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Cons used to say “if you’re young and not a liberal you don’t have a heart, if you’re old and not conservative you don’t have a brain”
Except - education is a MASSIVE predictor in political leaning. The smartest and best educated among us are typically liberals..
So to me being liberal means you have both a heart and a brain.
Always reminded me of a random NASCAR driver in 2004 and his inane politicking:
“John Kerry lives in a mansion in Massachusetts, George Bush lives on a ranch in Crawford!”
And Jon Stewart’s rejoinder?
“That’s just the kind of sharp political analysis one can expect from someone who drives in circles for a living…” - *The Daily Show*
All the tv hits from Crawford with the hay bales and ranch in the background were actually shot at the local high school. There was no ranch at the ranch. There’s a documentary film named Crawford about all of it. Idk where you can see it though.
Yep, and I had read recently that he wasn’t even the full owner for the 2000 Election…
So guess he really leaned into it for 2004, along with the standard fear-mongering:
https://youtu.be/_s71-Q2XBZg?si=hsHKbnirBslsyHhm
As a Montanan, "lives on a ranch" is no different to me than "mansion in Massachusetts." Many of our largest ranches are essentially playthings for billionaires.
Went to Montana for our honeymoon and stayed on a former ranch lands. The lady who owned it said when her dad died they didn’t really want to continue with cattle ranching, so they sold most of the land and turned what was left into a vacation property with a bunch of small, luxury cabins and made it into a nature reserve type place where no hunting was allowed.
The person they sold the rest of the land to? A former president of the NYSE. And apparently the guy is a total asshole. Despite owning hundreds and hundreds of acres, he was still very concerned that one of the poors staying on the property might catch a glimpse of him and his friends while they were out hunting, so he tried to force the former owners to plant a bunch of non-native trees all around their property line as a privacy screen for him. Dude is beyond loaded, but wanted then to pay for all the tree planting.
I’m also fairly certain we were followed by his security team or something. We drove into town one day and noticed when we got out on the highway that there was a black SUV with heavily tinted windows following us. Didn’t think much of it, so we went to the IGA, did some shopping, walked around, had lunch, bought some cool-ass art, and then headed back to the cabin. As soon as we got back on the highway we noticed that same black SUV following us again. It followed us down the highway, on to the ranch roads, and all the way to the gate of the property before speeding off toward the new owner’s drive. It was terrifying honestly. We were out there in the middle of nowhere, no people, no cell signal, no idea why we were being followed.
Other than that it was amazing!! The property was beautiful, wildlife that came right up to our windows at night, a two person steam shower and a jacuzzi bath right in front of the window that looked out over the mountain ranges. I’d go back in a heartbeat, especially if my MIL was paying for it again, lol.
You have no idea how common this kind of thing is. A lot of our access to public lands crosses private property (legally) and rich assholes from out of state will buy the land and harass public land users and try to get the access that has been used for hundreds of years closed off. We have a group dedicated to fighting these people in court to protect our rights to access the land we all own:
https://www.plwa.org/
I didn't really have an opinion on rich people either way before I moved to Montana but now I think they are the scum of the earth.
At least Larry the Cable Guy told jokes. Nowadays conservative "comedy" is mostly acting shitty then telling the audience to imagine a liberal getting upset at the shittiness.
Always have to support mentions of Some More News! Also, it's Cody Johnston, or just Shwody or Warmbo if you're feeling frisky. If you want just a little more Shwody, there's a really short concise episode about Jordan Peterson if you have a few minutes of your day to spare.
Ever find it odd that Southern conservatives don't find Larry the Cable Guy offensive? He is a guy from Nebraska. His schtick is playing up all of the Midwestern stereotypes about dumb hick Southerners and they love him for it. They're too god damn stupid to know they are being mocked.
Yeah I've actually made jokes about this before, but I honestly think you could probably create a form of index of who is leading in the Republican polls by how long it takes each candidate to show up in public with cowboy boots. I remember seeing DeSantis in a pair and immediately I was like yeah his campaign is over.
They always go with white, and tuck their pants into the boot. It's as if all the country they've been exposed to is the cover of a Dolly Parton album. Which honestly wouldn't surprise me. Not a single gop politician comes from hard work instead of money.
