This week’s CPAC convention was somewhat of a rebellion for conservatives…. save one little detail. Except for Palin and Jindal, the names offered up in the straw poll for GOP nominees in 2012 are a potpourri of the same ol’ same ol’ recycled pols.
Personally I thought their pick of Romney was an extreme disappointment when you weigh his two notable deeds vs his “words”. (i.e. the blocking the Martha Vineyards’ wind farm in an unholy alliance with Kennedy, and his implementation of what’s proving to be his failed state health care in MA as Governor).
The straw poll results are also an indication that the faith in both Jindal and Palin are not quite “there”… But that’s okay. Both have time in their gubernatorial gigs to prove their ability to cut the conservative mustard.
The dichotomy to me is this: Rush was the big hit with one phenomenal speech. (available in it’s entirety via Curt’s post)
So why the disconnect between the enthusiastic support for traditional social, fiscal and economic conservatism that Rush adeptly defined, and then picking Romney? A man who, by his record, demonstrates he caves on those values as easily as Sen. Snowe, Specter and Collins?
One of two things is obvious up front. Either Rush should have spoken *before* the CPAC vote, or the excited CPAC attendees need to learn more about the handsome former MA governor.
Then again, there is a more probable third option. The new mouthpiece for conservatives has not yet emerged – or proven themselves – on the public front in today’s hot button issue era.
But pulling names out of a hat is premature. Conservatives must first better understand their target audience before they pick an official messenger.
If you listen to the resident Flopping Aces “moderates”, liberals and progressives here, they will tell us that we pure traditionalists need to acquiesce to a more progressive state of mind in the nation. And that, they tell us, requires that we abandon the core social, economic and fiscal conservative message and become a diluted liberal/progressive party.
Or, more aptly put, they suggest we are “door number two” with a stage laden with a different set of free giveaways.
There are also those within the GOP that suggest we need to adopt a “we’ll cure your American class/racist ills” appeal in order to attract blacks, or hispanics or women… or some other “class” of American to garner the necessary votes.
What nonsense. For decades, the Dems, the moderates, the progressives, and some factions within the GOP itself are allowing conservatism to be defined by non-conservatives with a political agenda. Making it even more offensive, they do so by their own “group” or “class” divisions… calling it the party of racists, bigots, religious fanatics, homophobes, and… of course… heartless rich white people.
I reject this notion totally. Nor will I allow them to lie and pigeon hole who I am and what I believe for their political gain.
This past election and enusing reactions to Obama’s spending proves that conservative values of minimal taxation, and government intrusion into our private lives, are far from dead. Obama won primarily on the conservative mantra of “tax cuts”.
Even today, the liberal playbook is working on a more efficient version of the quintessential status quo. That is … as usual… to define and marginalize the electorate – carving them up neatly into their designated racial or economic classes with corresponding “beefs” – and then promise them they are “the cure” upon election.
There is no advantage to position ourself as the party who promises the most to “groups” to win. First, it is completely anti-conservatism at it’s core. Second? You will never “out Democrat” the Democrats.
As a conservative in the mold of Rush – I too look around a room and only see Americans – fellow humans with emotional highs, lows, desires, potential and ambitions to be the best they strive to be.
Or to remind you…
Let me tell you who we conservatives are: We love people. When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don’t see groups. We don’t see victims. We don’t see people we want to exploit.
What we see — what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don’t think that person doesn’t have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations and too much government.
A little over a month into the new administration, and one thing is obvious… Our new POTUS will never come off the campaign trail. Nor will his devotees ever sleep.
The DNC, confident the Republicans will never get the Alinsky rules and “community organizing” down, is banking on the same tired approach. They’ll capture the electorate based on class anger… whatever that may be at the moment. Since they won’t be “curing” anyone’s beefs, it pretty certain the arguments will be the same as they have been for decades.
Ready or not, already the battle lines for 2012 have been drawn. And… for a change… the GOP has an advantage. Provided, of course, they get the right person to communicate with the target voter block.
Obama’s 2012 minions have identified that block already. They are the pot of gold for the future – the Millennial Generation.
