2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumLike It or Not, the Democratic Party Now Must Answer to Millennials
Compounding these deep-set infrastructural problems, voter suppression in Arizona and New York, and the lackluster response to it, has only intensified suspicions that the democratic process is neither free nor fair, and that interference in the most rudimentary exercise in political participation is commonplace. This has exacerbated a sense that somehow young people do not exist in a full enough capacity as citizens to expect meaningful participation or recognition in the electoral process. In a climate of such heightened tensions, it is indeed risky to imply that young people are petulant or reckless when they refuse to fall in line behind Hillary Clinton.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35891-like-it-or-not-the-democratic-party-now-must-answer-to-millennials
onehandle
(51,122 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Why the hell would they vote for the status quo or incrementalism? If they supported Third Way neoliberalism they'd already be registered Democrats. They've only registered as Democrats to vote for Sanders in the primaries....otherwise there's no reason to have party loyalty.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)They might as well write his Inauguration Committee a check.
Sanders is welcome to try to influence the Party at the DNC, but the election is set.
BlueStater
(7,596 posts)Gee, how inspiring.
Demsrule86
(68,543 posts)BlueStater
(7,596 posts)Threatening people with a Trump presidency doesn't make Hillary Rodham Clinton a better, more appealing candidate. His faults are not her assets.
Demsrule86
(68,543 posts)helps Trump.
BlueStater
(7,596 posts)I never said that Hillary Clinton wasn't better than Trump. You honestly think that's a compliment? Being better than Trump is such a low bar to cross that it's not even worth mentioning. Again, you're going to have to do A LOT better than "she's better than the racist, orange-skinned ignoramus" as a reason as to why anybody should be inspired to vote for her.
Demsrule86
(68,543 posts)She is the Democratic nominee and the only thing that stands between us and Trump.
floriduck
(2,262 posts)w4rma
(31,700 posts)Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Adding zero to a number does not increase that number's value. Subtracting zero from a number does not decrease its value.
Come on. Western mathematics has had the concept of nil since the 11th century.
swhisper1
(851 posts)Bernie was their hope, now dashed,, but the primary brought up her dark history and she has not shown good faith toward their problems. They do not place gender above common sense
onehandle
(51,122 posts)Demsrule86
(68,543 posts)rock
(13,218 posts)Does not say, "Convince me to vote for the Democratic candidate." I should add: Your the one that has to decide whom to vote for; I don't know what your values and aspirations are, so I have no way of amking that decision for you.
w4rma
(31,700 posts)She's insulted them for her entire campaign and has pissed on all of the policy proposals that they want.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)After all, the only people either party ever "answers to" are those who vote. No vote, no power. And, frankly, politically, the strongest distinguishing characteristic of millennials is unfortunately their very low rate of turnout to the polls. Let's hope this November is different.
Btw, no one here speaks for anyone else, of course. Your perception of insults that did not occur would be shared only by those who actively look for things to be insulted about, noisy but very small and unfortunate groups, not to "millennials," who are overall pretty happy and positive about the future.
w4rma
(31,700 posts)And on that note, it's no wonder that Clinton voters don't care about wages, salaries and jobs. They're mostly retirees who live off Social Security and their savings.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Don't hold your breath waiting see who drops dead first, W4rma.
Seriously, even if too much wishful thinking has lead to a happy picture where all who disagree with you would be dead in 20-40 years or so, isn't that kind of a long time? Even if the real number is more like 40-60 years? People live a long time now, and probably will be living longer in future after all.
We're not discussing all the millennials who voted for Hillary in this discussion, of course. Poor things. Some will become state legislators, congressmen and senators, presidents, judges, justices, etc., while they're still in their middle years, but have you happened to notice the ages of our candidates this year? Literally hundreds, not just the ones fighting over who gets to be Commander in Chief, in their 60s and 70s.
w4rma
(31,700 posts)swhisper1
(851 posts)Last edited Fri Jun 17, 2016, 01:11 PM - Edit history (1)
They will go downticket and a few will go lesser. Boomers know better than to trust the DNC, they were around when the party meant something
Evergreen Emerald
(13,069 posts)Thanks for the laugh this morning.
swhisper1
(851 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Hillary also currently has the popular vote by over 3,775,000 more than her opponent, in part because that general age range votes in stronger numbers than most others.
lancer78
(1,495 posts)Composed more of the electorate in 2012 than the over 65 crowd.
emulatorloo
(44,113 posts)Fabricated quotes don't count.