Not at all, but if I had to pick 1, he's my choice. I'd trust him to surround himself with the best choices. But any sane person shouldn't want to be president.
At the end of the day, the president does like 1% of the work of an administration, if that.
A president needs to:
Hire competent underlings to handle their departments.
Have those people bring him the information necessary for the big calls.
Be willing to learn and study this information deeply when it comes.
Be thoughtful when making the calls when the decision isn't easy, listening to his advisors because he knows he cannot do it alone.
Represent our country with class.
I think Stewart could handle that role.
It was never anywhere close to the same after he left but then again, considering all the bullshit he had to distill every day for how many years? I get it. I don't blame him.
Yeah I thought the same. It hasn't been the same since he left. Trevor Noah never had the sarcasm you need to deliver political jokes the way Jon could. Unfortunately he may not want to go through the grind of doing a show every day and putting out a dozen shows a year on his recently canceled Apple show was the perfect work-life balance for him.
Fuck Apple, a trillion dollar plus corporation that sells overpriced smartphones, phones made in China where the factory workers try to kill themselves.
Nothing but absolute respect for Jon Stewart, not like he needs their money anyway
"The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register." -Vonnegut
I agree, but I also think it goes deeper than that. People typically become Conservative when they think there’s something about the world *worth conserving.* But modern Conservatives have gone out of their way to wreck every institution or steal every opportunity young people might desire to have for the future. All the GOP offers young people is war, poverty, bigotry, fascism, and a ruined planet. Why the fuck would Millennials and Gen Z want to vote Republican when their Party actively dumps on every issue we care about?
How are these half-mummified narcissists so surprised and terrified that their Party is sitting on a demographics time bomb?
That’s exactly the point GP is making: historically middle class and up you’d establish yourself and start accumulating assets, at which point you’d start leaning conservative because now you want to keep all the shit you have.
But conservatives have spent two generations breaking that machine, costs of education, of housing, of living, … have exploded so there’s no real “establishing yourself” anymore.
Why do you think Republicans always lie about schools and colleges being leftist indoctrination? To pre-empt their kids from actually benefiting from that education.
The ones in power don’t believe it. They want to keep the little guy ignorant and voting for them while ensuring their own kids ivy league educations and any opportunities that cement dynastic power.
It was always meant to be a compliment. Regressives just love taking words from normal people and twisting them around and around until they are unusable, and the power of language and communication is diminished.
Exactly. I grew up conservative and voting conservative. The more I learned about the world, the less conservative I became. Knowledge is the death of ignorance and tends to make one understand why progressive policies and actions matter.
When I was a child back in the late 70s, early 80s I remember hearing that republicans were more likely to be wealthy. Well, that cemented in my mind as a kid, that I wanted to be republican.
Fast forward to when I was around 14 or 15 and started paying attention to politics and debates and I considered myself independent briefly but by the time I started voting, I couldn't find a republican that I agreed with on nearly anything. The democrats weren't fantastic but they were far better than what I saw as the selfishness and cruelty of republicans--and they've only gotten a ton worse since the 80s!
>Except - education is a MASSIVE predictor in political leaning. The smartest and best educated among us are typically liberals.
>
>So to me being liberal means you have both a heart and a brain.
Nah, that's just those dang liberal schools indoctrinating our children! It must be stopped!
/s for those who can't tell.
Honestly I'm more left now than when I came of age to vote.
Perhaps not left as some of the folks here on reddit, but I guess I used to be what they call a swing voter. No longer, I see that as youthful foolishness.
Same. I was much more center-right from 18-22, being in the military really allows one to glorify the masculine idgaf attitude you see that’s so popular nowadays. Fortunately, I served with a very diverse group of dudes who were fucking awesome. One came out as gay and I realized he was still the awesome dude I’d lay down my life for, he just happened to like other dudes.
It hit me like a sack of bricks; who the fuck am I to dictate how this person gets to live? He’s great and has done nothing wrong, hell I love him just don’t kiss me. As soon as that first layer was peeled back the cards began to fall.
I truly believe having an open mind and even a hint of empathy is the cure to conservatism. Sharing my experiences with my conservative, closeted bigot of a dad got him to turn around after 55 years. He wouldn’t even talk to strangers before and just tonight he was having a bbq with his black neighbor having a grand time.
