Democrats Continue To Dominate Youth Vote
Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 10:03AM (FLP Opinion) - When you look at the results of the 2008 Presidential election, a few things stand out. One of those I wrote about last week - single women and their overwhelming support of Democrats. The other is the similarly lopsided support Democrats receive from 18 - 29 year-olds.
Like single women, this group is historically very liberal, so this is nothing unusual. However, when you look at voter preference by all age groups, you quickly realize this type of support for one party is not typical:
Looking at the graph, the younger - and I would submit less informed you are - the more likely you are to vote Democrat. Multiple studies over the past decade have shown that younger people do not read and consume news at a level on par with their older counterparts. Essentially, their voting patterns are based more on media driven cultural mores and emotion than hardened beliefs and analytical thought.
Media in this country has shaped opinion as to what is culturally acceptable (think MTV) - particularly with the younger set. Conservatives have generally been portrayed as stiff, nerdy types who are to be shunned. Liberals and Democrats conversely are portrayed as ultra cool, forward thinking, compassionate sorts who are to be admired.
At the end of the day, this type of subtle propaganda impacts elections. The younger and less informed you are, the more likely you are to be swayed by such messaging tactics. When you look at the 36 point advantage Obama held over McCain among 18-29 year-olds, versus the tightness of the race in every other age group, it's clear the tactic has worked on the younger voter.
And it's not something that is likely to change anytime soon.
Reader Comments (10)
Use your head....no,no,no, ......your other head.
Interesting perspective. Totally agree that the group is largely made up of skulls of mush.
Why do you think Democrats fought so hard to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. Given an election like 2008, that can be worth a full percentage point or more.
Amazing. After the 36 point margin by the uninformed, the differerce of the othe three groups was .6%.
Based on this post and the one you did on single women, am I right in deducing that Democrats would almost never be elected nationally without the overwhelming support they receive from these two groups of illiterates?
You are 100% correct Turd. I wish you weren't, but you are.
I was pretty much an idiot until I was about 30. This helps explain why.
I think this is how the quote goes, or at least this is very close: "If a man is not a liberal at age 20 then he has no heart. If he is not a conservative at age 40 then he has no brain."
That pretty much sums this up. The youth have no perspective on their future, and usually no children to be concerned about. I've often found that as people have children their political philosophy can radically change. They begin to think about what life will be like for their kids and quickly turn toward a philosophy that embraces freedom and opportunity as opposed to false promises of security.
I almost used that quote in the piece - it's from Winston Churchill. No doubt extremely accurate.
The young vote for Democrats because their brains aren't fully developed.