HumanityExperiment
(1,442 posts)depends on how one defines 'insulting', HRC's record on engaging folks with issues directly hasn't been good...
emulatorloo
(44,113 posts)Your post is a deflection.
w4rma
(31,700 posts)I feel sorry for the young people who believe the lies Sanders is telling them about money accepted from executives and lobbyists tied to the fossil fuel industry. "
Young people have consistently been a source of frustration and struggle for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clintons campaign. Along with her husband, Bill Clinton, her campaign has expressed a condescending view of millennials for supporting Bernie Sanders instead of her.
The tone of comments about young people supporting Sanders is striking, given the fact that Clinton had a similar problem winning over young people when she ran against President Barack Obama in 2008. Then, Clinton and her campaign largely refrained from lecturing or talking down to young people. That is not the case in the 2016 presidential election.
With the primary race entering its final phase, which includes states where Sanders could do very well, the smug attitude of the Clinton campaign could continue to inspire young people to redouble their efforts and work all that much harder for a contested convention. Or, it could solidify young peoples understandable decision to vote for a third party candidate or not vote at all in the general election.
In early April, Hillary Clinton declared, I feel sorry for the young people who believe the lies Sanders is telling them about money accepted from executives and lobbyists tied to the fossil fuel industry. Young people dont do their own research. Her comment was in response to a young Greenpeace activist, whose question actually was based in facts.
Bill Clinton joked on April 15 that young Sanders supporters would shoot every third person on Wall Street if Sanders was elected. Of course, if anyone finds this funny, it is because they believe Sanders has left-wing supporters who would only be satisfied with Wall Street reform that involved murdering corporate executives responsible for fraud and other forms of corruption.
The former president dismissed young Sanders supporters while speaking at an event sponsored by EMILYs List, a supporter of the Clinton campaign. I cant get too upset when I see how righteous all these young people are today. I think, we were probably pretty sanctimonious, too.
On April 6, after losing the Wisconsin primary, Hillary Clinton acted as if young people supporting Sanders were going through some kind of adolescent phase. Look, I think its exciting to be, in effect, protesting, she said on MSNBCs Morning Joe. I remember I did that a long time ago when I was in my twenties, and I totally get the attraction of this.
http://www.mintpressnews.com/clinton-campaign-astounding-record-smugness-towards-young-voters/216086/
emulatorloo
(44,113 posts)w4rma
(31,700 posts)emulatorloo
(44,113 posts)Have a great day.
w4rma
(31,700 posts)emulatorloo
(44,113 posts)w4rma
(31,700 posts)And the editorializing is rather thin, only really providing minimal context. So, basically you asked for proof and I provided it. Then you moved the goal posts, but I've already met your new requirements in the new goalpost placement.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)Something bothers me about that plan, but I'm not sure what.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)No matter how many times it is repeated, the fact is that voters have other choices. They can actively campaign and vote without doing so for the neoliberals OR neofascists.
I expect they will be doing so.
booley
(3,855 posts)Instead of giving these kids a reason to vote FOR Democrats, all the party can do is say "the GOP is worse"
Basically admitting that if not for the GOP being awful there would be no reason to vote Democrat.
You can't push people down and then be amazed that they are angry and disillusioned
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)I too was once under the age of 25. I was in the first 18 y/o that got to vote. I was in that naive bunch that worked to get McGovern nominated (and yes, the comparison with Sanders is strong). I too was in that group that learned that ideology has a hard time lining up with reality. Answer to? In less than four years, most millennials will become the new yuppies. You know, those entitled white people that sprouted up when Reagan was prez. I think I'll start calling these new one "guppies". The same scenario is setting up. Petulant? No, just filled with entitlement.
auntpurl
(4,311 posts)Now at 40-*mumble*, I support Hillary. People mature.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)auntpurl
(4,311 posts)Now I do. Ergo, I support Hillary.
Just MHO.
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)pangaia
(24,324 posts)Now I do. Ergo, I support Bernie.
Economics for all, not just the rich.
Just MNSHO.
Matt_R
(456 posts)can you explain it to me like I'm an adult? Or possible starting wars in foreign lands, giving her wall st. buddies a free pass, shredding the social safety net. Maybe those things will cost us more than what Sanders proposed?
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)Demographics in the United States[edit]
William Strauss and Neil Howe projected in their 1991 book Generations that the U.S. Millennial population would be 76 million.[55] Later[when?] Neil Howe revised the number to over 95 million people (in the U.S.). As of 2012, it was estimated that there were approximately 80 million U.S. Millennials.[56] The estimated number of the U.S. Millennials in 2015 is 83.1 million people.[57] In 2016, Pew Research found that Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers to become the largest living generation in the U.S, by analyzing 2015 U.S Census data they found there were 75.4 million Millennials compared to 74.9 million Baby Boomers.[58][59]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)bravenak
(34,648 posts)I am a millennial in my thirties and I vote even in off year elections and ballot measures. Because I am in my thirties and now know how important actually showing up is. I did not vote regularly until my mid to late twenties. Because I'm a millennial and I had shit to do and it was fun.