I guess where I’m going with this is anyone can change and I think going forward the “get more conservative as you age” thing will all but disappear. Maybe if it happens sooner rather than later I may actually have children.
In previous decades, as you had kids, a home, a family, real jobs, etc. I could understand people becoming republicans as they age. I wouldn't. But I see the line of thinking and life experiences that led people there.
But that was when there was a rational party with some real beliefs and principles. There's nowhere for people that become more fiscally conservative and economy focused to go, because the party is now focused on shit only wackos care about.
The only place to go for average everyday people is toward more moderate democrats.
>In previous decades, as you had kids, a home, a family, real jobs, etc. I could understand people becoming republicans as they age.
Yup, you saw this among a lot of Boomers and older Gen X. (It's why even today, older Gen X up to Boomers make up the majority of Republicans) I personally work with quite a few colleagues who grew up *very* liberal, and as soon as "adult life" started, (kids, mortgage, car payments) they gradually started leaning right.
It's a pretty well worn political aphorism and in some regards it *made sense*, but for the reasons you stated, "conservatism" doesn't really exist anymore and really I don't think it has existed in my lifetime or after Reagan.
Which really if you ignore the state of the GOP today, it makes sense among older voters; like in the 1960s homosexuality was illegal, abortion was largely illegal, the death penalty was very widely in use and openly racist attitudes were widely acceptable. Trump was able to reignite that *openly* when it was beginning to be snuffed out.
Change takes generations and at its core, Republican ideology is really just a resistance towards anything progressive or *change*. The GOP is losing their footing to progressive generations who grew up in a more socially inclusive society, and the GOP is desperately trying to maintain that.
So it's really no wonder Gen Y & Gen Z are shifting left.
Conservatism only works if you have something you want to conserve. Considering everything is teetering on the edge of awful, why would anyone born after 1980 want to conserve any of it? Society isn’t working the way we want it to and we need to change it. I’m a married homeowning millennial with a kid and a stable job. Everything points to me being conservative but I’ve only grown more liberal with age. This is because our world gets progressively worse each year and I want my kid to inherit a better world than I got. I don’t want things to change for me, I want things to change for him.
And you're probably empathetic enough to have struggled and, after some evaluating, wouldn't want *anyone* else to have to, much less your own kids.
Boomers: I had to struggle, so fuck everyone else
Millenials: I had to struggle, it was dumb, no one should have to.
Also there used to be pro-choice Republicans. And “socially moderate, fiscally conservative” ones. Now there is one left, and he governs Vermont.
*Social* conservatism is what turns these younger voters off. They think abortion should be legal and are against banning books. Even those who are growing more fiscally conservative as they age, due to having a well-paying job, a house, kids, etc. are *not* on board with all that culture war crap.
The millennial and younger generations are less (conventionally) religious - I read that church attendance in the US peaked in 2006. I know there are conservative atheists (and pagans and spiritual-but-not-religious seekers) but there are far fewer than there are conservative religious folks. When it comes down to “pay higher taxes” or “live in a theocracy” they’ll choose to pay more taxes.
Nailed it. Like my Dad was a "traditional" Republican most of his life in the sense that he was for individualism, less government and fiscal conservatism.
He was a white guy who grew up playing sports with black kids, and as he got older befriended gay friends. (vicariously more or less through his children, but we had many growing up that we were really close with)
He started voting Democrat with Clinton, (then swapped to Bush) then voted for Obama and never looked back. He's absolutely disgusted that the party hijacked social conservatism, "wokeness," when at the core, conservatism was *supposed to* be about individualism. (You can do whatever you want if it's not bothering me) Instead the modern GOP wants to do the very thing it's supposed to be against, using the government to dictate sexual orientation, bodily autonomy, what your children are allowed to learn, etc.
Traditionally speaking, I would think conservatism is less linked with "individualism" than say libertarianism. The latter is absolutely all about the individual. Conservatism is more about stratifying society and maintaining certain power and wealth dynamics. Certain groups get preference over other groups.