But while Obama, Rahm’bo and the Dems sized up their target, it’s more than likely they’ve come to a seriously wrong conclusion… that the Millennials are created in their own Gen X image.
And here lies the Obama/Democrat Achilles heel.
Who are they? And why are they such an electorate “prize”?
The Millennials are the post Gen Xers, born in the 80s and 90s. *And*, they constitute an even larger voter block than the current boomer generation.
See the below graph from a study by the progressive think tank, New Politics: The Progressive Policies of the Millennial Generation:
They are young, multicultural and involved. They aren’t particularly over religious, but demonstrate tolerance and aren’t rabid about removing it from sight either. By and large, their priorities have returned to the older values, focusing unapologetically on the import of family, children and simplier joys.
They grew up in frenetic structured schedules with working parents, juggling soccer, dance and other sundry extracurricular activities. Tho ambitious, they seek a balance as adults, desiring some flexibility and latitude in their work schedules.
In 2008, the eligible Millennial voters were nearing 50 million in number. By the time 2016 arrives, they will constitute 1/3 of all the eligible voters, and an estimated 30% of actual voters. ANd unlike the preceding generations, they are more active in the world of politics.
Their turnout in the 2000 and 2004 elections is more impressive than the prior generational youth.
And, as is usual for youth, they have trended predominately Democrat so far.
But now the bulk of them are just getting out of college, ready to embark on their lives’ paths and make their marks on the world. Yet the world they are ready to enter is not the more affluent world of their Gen X predecessors.
In their formidable years, the Millennials lived thru, and were influenced by the 911 attacks. Now they are being graduated in a time where their college degrees may make little difference when unemployment is high, and the economy shrinking.
MATA NOTE: Looked at the stats on the below graph “backwards” assuming the Millennials were historically less progressive than their Gen Xers. Late night post.. what can I say. However this graph is not the foundation for the logic that Millennials… who will bear Obama’s spending burden… are not prime candidates for a “conservative” education. So I acknowledge the graph reading error, but do no recant the post subject matter at hand.
Note in the graph below (using Pew data): in 2006, post 911, and pre the economic crash, the Millennials demonstrated slightly more conservative party affialtion than their Gen X predecessors at the same age 15 years before. See comment below, and a better prime time eye by Formerly known as Skeptic. He/she kindly adjusted my wee hours vision on this particular chart… oops.
If more of them lean more right in the prosperous times, and in the middle of a boomer/Gen X unpopular war, might not this same generation react to today’s economic realities with increasing conservative values?
So yes, I believe the Millennials can turn majority conservative…. provided conservatives refuse to further allow the Democrats and media to define who we are. And… most importantly, provided conservatives stop mimicking watered down Democrats in their deeds.
Our resident FA liberals and moderates constantly attempt to convince us that Obama is “governing from the center”. I can only ask of them: the center of *what*?
Obama is a self-admitted “progressive” and, as indicated by his speech to the State of the Black Union this past couple of days proves, he takes pride that his “new administration had done “more in these past 30 days to bring about progressive change than we have in the past many years.”
This means Obama’s idea of the “center” falls between radical socialist left, and liberal. Conservatism, as aptly defined by Rush, doesn’t even register on Obama’s political radar.
We don’t want to tell anybody how to live. That’s up to you. If you want to make the best of yourself, feel free. If you want to ruin your life, we’ll try to stop it, but it’s a waste. We look over the country as it is today, we see so much waste, human potential that’s been destroyed by 50 years of a welfare state. By a failed war on poverty.
~~~We do have an organizational problem. We have a challenge. We’ve got factions now within our own movement seeking power to dominate it, and worst of all to redefine it. Well, the Constitution doesn’t need to be redefined. Conservative intellectuals, the Declaration of Independence does not need to be redefined and neither does conservatism. Conservatism is what it is and it is forever. It’s not something you can bend and shape and flake and form.
