Game over.
Jim McTague had a piece recently in Barron's headed, "Why Obama's Scandals Won't Erode His Base."
Benghazi? IRS? Clandestine probes for leaks in the media's plumbing? Paste all that in your scrapbook and forget it. President for Life needn't miss a moment of partying. Not because his lovers' quarrel with the media will be patched up (although it will). Not because the citizenry has become so cynical that it can't be bothered (although it has). Not because the Stupid Party won't know how to make hay over PfL's embarrassments (although it won't). No, says McTague: it's because he has the "millennial" generation in his pocket.
McTague:
This so-called millennial generation, which includes whites, blacks, and Latinos, gave Obama the winning edge in 2008 and 2012. ...But, but ... surely the 18-32 aged voters are at least a little uneasy about the woodworm gnawing the foundations of the Republic?
Will the young voters tune out because of the scandals? Michael Hais and Morley Winograd, who have written three well-received books on the millennials and their impact on the Democratic Party, believe the scandals will have almost no effect on this generation. For one thing, the millennials do not share their parents' suspicions of big, intrusive government. Hais and Winograd say that the millennials see a role for the federal government to set down rules of behavior, like parents, for them to follow.
WHAT ABOUT THE JUSTICE Department's seizure of AP's phone records? Millennials don't appreciate the concept of a "fourth estate." They don't read newspapers. They glean their information from social media. ... Benghazi? They don't watch any television news, let alone Fox, which has been highlighting the topic. The IRS/Tea party story? They are pro taxes—that's why they voted for Obama. They are anti-GOP because the party stands in the way of the Obama agenda, which they supported. ...You figure the Boomers now in positions of power are bad ju-ju? Wait till this lot takes its turn. They'll be dwelling in cardboard boxes -- those who don't find themselves a sinecure in Washington -- but they'll still be living up to their name. The Millennium, the Promised Land, the "Green" Time will have arrived: open borders, gun confiscation, big taxes on everything including other taxes. But they can blow pot smoke out of their ears and congratulate themselves (which they've practiced ever since they listened to self-esteem tapes while in the womb) that they made the world safe for gay marriage.
Hais thinks the millennials have given Obama "an enormous grace period" because they are so turned off by the GOP intransigence on issues like immigration reform, gun control, taxes, gay marriage, and marijuana legalization.
4 comments:
Hello? Hello?
Why the shortage of comments for some time now? I'm not unduly fussed about it, but there used to be more interaction with readers, which is one of the reasons I write the blog.
Is the comment moderation a problem? I get about 25 spammers a day -- they sure like the site -- so I felt I had to switch on the filter. Actually Blogger does a decent job of weeding spam out (how? Beats me) but too many were getting through.
Any feedback will be appreciated.
As a divorced GenXer who still dates Millennial girls/women, this analysis seems correct. Now quasi-self-employed, I recall how difficult it was to deal with Boomers on Wall Street. I was not the only Gen X banker to make alliances with the older partners, bypassing the self-regarding Woodstock crowd.
But now, dealing with the creatures coming up, I long for the Boomers, who at least were fundamentally libertine and knew how to have a good time. Millennials are EARNEST, good little sheeple. I have never met such principled conformity. They have no imagination because their iLives are run by Google, Apple and HBO. They do, in fact, watch TV - lots of it, but they get their news from Bill Maher (a god among them) and John Stewart.
I could go on but I think the piece you quote is fundamentally correct.
HOWEVER, in Europe, the resistance to the ongoing deconstruction is strong among that age group. I have long known that Europe will decouple from the US for the simple reason that America is no longer a Western nation. The resistance to gay marriage in France; the reactions in Italy, Austria and Germany; the changes in Russia - these are being led by people of my age group or younger. The US is finished...
Enjoy the website.
BTW, just after posting my comment, I clicked on the link to Mangan's, a site I don't normally read, and came across this:
http://mangans.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-french-womens-traditionalist-group.html
Case in point! The situation is VERY different in Europe than the US. The best thing that can happen to Western Civilization is that the US lose its leading role globally, something poor Larry Auster understood - and perhaps you will not, either. But at some point, you patriotic Americans will have to come to terms with the fact that this regime is more akin to the Soviet Union than you care to believe.
Marcus Marcellus,
I am inclined to agree that the millennial generation in at least some parts of Europe is far more aware and activist than their U.S. counterparts. Possibly it has to do with the higher percentage of Muslim immigrants/welfare sucklings/economic refugees in Europe. Nobody is talking rot about the Muslims' family values and strong work ethic, and if they did, the younger people who have grown up around them would laugh.
Also, the unemployment among that age cohort in Europe is horrendous, even if you leave immigrants out of the stats. Not having much in the way of prospects tends to concentrate the mind wonderfully.
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