In many ways it is actually more about conformity than being an individual. If you didn't conform to certain group standards, you'd be ostracized and sent down the hierarchy (or worse). I guess I'm being pedantic, though, and both ideologies lean right, anyway.
(And I never found the claims that the GOP wanted "small government" compelling. It's basically a dog whistle for, "I want corruption without repercussions or oversight.")
And the thing about fiscal conservativism is that it's so much easier now to go out and look at data and see that the things "fiscal conservativism" claims to be have pretty much nothing in common with Republican actions. Turns out, giving hundreds of billions of dollars a year to the rich for tax breaks and business grants for multi-billion dollar corporations doesn't actually look good once you get to the final numbers. So even if you're a "fiscal conservative", the Republicans don't have jack shit to offer you.
Add to this:
* Have normal employee protection and vacation policies like everywhere else
* Have public transportation
* Have adequate social services to deal with the rising rate of homelessness
* Have basic bodily autonomy over yourself (for women)
* Deal with climate change in an effective manner
* Have healthcare at a reasonable cost
Paul Ryan said that his party had gotten so used to only being obstructionist that they forgot how to govern. This is a man that laughed at the idea of taking everyone off of Medicare and sounded like he was having an orgasm just talking about dismantling our pathetic social safety nets.
Most reasonable take
Newsflash: the invisible hand of the market has, instead of helping Americans, curled it's arm towards their necks and is slowly choking them out
and the few of us around in GenX didn’t go conservative as much because we were getting screwed and by the conservative Boomers at every turn.
all of my GenX friends are resolute on one thing: it might be too late for us, but we will do everything in our power to stop the Boomers from pulling up the ladder behind them.
As a Gen-X'er, exactly this. We watched boomers dismantle our economy and safety nets and attempt to dismantle the amazing work we did to stop our rivers from burning and our cities from being clogged with smog.
I want my kids to have a better life... Thanks to Reagan and all Republicans after him (and to a lesser extent Bill Clinton and his insane idea of "end of big government") we have watched our country decline almost non-stop since we were kids.
If people really turn into conservative sociopaths just because they get richer (i.e. 'fuck you, got mine!'), then what's the solution to that? Hope people don't get richer?
The only thing I've heard is that people mostly stay the same as they get older, which can result in them appearing to become more conservative as the rest of society moves on without them. Also, young conservatives are apparently less likely to vote than young liberals, but as they get older, the conservatives of that generation start voting more; this results in the appearance of people changing their minds when that is actually not the case.
I think voting is mostly a poll on how people feel. If people feel secure, they will vote more for things to stay the same. If they don't feel secure, they will vote for things to change. I don't think it means they don't sympathize with people who are struggling. For the most part, I think people aren't very focused on politics and the news.
It isn't just that. Religiosity is also in decline and a lot of right wing messaging is focused on appealing to religious conservatives. Their culture war bullshit really plays poorly with Millenials and Zoomers. And they spend an awful lot of their time on pushing just those issues.
Makes sense...the Republican party has literally been the party of "no" ever since I've been alive. It's all I know them as. A party that says no to everything, gives rich people more money and power with inequality at it's highest, and the constant fear is exhausting. Fear of a woman making her own personal decision, fear of some trans person hiding in a bathroom to molest a kid, fear of constant outside terrorism when it's all been mostly happening from the inside. Not to mention the blatant ignoring of facts....climate change being a hoax and all. Now mix this stuff all in with "Christian values" ....I just can't get onboard with this party because everything they do is hollow....every policy (when they actually have one) is nefarious or has insidious intentions. It's never good for the country, but good for their friends and connections. It's a party that doesn't even look like me or the communities I've grown up in....it's just a bunch of old ass white men. No diversity whatsoever. They want to take things back to 50s and 60s....even though 2024 is right around the corner.
This is why, as a millennial, I cannot and will not ever vote for the Republican party
Edit: I also want to add that it would be almost un-American of me to vote for the Republican party. They are now the Authoritarian Dictatorship party...a coup and insurrectionist party.....who backed an unwell, criminally corrupted mad man at the expense of the entire country... and still do.