People seem to think all millennials are, like, white college students. I wish they'd realize that we run the spectrum of colors and many of us are adults with kids. My cousin is a millennial and her kid is one too. She voted Hillary and he wanted Bernie. She showed up to caucus. He ate cereal on his bed and played Borderlands 2.
She will make it to the polls (she gets there and I can see her signature right under my name on the roster). I think he will sit on his bed eating something again.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)tonyt53
(5,737 posts)ThinkCritically
(241 posts)and 69 million millennials. There will be more millennials in 4 years than baby boomers. You need to remember, Millennials are 35 and younger. Not just 18 year olds.
Matt_R
(456 posts)Orsino
(37,428 posts)The thing about youths is that they tend grow into adults and then into the elderly. How late in their lives do we wait to start addressing their needs and building loyalty?
We don't have to emulate the Republican non-strategies of playing hippity-hop music, flashing skateboard imagery and calling it outreach. We could be winning the youngsters' votes this year rather than in thirty more.
LoverOfLiberty
(1,438 posts)Millennials need to work within the party itself to bring about the change that they want.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)LoverOfLiberty
(1,438 posts)Starting with local contests and working their way up to state and federal offices.
And also by supporting those that do.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)the poster said:
Did Millennials join the Party in significant numbers and increase volunteer efforts? Have they ever?
auntpurl
(4,311 posts)Don't boo! Vote!
LexVegas
(6,059 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,172 posts)They are our future. I hope they have the good sense to learn from the older generation's mistakes.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,172 posts)Pastiche423
(15,406 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)and someone suppressed your vote?
I can't think of a better exemplar for why some are not taken seriously.
LonePirate
(13,417 posts)ThinkCritically
(241 posts)instead of just assuming they should vote for dems no matter what.
LonePirate
(13,417 posts)Lord Magus
(1,999 posts)That ought to be more than enough reason to register as a Democrat.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)and masses more who will willingly, or even grudgingly, move in that direction. The subset of dead-enders will be small and inconsequential. An article from yesterday's NYT explains why young "Hillary Supporters Can Now Go Public."
Some are small, with just a couple of hundred members, while others number into the thousands. All of them began as a secret or, as secret as one can be with an invite-only Facebook group.
...
For most of 2016, to be a vocal supporter of Mrs. Clinton in certain circles of Bernie Sanders-supporting progressives, anyway was to be the square in the Lacoste shirt cast to the corner of the hipster prom.
I was yelled at when I wore my Hillary shirt to a grocery store in West Hollywood, possibly the most accepting neighborhood in the whole world, said Kate Hess, a 38-year-old producer in Los Angeles.
...
And if you were young and for Hillary? Forget about it.
Im treated like a traitor to my generation, said 22-year-old Patrick Ross, a playwright in Philadelphia.
And those were just the people you knew in real life. Online, the vitriol was worse. Moderating comments on a single Facebook post was like a master class in nonviolent communication, said Lori White, 33, a writer at Upworthy and a founder of Cool People for Hillary.
Strangers commented on your feed. Trolls spammed your wall with threats, called you a warmonger, a corporate whore, and many terms reserved for female supporters that were far worse, said Laura Bogart, a writer in Baltimore.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/16/fashion/closet-hillary-clinton-supporters-facebook-secret-groups.html?ref=politics&_r=0
Clinton supporters have been relatively quiet, mostly because they have not wanted to endure the name-calling and ostracizing of the Sanders zealots. They are now coming out of the closet, and they will bring along many others. I'm not concerned at all about millennials.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,172 posts)They aren't all BernieBros.
Ned_Devine
(3,146 posts)snooper2
(30,151 posts)DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)there can be several hundred Millenials fighting for every job you offer, or for every job that you say is out there.
Remember when the GOP just told the Democrats to get a job? Jobs that were NOT there to be gotten?
ThinkCritically
(241 posts)Sound like one.
ButterflyBlood
(12,644 posts)tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)products of helicopter parenting being unleashed on the nation.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)Then, it was the baby boomers who weren't having attention paid to them. They were marching in the street, getting drafted to fight in an unjust war, protesting that war, helping with the civil rights protests, working on women's rights issues and doing many other things, including demanding that the Democratic Party pay attention to them. Often, they stayed away from the polls, believing that their votes would make no difference.
