified as Democrats and 24 percent who identified as Republicans. As for ideology, 27 percent said they were liberal and 29 percent said conservative.

[jwirr]

22. My youngest grandson told me that he now understands what politics is all about. Every generation

must fight with older generations to build the world they want to live in. I did not argue with him. In talking issues I was glad to see that he was not so far from what I think at the age of 73. I told him that I thought his generation would find out that some of the things that were passed as far back as FDR are still and will remain important. We agreed on social security and government medical programs, marijuana legalization, the NSA spying mess. He and his lady are as liberal as we are just doesn't know that many of us "oldies" are fighting for the same things they are.

[RKP5637]

29. Yep, many of us are exactly as we were in the 60's when fighting for a more

progressive and liberal America.

[Sunlei]

23. thumbs up to 'Millennials'

[RKP5637]

31. K&R! n/t

[Skeeter Barnes]

30. They know there is no way to vote against the banks and permanent war.

[JackRiddler]

32. Correction to headline...

They grow more liberal, and therefore identify as independent, since there is no liberal party (in the usual American sense in which "liberal" is used to mean left of center).

But of course Pew itself is an important part of maintaining the grand ideological consensus with all its intentional blind spots. It may conceive of itself as independent, but only within the system that sets up intellectual factories and foundations with the money of the super-rich. Already they are compromised in the very act of purporting to be the outside observer and thus defining the people ("the young&quot as the subjects of study. It is Pew and its fellow establishment foundations that should be dissected here.

The terms and premises are not just simple and false but actively deceptive and shockingly stupid. For one thing, the laughable false dichotomy between "liberal" and "conservative" (both falsely defined), and the further equation of these two terms with "left" and "right." But these are perennials; when will they be questioned?

Less laughable because just plain odious is the idea that these confused terms exhaust the reasonable possibilities for politics in this country, and worst of all, that these correspond to the two televised parties of money, money, and perpetual war as presently constituted.

Of course young people, who have seen their future foreclosed upon, are not likely to express enthusiasm for either of the two teams in the kayfabe (a term from professional wrestling: "be fake&quot . Who are fronting for the foreclosure with such sweetish false cliches like "jobs" and "future." Which of the parties is for ending the Wall Street cartel and the multiple empires of the national security state? Which favors a new, ecologically sustainable economy that acknowledges the decline of work as a factor in production (thus admits that "jobs" can no longer be the central focus for everyone's lives)? Better to beat the drums of war against Iran, or now Russia and Venezuela. Better to manufacture cultural crises, and blame the teachers. Remember who is at the forefront of the latter: Emanuel, Duncan, Gates... our "liberals."

You give them no alternatives, liars.

[former9thward]

33. In my local district Independents are now the number one 'party'.

The R's and D's are essentially tied and the Indies are 4500 more than either -- and this is a college town. Just two years ago all three were tied.

[flamingdem]

36. As long as they vote

who cares what they call themselves. Problem is apathy and low info voters who would like to see themselves as independent, but in fact they really just don't follow politics much.. my experience tells me that term can be for those who are "searching" when young, but if asked direct questions they don't know who is who or what is at stake. Older adults as well, it's just "cool" to say one is independent, and in a way safer since it avoids arguments with Republicans.

[Jesus Malverde]

37. They almost did a survey of Gen X political sentiment

But decided there wasn't enough interest in knowing their opinions.

[Akoto]

39. Well, as a Millennial ...

I suppose this holds true to me, except that I'm a registered Democrat. I'm disabled, so I can't do a great deal of political work. However, the most important thing to me is voting. I never miss a vote, even if I have to endure the stares of being ushered ahead of the line because of my cane.

I'd credit my parents for my liberal attitude and my views on voting. They always encouraged me to find my own beliefs and path, and never forced their own upon me. They never accepted bigotry in our household and are generally a common sense pair. My folks are strong supporters of things like women's rights. I suppose their views helped to shape me in a positive way.

[24601]

44. I'd speculate that generations have different views of the labels and that many millennials believe

that liberals and libertarians are essentially the same thing. Their view of the role of government appears to be the more libertarian "get government to leave me and mine alone".