This morning, I read the Washington Post’s For millennial voters, the Clinton vs. Trump choice ‘feels like a joke’ story with a mounting sense of, basically, WTF??? Let’s just say, I sure hope the Post reporters on this story did NOT find Millennial voters who are representative of their generation, because…I mean, listen to some of this gar-bage.
*”‘I’m not really a conspiracy theorist, but the system is corrupt,’ says Stewart, 21, who works at a convenience store. He draws a $1 bill from his wallet, holds it up to the bar’s faint light and declares, ‘This little piece of paper tells me what I can and cannot do.'” What on earth does that mean and what relevance does it have to the choice between Trump and Clinton? Got me.
*” No matter who wins, they don’t think the next president will address their concerns or even have an impact on their lives. They have grim expectations for their government and have stopped looking to Washington for solutions. Why? Because they see it as too gridlocked — and its leaders too corrupted.” Uh, it only became “too gridlocked” after the Tea Party swept to power in 2010, due in large part to 2008 Democratic voters staying home. Same thing happened in 2014. From 2009 to 2010, the Democratic Congress and Democratic President actually got an enormous amount done!
*”‘I’m not going to vote. I’m just not,’ said Dustin McKindsey, 26, a handyman in Madison, Wis. ‘This is the first time I’ve felt that way. . . . A choice between two stones that’ll sink.’” Classic false equivalence, muddled thinking, just totally wrong on every level.
*”Many young people said they are mistrustful and wary of both parties and inclined to disaffiliate. ‘I don’t see the point of the parties — just another way to divide us,’ said Casey Bunn, 21, an automotive repair worker in Goldsboro.” More “both sides” b.s. – gack
In sum….no. Just no. I mean, these comments are so off base, wrong-headed, ignorant, flawed in a million ways (e..g, “both sides” false equivalency run amok), it’s hard to even know where to start. Also, I’m not sure how the Post reporters found these Millennials exactly, but it’s hard to reconcile what they found with polls that consistently show things like: Young voters flee Donald Trump in what may be historic trouncing (“The survey shows Clinton trouncing Trump 56%-20% among those under 35“); The Liberal Millennial Revolution (“Although several polls find that young people are less likely to identify as Democrats, that has much more to do with an aversion to establishments and labels. Their overwhelming support for Obama was the most any young cohort has leaned toward a Democrat since 1972.“); The Attitudes and Priorities of the Snapchat Generation (“Fully 87% are likely to vote in the coming Presidential election” and “for the third presidential election in a row, the Democrats have a
significant advantage among young voters – and this time that advantage may be the largest yet.”).
So…basically, polling contradicts much of what’s reported in the Post’s article on Millennial voters. As for the “reasoning” by the Millennial voters (non-voters?) quoted in the Post article, here are a few excerpts from the top-rated comments with which I agree wholeheartedly (bolding added by me for emphasis):
“Seriously, the most depressing thing in this article is that none of them understand how things work. Obama is a great president, if they had shown up to vote in 2010 and 2014 a lot of the change they want could have happened. Instead Obama has been stymied by the republican congress blocking literally everything. Politics isn’t entertainment, it is often not inspiring, but it is how we choose our future, which is kind of more important.”
“Some of those quoted don’t demonstrate much knowledge of the candidates now. How exactly is a democracy supposed to work if people ‘don’t have time’ to read the candidates’ platforms, or hear what they actually say. They like Trump’s ideas? Which ones? The ‘US Wages are Too High,’ Trump, the ‘Global Warming’ isn’t happening Trump? The Republican platform which makes a general statement about selling off public lands, which might or might not include the Grand Canyon, and wants to make gay marriage illegal again? Democracy takes time, time spent paying attention, and a willingness to take to the streets and protest when you don’t like what is happening.” (on that latter point, I’d tend to replace “take to the streets and protest” with “inform yourself, volunteer, donate and most importantly, vote!”).
“If millennials really want change, then vote Clinton/Kaine and any Democrats running for House and Senate.”
“As long as they sit and whine – so depressed and so apathetic … nothing will change! You have to become the change you want to see in the world.”
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