Now, those boomers are our leaders, just as their parents and grandparents were the leaders in the 60s and 70s. Same story, same results, really. Boomers, millennials...two large generations dissatisfied with things as they were and are. Both ignored by those in power. And so it goes, and has gone.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)and the 68 convention
To think they had no effect would be a Yuuge Mistake
They shaped America ...
It was like America lost her virginity
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)The boomer generation shaped America, over time, and now they're running it. The millennials will do the same, over time, and then they'll be running it. Once they figure out that they can actually vote people into office by, you know, voting, things will begin to shift. That's what happened, finally, in the late 60s and into the 70s. Finally.
There are fewer differences than you think between those two generations and their entry into political power. Far fewer, apparently, than you think.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)floriduck
(2,262 posts)MineralMan
(146,286 posts)Here's another post I just made. We need to encourage that group into the future:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512188272
Trust Buster
(7,299 posts)ignore. The President's proposal for two free years of community college and Elizabeth Warren's proposal to lower student loan interest rates are much more realistic proposals. Sanders created the Millenial confusion. Sanders did a disservice to Millenials by raising their expectations beyond anything that political reality could support. Hillary didn't create this problem.
booley
(3,855 posts)Oh yeah.. Now I remember
Because it's the same attack Clinton leveled against Obama in 2008.
"'Let's just get everybody together. Let's get unified. The sky will open. The light will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing, and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.
You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear,"
Hillary Clinton 2008
http://inthesetimes.com/article/18834/hillary-clinton-campaign-bernie-sanders-president-obama-attacks
Tarc
(10,476 posts)2nd-place isn't the co-winner.
Squinch
(50,944 posts)La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)BlueStater
(7,596 posts)You at least owe them that much.
jzodda
(2,124 posts)Now I am talking general elections. Look at the data, they just don't turnout on election day.
By the time they do come out in larger numbers they are not so young any more.
So no they (the party) don't have to answer to them till they actually come out and vote some November because in 2012, 2008, 2000, 1996, 1992, 1988, 1984 and beyond they just haven't been there.
I left out 2004 because the youth vote was pretty good that time around.
Matt_R
(456 posts)stonecutter357
(12,695 posts)Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)the only way anyone has to answer to the millenials is if the millenials participate in the process.
Otherwise, they are completely ignorable.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)This seems counterintuitive to me.
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)This "must answer to" meme has been going on for as long as politics has been around. But really, what all political parties must answer to is the people. And "we the people" make up a wide range of political ideals and beliefs. But mostly, the millennials have the same issue that generation x did... they don't friggin' vote. As we've seen, they go to rallies like a boss, 'cause "Yay, party!" but when it comes down to actually voting, they disappear. So, why, oh why must anyone answer to people that are notorious for not actually participating in the political process?
As a Clinton supporter I can say with my big girl panties pulled way up, that I appreciate many of Sanders' stances and I think there needs to be reform in our political process, and wow, wouldn't free stuff be great (even though I never got any--see how that works?) but saying these things and actually having a solid plan that will get them done are two wholly different things.
How quickly would the millennials turn on Sanders when he wasn't able to accomplish what he set out to do? How many of the millennials would have the patience it actually takes to get any real change from Washington? It took almost 50 years from the Stonewall Riots for the LGBTQ community to make marriage equality a reality...we still don't have ENDA or a protected status, yet we fight on knowing that's the only way to get anything done. How many of those millennials are able to wait years for any real change to occur?
CorkySt.Clair
(1,507 posts)The others are:
Trump will be replaced by someone who can beat Hillary.
Polls showing Hillary ahead are meaningless.
I'm sure there will be more.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)It's bought and paid for by us taxpayers ...
We CHOOSE to pay taxes and spend them in things like college tuition ... And not on oil industry subsidies and the like ... There is nothing free about it, but it certainly is a good thing to provide public education for our citizens ....
Free stuff ...sheesh .. Isn't that what Hannity says?
Gone
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)"free college" you're fooling yourself.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)Their interpretation is, 'I'm going to college'
Your interpretation is, 'You can't go college unless you become indebted for half your life to Hillary's Corporate Bankers friends who don't want to lose their sweetheart deal of a cash cow'
I think that's how it goes ...
The people who care about such things know that pubic education is a choice we make for the taxes we already pay ....
Those people also know that the whole 'free stuff' canard is a right wing meme repeated by you, Hillary, and her other less than savory supporters ...