~~~Now, let me speak about President Obama for just a second. President Obama is one of the most gifted politicians, one of the most gifted men that I have ever witnessed. He has extraordinary talents. He has communication skills that hardly anyone can surpass. No, seriously. No, no, I’m being very serious about this. It just breaks my heart that he does not use these extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be. He’s doing just the opposite. And it’s a shame.
~~~The freedom we spoke of earlier is the freedom, it’s the ambition, it’s the desire, the wherewithal, the passions that people have that gave us the great entrepreneurial advances, the great inventions, the greatest food production, the human lifestyle advances in this country. Why shouldn’t that be rewarded? Why is that now the focus of punishment? Why is that now the focus of blame?
I truly believe that in the heart of every American lurks a closet conservative – someone who prefers lower taxes, smaller government, and less nanny laws. They can’t know it because “conservative” has been defined… no, make that mutilated… by the progressive liberals. Conservatism – at the heart of this country’s founders and framers – is now cast as racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe and, of course, the heartless wealthy.
What becomes integral is to communicate what conservatism is to a willing and receptive vessel – the Millennials.
Claire Raines, a pioneer in the study of generations for more than two decades, has an interesting profile of the new young and hip upcomers. And most interesting is their projected work ethic, based on their confidence and optimism.
Confident. Raised by parents believing in the importance of self-esteem, they characteristically consider themselves ready to overcome challenges and leap tall buildings. Managers who believe in “paying your dues” and coworkers who don’t think opinions are worth listening to unless they come from someone with a prerequisite number of years on the resume find this can-do attitude unsettling.
Hopeful. They’re described as optimistic yet practical. They believe in the future and their role in it. They’ve read about businesses with basketball courts, stockrooms stocked with beer for employers, and companies that pay your way through school. They expect a workplace that is challenging, collaborative, creative, fun, and financially rewarding.
Goal- and achievement-oriented. Just a day after she won a totally unexpected Olympic gold medal, skater Sara Hughes was talking about her next goal—scoring a perfect 1600 on her SATs. Many Millennials arrive at their first day of work with personal goals on paper.
Civic-minded. They were taught to think in terms of the greater good. They have a high rate of volunteerism. They expect companies to contribute to their communities—and to operate in ways that create a sustainable environment.
Inclusive. Millennials are used to being organized in teams—and to making certain no one is left behind. They expect to earn a living in a workplace that is fair to all, where diversity is the norm—and they’ll use their collective power if they feel someone is treated unfairly.
Ms. Raines believes the Millennials have more in common with the WWII and Boomer generation than they do their Gen X peers. Some of these characteristics include a renewed respect for patriotism and heroism. Unlike their more pampered predecessors, their youthful exposure to 911, and school shootings such as Columbine and Virginia Tech, has instilled a great respect for selfless action.
And it is in those common bonds that conservatism is ripe for fresh blossom.
Greg Stene is an advertising Gen Xer with a blog called Scholars and Rogues. This particular post laments “the death of the Millennials”… killed by the first bailout last fall, and the fall of WaMu. If Stene considered them “dead” (for business) then, this more recent piling on by the new administration is certainly unlikely to revive them.
We advertisers thought we owned the Millennials for a good decade or more. We had them stereotyped, we believed we had them figured out and we thought we were just steps away from having them ready to buy into the world we had prepared. And we had spent ungodly amounts of money in ourselves, learning everything about this perfect-storm target generation so we could communicate with them on a meaningful level.
But all that’s been blown to hell now. They are not the people we got ourselves ready for. As of this weekend, they are not the wealthy generation we had thought they would be. The jobs are gone, their parents need their money to keep the house and buy gas, and they don’t share that money with the kids anymore.
Obama, Rahm’bo (as early Gen Xers, or as WaPo’s Neil Howe calls them, the “dumbest generation”) and their grassroots Gen X faithful are at a disadvantage compared to their younger counterparts during these trying times. Where the Xers prefer short cuts… exampled per Howe as sound bites over seminars, video clips over articles, street smarts over lofty diplomas”… the Millennials exude a confidence and optimism that will give them more resilience.