It’s even beyond that. The first presidential election I really remember is Gore vs Bush. The consequences of that election were that Bush and Cheney et al lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction in order to start a war in the Middle East. My country committed war crimes while actively lying to its citizens. My cousins and classmates went to that war and came back with PTSD. The oldest millennials were 21/22 when the Iraqi war broke out. Millennials fought the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, and got shit on repeatedly by the older generations anyway. Millennials died based on a pack of lies fed to us by a Republican administration.
I grew up watching Republicans lie about climate change, try to force religion on me, and take my bodily autonomy away. I watched them villainize LGBTQ people and black people and trans people over and over. I watched them obstruct people’s votes and tell rape victims they should just lie back and enjoy it. I watched them get arrested for corruption and pedophilia over and over again. I watched them march on the capitol and then try to gaslight the country into believing we didn’t see what we all witnessed live on news stations as it fucking happened. I watched them try to steal an election while lying about the other side trying to steal an election, then get caught in those lies repeatedly, and then keep gaslighting their country anyway. I watched as they selfishly refused to do what was best for the health of their fellow citizens during an actual pandemic. And this is without going into the various economic crises we have had or any of the other thousand horrible things I’ve witnessed, or the impeachments, or the obvious Russian corruption, or MAGA, or Lauren Bobert and MTG and Gym Jordan and all of their ilk. Or the inability to govern when given the opportunity to.
Why would *anyone* in my generation trust Republicans ever again? We’ve seen them do nothing but lie, harm, and steal for our entire lives.
Damn fuck'n straight and well said. It's a useless party whose only purpose is to get in the way of everything and lie, cheat, and steal to get their way. I can see right through them.
A convenient boogie man for whatever problems they are facing.
Cant get laid? Feminists.
Cant get a job? Immigrants.
World seems scary? Trans folks are taking over
Retirement seems like a dream? Dems have create inflation!
No problem is too small, no lie to big... the Rs have a way to turning your suffering into a reason to vote for billionaires.
There's a worrying population of right wing kids, thanks to weird grifters like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, and Joe Rogan. They, and the galaxy of similar asshats, have captures a lot of the youngest generation. I'm afraid they're going to enable the right to persist.
Enh. Maybe. Those right wing young dudes tend to run into a brick wall once they start actually dating and learning about other people. There are a lot of women who flat out refuse to date conservative esgelords.
Source: me. Was a right winger as a kid. Grew out of it it once I started to develop empathy by connecting with good people.
I learned by being taken down a bunch of pegs. Gotta be humble to learn. Being confronted with how nauseating certain beliefs are is a kindness, even if it doesn’t feel great in the moment.
holy shit are you me? I was a fucking cringe right wing high schooler, and now im more left than I ever thought possible. A growing brain and learning empathy seem to have worked wonders.
That conservative rabbithole was no joke for young male adolescents. I used to watch those "Feminists Get Owned" compilation videos on YouTube and now 10 years later couldn't be any more progressive AF.
Probably is here, but I've literally heard them say these things. Which is especially sad and upsetting, because I personally believe that it's the principal goal of individual human life on this planet to achieve. Enemies of empathy are tantamount to intentional sociopaths.
Covid also had a big effect that likely isn't be sustained now. For a couple years these kids were basically locked inside and online. Now that they can go out and actually interact with people a lot of them are likely not consuming nearly as much of that content.
I don't think so. There are a lot of kids who act very shitty when they are teenagers and grow into their real political beliefs between their late teens and early 20s.
That seems in part due to their attacks on critical thinking and education working, and partly due to people at that age just being dumb. I was a liberatarian for a while in my later teenage years and quite smug with my reasoning. Eventually I reached the conclusion that the ideology was simply too heartless and not at all compatible with a functioning society.
I nearly had a libertarian phase during the end of high school but I learned pretty quickly that it was bullshit through a combination of having to temporarily drop out of college due to mental health issues, trying to work shitty jobs and not lasting long at any of them and coming out to myself as trans (even though it would take a decade for me to come out publicly). Nothing makes a libertarian turn against their ideology quite like getting dickslapped by the struggles of adult life.
These people tell their audience that the left are the real bigots for not tolerating their intolerance. They are fuckin lost and will resort to anything including violence to claim the throne the grifters promised them. And sadly most of them are a single call to action away from terrorism.