We CHOOSE to provide education to all ALL citizens in order to improve society as a whole ...
ismnotwasm
(41,975 posts)But I agree we need to engage the youth vote--no matter what the current nickname--in the political process, encourage them not just to vote, but to be involved.
Else You Are Mad
(3,040 posts)The Baby Boomers ruined the economy and opportunities for us millennials, I would love for them to have to answer to the millennials. But, the mindset of most of the baby Boomers is: "I got mine so who cares about other generations" and that is why they will not listen to the millennials. Hillary Clinton perfectly embodies the above baby boomer mindset.
Maru Kitteh
(28,339 posts)Mine included. (not a boomer)
Pooooooor us! The generation(s) before us ruined the whole world and now we have to clean it up. We can't get everything we want the minute after we step into the adult world and it's ALL THEIR FAULT! Not fair!
You will find your generation is not truly much different than those that came before it. Most generalizations are media-driven and tend to hold up poorly under methodical scrutiny. We all have our admirable points, and we all have traits that need some improvement.
Millennials will come into their own, transforming over time from a marketing target for trends and fads into a more stable and settled group that will become a political constituency not just IF they vote but also if they vote as a bloc. The former is very likely, the latter, history shows, is not likely at all.
Else You Are Mad
(3,040 posts)Well, when I stepped into the real world, I had a great job -- but I also have to pay insane amounts of student loans. Others are not so lucky and there are no jobs for those. That wasn't the fault of the ww2/greatest generation or the silent generation or Gen. X that was solely on the shoulders of the Baby Boomers. They were the greed generation. See, e.g., the 70s and 80s.
This isn't generational jealousy, they actually and intentionally put their foot on the throat of the economy for their own greed.
The millennials will vote en blac this election -- and from here on out -- it just remains to be seen which party they will vote for. I hope it is for the Democrats, but that is not guaranteed. As frightening as it is, I see this election as the possible rise of the third parties this election.
Trump scares me & I have been a life long democrat so I do not want to see that -- I just can see the green party and the Libertarians both hitting the 15% mark.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)I challenge anyone to point to a era where the 50% of the people incarcerated in state prisons were not between 20 and 30 years old.
NorthCarolina
(11,197 posts)At least for a while. Watch for the push for closed primaries coming to a State Democratic Party establishment near you SOON!
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)ButterflyBlood
(12,644 posts)18-29: 19% of voters
60% Obama
37% Romney
30-44: 27% of voters
52% Obama
45% Romney
45-64: 38% of voters
47% Obama
51% Romney
65 and older: 16% of voters
44% Obama
56% Romney
We're the reason President Romney isn't running for reelection right now, ungrateful or not.
Maru Kitteh
(28,339 posts)worth more consideration but THEY DON'T.
They do love a good rally though.
Teamster Jeff
(1,598 posts)Some of these posts are unreal. If the GOP wasn't such a clusterfuck they could get some of these millennial voters.
If the people here represent the Dem party these young voters are gone. Third Party or maybe check out completely an let this mother burn.
treestar
(82,383 posts)Have to answer to another?
randome
(34,845 posts)And the old 'voter suppression' tactic, I see. Lackluster response? How about lackluster evidence? Millennials would have won the election if only {fill in the blank}.
wyldwolf
(43,867 posts)eastwestdem
(1,220 posts)functioning members of society.
anigbrowl
(13,889 posts)Today's millenials will still cherish their ideals in 20+ years' time, but experience is a hard teacher.
Demsrule86
(68,543 posts)There was no voter suppression other than the usual Gop sort which Bernie folks don't care about...because the GOP is much better than Dems right? All of you are full of BS...and just mad because your candidate could not win a primary...millions of votes were ot stolen...Bernie lost...as for millennials they will be just fine...none of you folks speak for them.
Number23
(24,544 posts)the White House. Who's supposed to answer to who, now??
valerief
(53,235 posts)Cuz that's what I've been seeing.
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)Tal Vez
(660 posts)CobaltBlue
(1,122 posts)In the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, Bernie Sanders carried the 17 to 29 voters with at least 70 percent of their vote nationwide. The 18 to 29 general-election voters are the first to carry Democratic.
There would have to be a realigning of the Democratic Party (and one would come with the Republican Party) for this Democratic Party to be able to get elected to the presidency of the United States a nominee who performs better with 65+ voters (the first to carry Republican) than 18 to 29 (again, the first to carry Democratic).
If Hillary Clinton wins the 2016 presidential election, a big part of that victory will have come from carrying sufficient numbers of those who preferred the nomination be won by Bernie Sanders.
Today is June 16.
Give this more time.