And need it, they will. They come fresh out of college, degrees in hand, to less jobs. While they are saddled with their own student loans, their early Gex X POTUS is preparing them to pay for the next generation’s college tuition. With the difficulty they will have in the economy to pay off their own student loans, plus a “cap” on what is considered “wealthy”, do you think they may have some resentment build up for this educational welfare not extended to them?
Their ambition will be tempered with Obama’s progressive tax plans on “the wealthy” of $200-$250K. And if there is one thing Claire Raines says shouldn’t be done with these young Americans, it’s to dampen their enthusiasm with a wet blanket of doom and catastrophe.
They grew up in a multicultural world, with no need to feel they must make reparations or atone for another generation’s beliefs. The racial and class warfare is unlikely to work as well on the Millennials… such division is foreign to their thinking.
They can’t be completely fooled by the media lies on economics. They can plainly see the spending by the Obama administration and the Dem controlled Congress in the first 30 days alone. That spending is soon to be compounded by more, and it’s not going to sit well with a generation watching their opportunities to earn big slipping away… or to watch their work rewards slip away in taxes “on the wealthy”.
This is not a generation of fools – they are smart enough to know the money this administration is spending today is money that has yet to be earned… and as the largest block of earners, the enormity of Obama’s newly incurred debt falls squarely on their shoulders.
To put it bluntly, Obama and the Dems are committing what may be their largest faux pax for their own future – assuming their follow up generation – the Millennials – are just as progressive in their ideology as they are.
Which is where conservatism, as espoused by that “old white guy”, Rush Limbaugh, comes into play. Rush’s definition of conservatism is the textbook Ideology Conservatism, typified by three distinct subideologies:
Social conservatism is generally dominated by defence of existing social norms and values, of local customs and of societal evolution, rather than social upheaval, though the distinction is not absolute. As a contemporary example, the governments of many countries recognize marriage, and even provide legal benefits to married couples. Only a handful of countries, however, recognize marriages of homosexual couples. Those arguing against legal recognition of same-sex marriages often do so because they find the sudden change contrary to the foundation of the existing social norms.
Fiscal conservatism is the stance that the government must “live within its means”. Above all, fiscal conservatives oppose excessive government debt; this belief in balanced budgets tends to be coupled with a belief that government welfare programs should be narrowly tailored and that tax rates should be low, which implies relatively small government institutions.
This belief in small government combines with fiscal conservatism to produce a broader economic conservatism, which wishes to minimize government intervention in the economy. This amounts to support for laissez-faire economics. This economic conservatism borrows from two schools of thought: the classical conservative’s pragmatism and the libertarian’s notion of “rights.” The classical conservative maintains that free markets work best, while the libertarian contends that free markets are the only ethical markets.
While the Millennials may support some of the proposals in Obama’s spending, it’s more likely they would prefer a more fiscally prudent approach over the rapid progressive change happening now. A process that is slower, with more debate, and most certainly a lower price tag. They know Obama is gambling.
But they also know it’s their future, and the fruits of their toil, that Obama is using at the crap table.
Conservatives can have new allies in the Millennials. However they will not be able to bond with the youth as long as the established Snowe’s, Specters, Collins and Cantors continue to act and further destroy any semblence of difference between them and their Democrat counterparts.
This means the midterms become particularly important for Ideological Conservatives. We cannot afford to vote in more diluted ideologues who prattle of “conservative values” as nothing but abortion, religion and guns, then behave as Democrats in every other way.
Conservatives should be locally organizing to find some genuine, traditional voices and fresh faces to put up for election… and work with grassroots to get them there. The Millennials are just as equipped, if not better, than the Gen Xers at the new media and organization… the same tool Obama used in his campaign.
Nor should we Idealogical Conservatives give these midterm candidates an easy pass. We need to know – before they get into office – if they are just another spender who will not stand up for some fiscal responsibility. It’s preferable to have a candidate with a D behind his/her name doing the damage than to have a wannabe conservative in there, further making mockery of conservatism.