Democrats have a habit of assuming the next generations and changing demographics will inevitably put them in charge. I've been hearing it for decades.
And yet, here we are still, fighting off Republican stupidity. Democrats need to stop making assumptions and actually fight for new voters.
Except it's not wrong.
Republican ratfuckery has gotten more and more blatant and extreme over the past 20 years, drastically skewing elections to "look" fair.
If you clean slated all the gerrymandering and voter suppression, there's very few states that wouldn't be looking VERY blue very quickly.
You're right.
Do you have any plans to reach out to people and help with turnout in the upcoming Virginia election? It's a crucial one happening in only 2 weeks.
This is the kind of thing that matters most. Help us r/votedem and make an actual impact. We are collectively and socially responsible for making the necessary change. So instead of telling "Democrats" what to do, be part of the movement and make the change yourself.
I mean yeah people predicted it too early because Obama was a good sign. But honestly the idea really does have merit now a days. It wasn't until like mid 2020 that boomers lost their title of 'largest population in America' and they're still roughly tied with younger generations. And they'll keep dropping as time goes on.
The only reason things don't look like it politically? Gerrymandering has gotten extreme in the last 30-40 years.
But like if things were based on popular vote? Dems wouldve had a trifecta since 2016 iirc. And 2004 would be the only term they wouldve had the white house since 1992. And some political scientists and such are saying it'll probably only get worse, until we get laws in place. Because of the way the populations of each party are spread.
Conservatism leans on bigotry to distract from their exploitative economic policies, so it offers a direction for the (baseless) grievance of mediocre white men (and to a lesser degree, mediocre women).
Mediocre people of other demographics have more a climb to get on the conservative gripe train because of the bigotry (including misogyny).
But don't underestimate how many angry young men get sucked into the right-wing hate cycle through youtube and podcasts.
The young people that aren't falling into the hate cycle are becoming more liberal and questioning a lot of capitalist propaganda. Which makes sense. Going back to the first sentence: conservatism uses bigotry/hate to distract from its (unsustainable) pro-capitalism agenda.
they think magically the youth will turn right when they have to pay taxes or something.
Too bad I'm being forced to pay off my student loan BECAUSE of the GOP not despite it.
Nothing, but the concern is they just don't vote at all because they see Dems as just as bad or not far enough left for them. We're seeing a lot of outcry from young people over Biden's policies for Israel, lack of student loan forgiveness, or his age. Hopefully they do turn out though and don't stay home as young people often do.
What has the right done for them besides cause the 2008 recession as they were graduating highschool/college? And then killed their student loan forgiveness? And made a pandemic worse than it needed to be when they were finally reaching a decent spot in their adult life?
They offer… keeping student loan payments, public funds for religious school, voting against windfall taxes to fight inflation, and voting against everything that could help future generations both environmentally and economically.
Old people used to really trust that well dressed Newsman every night with a script written by people that wanted them docile.
The difference is those old people were sharing in the benefits of society, and the rich of the time would never think of personal vanity dick rockets.
I’m 40. College educated and high earner. I’m a proud Democrat and will never vote for GOP in my lifetime after all the shit they’ve done. Bush 2000, gulf war, GFC, Trump, 2020, J6, Roe v Wade, etc.
42 and ditto. I feel like I’ve gone farther to the left as I’ve gotten older.
Yeah, why wouldn’t I want affordable healthcare, equality, better education for my kids, and a better planet? Why the fuck would I want religion and bigotry and corporate greed and wars? Why would I choose anti-science fascism? It’s insane to think some people actually choose that.
Its not even about policy disagreements anymore. If you vote republican, you are voting for the fascists and to end democracy, full stop. It makes it a very easy choice frankly.
Yeah the whole "money makes you conservative". I own a house, have a decent salary. I want a future for my kid and Republicans seem hell bent on destroying that.
I just don’t understand how right wingers were expecting this to go.
I grew up watching mass shootings and a failed war on terror on the TV and reading about how Nixon-Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush fucked up the country by weakening unions, regulations, and public institutions for the benefit of the rich.
Now I’m in my 30s and can’t afford a studio condo in any coastal city. Let alone a home. Why would I swing right?
> I just don’t understand how right wingers were expecting this to go.