But opportunity abounds. Obama and the Dems are creating an era ripe for a resurgence in a youthful and powerful conservative voting block…. An alliance with this voting block, demanding fiscal conservatism with their future earnings, and it’s possible to control spending beyond midterms… perhaps even possibly reverse bad economic decisions and legislation further down line.
But it will take the right voices spreading the message of social, economic and fiscal conservatism. Right now, I am not seeing or hearing them in our older generation of politicians. But if there is a genuine conservative out there to be had, what they do in these economic times is going to make him or her stand out.
Vietnam era Navy wife, indy/conservative, and an official California escapee now residing as a red speck in the sea of Oregon blue.
Maybe Nostradamus’s prediction for 2012 will crash the financial system as we know it!
Daily Gif Blog, check it out.
DB
I prefer someone other than Romney, but wouldn’t he be a darn sight better than Obama, or McCain for that matter. I think that Romney will get the message that conservatism is the way, we have 2.5 years before a choice is made.
57% of the CPAC attendees who participated in the straw poll were in the 18-25 category. It’s encouraging to see so many young faces in the crowd. Throughout the conference (I was watching on C-Span) I heard speakers talk about how we need to do a better job harnessing the technology that these younger voters are most comfortable with.
P.S. Sarah Palin is running away with our F.A. straw poll.
You may be interested in this article on the Millennial Generation at FLYP: Meet the Millennials.
Mata Note: found and corrected the link, Jon. That’s for the heads up to the FLYP issue presentation.
I hate all old white guys! What have they ever done for this country??
hater/joe from chi… bizarre to hear this statement from you
I’m thinkin’ he forgot the /sarc tag.
Mitt Romney was my candidate for President, circa December, 2007. I wrote several blog comments, promoting his candidacy. I thought that he was just what the country needed, a highly successful businessman, with a great track record for organizing and fixing (Salt Lake City Olympics) and with the ability to succeed politically as a Republican in Massachusetts, of all places. I viewed Romney as a true moderate and as someone with the potential to unite the country.
Alas, Romney turned out to be the most shamelessly insincere panderer I’ve ever seen on the national level in my entire adult life. I give great credit to the GOP primary electorate, for seeing through his phoniness. It’s not just that he was a phony. He was politically inept. Everyone saw through his charade.
My favorite Republican, as of the moment, is Pawlenty; though I have great respect also for Ron Paul and I could vote for a younger version of Ron Paul. I think that there should be an age limit of running for the Presidency of 66 years old. I don’t think that anyone should sit in the oval office who is 70 or older. Too many bad things happen to the brain, beyond that point, in too many people. We dodged a bullet with Reagan, on that score.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
If you’re looking for a winning strategy for 2012, I’d aim for populist appeal. The economy is still going to be awful in 2012 (and I’m not blaming Obama for this, there are systemic problems that have to be worked through). Romney is unlikely to rally the working class, likewise someone like Gingrich who I hear proposed sometimes is too cerebral. Maybe Sanford and Palin?
I was disappointed in Ron Paul’s speech, it was basically an exercise in running through his talking points without explaining them to anyone who wasn’t already on board. Saying you want to abolish the Federal Reserve and get rid of the 16th and 17th amendment isn’t real useful unless you lead in with a little explanation for those just tuning in, and if you want to promote a radical agenda you really need to fire people up first instead of leading off with your agenda. But he’s never been great at giving speeches.
As for a younger version of Ron Paul, his son Rand Paul may run for the Senate in Kentucky if Senator Bunning retires. But I don’t know if he’s as much of a stainless radical as his dad.
Mata, I suspect there is something wrong in your chart on the 1991 Pew data for Gen X. I find it hard to believe the numbers shown and if they are correct they don’t support your commentary! If I had the time, I would research it myself and point out the exact problem, but I’m sure you have the correct data somewhere. Thank you. Good piece BTW.
Well, formerly… I just linked the chart from the progressive site, New Politics. They claim it is based on Pew averages.
I don’t know why you believe it doesn’t support my commentary. What I pointed out is that the Gen Xers, when at the same 18-25 age, had a higher percentage of Dems to Reps in party affiliation.
The point? That this Millennial Generation is trending more conservative than their predecessors. I did not say they were majority conservative. What I am suggesting that, if wisely addressed, they will end up majority conservative because of the Obama progressive agenda. They are ambitious, independent and confident. None of these traits are either encouraged, or rewarded, under progressive/socialist policies. And that is bound to piss ’em off as time goes by. Their generation is footing the bill for Obama’s gamble.
And thank you for the thumbs up on a piece meant to make everyone think.
Thoughtful piece, Mata.
But here’s the crux of it:
To that, I’ll add, you have a MAJOR problem with the concept that tax cuts, in the absence of dollar for dollar spending cuts, are the way to run a government. The millennials aren’t stupid (I’ve got two of them myself). They don’t like to see old people refusing to pay their own way, and sticking them with the bill. Obama is doing a very good job, on a national level, convincing people that he’s borrowing money to invest in the future and that he’s modernizing America.
Here’s another problem: the millennials never came close to buying into the concept that the Iraq War did anything to protect the country from terrorism. They are one of the demographics who view the Iraq War effort in the most unfavorable terms.
The two electoral prizes are the millennials and the Latinos. Unless the GOP can find a way to be competitive with both groups, it’s going to be a long walk in the desert.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Larry, I have no argument with you that tax cuts AND reduced spending is in order. That is VERY conservative… thus my complaints we don’t have any to speak of in Congress. We just have two big spending parties… one larger than the other…. each one vying for who has the best “giveaway” to voting blocks.
The Iraq War is history… virtually off the table for consideration in the Millennials minds. Withdrawal schedules, mindful of events on the ground, was decided in the Bush/Iraq SOFA and being implemented by Obama. What may be more interesting is seeing how the Millennials view the Afghanistan escalation by this administration.
It will also be interesting that – since the job market is going to be depressed for who knows how long with all this spending, incurred debt and likely devalued dollar – how many of these Millennials will choose to enlist until the economy improves.
But I must point out the obvious… your own children aside. While you, as an adult, may wish to live on the glory days of Iraq dissention in the recent past, the majority of Millennials have already let that issue go. As the link from Job B above adequately points out, their change in priorities over the past year have triaged the old news of Iraq way down in their concern. Economy is their number one priority now. And rightly so as the largest burder of Obama’s spending falls on their shoulders… all with reduced earning capacity.
As you point out, Obama’s done a good sales job at pretending they are cutting taxes while tripling the debt in spending in just over a month (between actual and proposed legislation) But as the implementation of his used car pitch gets going, the Millennials will recognize they have been sold a bill of goods.
@openid.aol.com/runnswim: You do your best to propagate those myths about conservatives every day just as you do the myth that Obama is fiscally responsible or that Democrats do not bear the burden for opposing reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The GOP was in charge, could have reformed Fannie/Freddie, but was bought off by GOP lobbyists.
Not a single major GOP candidate in the 2008 election accused the Dems of “blocking” Fannie/Freddie regulation. Is this because they were too polite to accuse their rivals of doing so? No, it’s because such charges would have exploded in their faces.
I’ve written hundreds of posts here, many quite lengthy and detailed. I can’t think of a single one where I tried to perpetuate any “myth” other than the non-myth, true fact that Reagan and Bush massively increased the debt/GDP ratio, while all Democratic Presidents since WWII lowered this ratio.
The post-1980 GOP has been the Party of fiscal irresponsibility. Cut their own taxes. Raise spending. Pass the bill on down to the children. The current ranting and raving about “generational theft” is the very summit of hypocrisy.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA
Mata, your point about Iraq being dead as a big issue is well taken.
To be clear, I was AGAINST the TARP bill, against the auto bail out, and I’m against the “stimulus.” I’m for things like health care reform and a carbon tax (for the same reason that John Anderson proposed raising the Federal gas tax by 50 cents a gallon way back in 1980, which had nothing, obviously, to do with climate change), but I think that these should all be debated and voted upon, bill by bill.
I’d balance the budget by restoring Clinton era tax levels and through the carbon tax, and I’d let the economy wallow for however long it took it to regenerate on its own.
But I’m not in charge of anything. So all I can do is the same thing that any of us can do. Bitch and complain.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach
Mata, Maybe I’m just cross-eyed, but to me that chart says that the Gen-Xer’s were 55% REPUBLICAN at age 18-25 and now that I followed the link, the newpolitics piece makes that point very clearly. Sorry to throw darts, but I originally thought the chart was wrong and your text was right. Looks like you may need to rethink that part.
Formerly… I acquiesce. Serves me right for doing middle of the night chart analysis. LOL
You are entirely correct. The Gen Xers, per this chart, were predominately GOP. And you’re also right… I have to doubt those stats. Never remember that generation as trending conservative… EVER.
However the point and my final analysis of the Millennials possibility of turning more conservative, based on their burden for Obama’s decisions, has not changed. That one chart did not form the basis of my reasoning.
And thank you very much for the middle of the night visual correction!
I had to laugh out loud at that one.
In the midst of a Monday straight from Hell itself, Larry gave me a reason to chuckle.
Thanks!
What a bizarre term – millenials. First time I heard of that term. The term for this age range is pretty much already labelled as Gen Y. So is Generation X is now squeezed into 14 years whilst these millenials represent 18 years? Also seems very random and pop-psychology. How can you lump someone who is going to be 19 in 2015 with a 37 year old? They could be father & son.
I think since the Sixties – society in the West has become more liberal in social values – when it comes to Women’s Rights, Gay Rights, Religion/Atheism etc. I think conservatives are swimming against the tide on this one. Where conservatives should focus their firepower and attract younger voters is on financials/work ethics etc. I’m sure they don’t want to pay for others who don’t deserve it – so beating the drum about low taxes, fighting crime, illegal immigration is more likely to work. People are likely to grow up in different types of families than was the case 40 years ago – so demonising single mums, gays etc will be criticising people they know. They should replace Family, Flag & Faith with something more along the lines of individual responsibility & freedoms contributing to their country.
Don’t make ’em up, Gaffna. However you’ll find the term “Millennial Generation” or “Millennials” all over the net. Welcome to the 21st century.
Speaking of, you are acting as the dupe of the progressive liberal “definition” of conservative with your comment below.
Thanks for making my point so crystal clear. Obviously you know nothing about conservatism.
@MataHarley
I didn’t say it was made up – just that I hadn’t heard of it and I use the net a lot. Google ‘Millennial Generation’ gives you 195,000 hits; Millennials comes back with a more healthier 518,000 but still dwarfed by Generation Y (41,800,000). Why rename something when there is a far more popular label? Just a picky point.
And as for conservatism I wasn’t offering a definition but issues where ‘some’ traditional conservatives tend to focus on. Or do you really dispute that?
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
Very true Larry. That is an interesting analysis.
@ Gaffa & Larry
Blah, blah, …kettle…pot…black….
Many of your definitions of ‘some’ conservatives can be just as equally applied to ‘some’ liberals, (and of course ‘some’ moderates.)
Racism, sexism, bigoted, homophobia, heartless wealthy people, intolerance of people with differing beliefs, (religious or other wise.) or of differing ‘sexual orientation.’ disrespect and discrimination towards single parents, or lower class people, etc…
It is hypocritical to point at one association of people and make such stereotypical assertions while ignoring the truth that there are many who exhibit the same traits within your own social/political group.
Put on your Avenue-Q soundtrack, and let they who are without sin throw the first stones.
@ditto
lol – great – can we use that to shut down every comment that is made on this site. This place is full of assumptions and finger pointing…Of course I’m sure you would never do that ditto.
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
Heh.
That line is still funny even four days later.
Here’s another example of Larry’s myth perpetuation:
Here’s why it’s a myth:
I’m sure you meant to say that everyone who pays taxes got a tax cut, right?
Right?
Even you, Larry, got a tax cut.
Even you.
Of course you chose to keep that tax cut rather than standing on personal principle and returning the money.
Yet you want to accuse others here of hypocrisy.
Pot. Kettle.