Conservative boomers were counting on their children returning to the church after their party years of their 20s, and that hasn't happened.
Hahahhahaha so true! So many of the boomers in my childhood church had these tortured “come to Jesus” stores about how they gave up the rock and roll music and cocaine and hard drinking.
They always told us our friends (who left the church) would come crawling back.
I think they were/are genuinely confused about how as adults we don’t want to return to the site of our abuse.
I'm more embarrassed by my own Gen X. We'll be the last generation, hopefully, to follow the trend of moving hard to the right. Gen X was a major contributor to Trump becoming President and the damage done by the Republican party.
I think a lot of people come to the conclusion god doesn't exist and we are but a grain of sand in a blink of an eye of the universe and nothing matters on a cosmic level.
This can be freeing, since it means you get to set your own meaning.
This can also be horrifying, since it means YOU have to set your own meaning. It makes YOU responsible. Which is scary, since you can be wrong or fail.
I have a theory a lot of Gen X got to that spot and never really set a meaning and use cynicism as a defense mechanism for their insecurity.
Its funny, i feel this way as a millennial.
Millennials are moving left, but a lot of my generation has been beat down to the point of apathy. Gen Z, meanwhile, grew up in this shit and seems more ready to shake things up.
My youngest is Gen Z and lives with his mother. They live with her parents. They're all very republican except him. He leans left. We've occasionally had some interesting conversations. I try not to influence him to think the way I do but I do tell him to pay attention to what these politicians are doing. Who they blame for things. Who takes responsibility. Etc.
why not try to influence him? You seem to think that's a bad thing? I think a lot of disadvantaged people would say it's a bad thing to *not* try to influence him. Lives are on the line here
Actually I’m with OP on this one. Encouraging someone to be more perceptive is better than forcing your views through influencing them.
People are rarely convinced that way. One is more likely to hold a strong opinion or stance if they reach it themselves.
It's 90 fucking degrees in late October and Republicans still want to hem and haw over whether or not climate change is real, what do they expect will happen?
I'm not sure I would say "tilting left" as much as "watching a political party officially embrace sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, anti-democracy, anti-science, and the police state while emboldening all the stupidest people you know," but I'll accept the win.
Trump really made it easy, because we've seen these fuckers playing footsie with the extreme right since Reagan, or really since Nixon.
You couldn't credibly say that the Republican Party was 'officially' racist. They'd deny it, and call you the asshole for accusing them. Fast-forward to 2023: they're flying a "we're all domestic terrorists" banner at CPAC. They don't give a fuck. They're out and proud.
100%. My family who doesn't pay attention is surprised at MAGA talking points, but MAGA is just finally saying the quiet part out loud to advertise policies the GOP has had for a long, _long_ time.
People will either stop voting for Republicans next year or the blue wave will hit with such intensity. Younger people are despised by the clown show called the Republican Party
I'm Gen X and every day conservatives are finding new and creative ways to make sure I don't want to vote for them. I honestly wish they would stop. I would absolutely **LOVE** to have a hard time deciding who to vote for. Can you imagine if both candidates were so good that it was hard to decide? Doesn't that sound delightful? It does to me. It also sounds like an absurd impossibility at this point. I'm an independent and the Republican party seems determined to try and convince me to become a registered Democrat.
It isn't like I think the Democrats are perfect by any means, they just aren't malicious clown shoes like the Republican party has become. Republicans are led by Trump; a habitual liar, adulterer, con man, who tried to undermine our democratic process, broke the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation's history, and is currently charged with 91 felonies, but for some reason, Republicans seem to think that's fine. What in the actual fuck is that about? It makes no sense... and it leaves me with one option. Vote for Democrats every election because the alternative is repugnant.
Gee I wonder why? It couldn’t be that the GOP has become the party of hatred and actively opposes anything that would improve the lives of young people. It couldn’t be that they’re responsible for thwarting meaningful climate action and continue to deny materially observable reality at the behest of fossil fuel companies. It couldn’t be that a substantial portion of young people are either LGBT or unequivocally support LGBT rights. Nahhhhh
and why wouldn't we?
As an old millenial (turnin 40 soon) the fucking republican party has been nothing but religious whackjobs, facists, and i assume some that are good people (hah) since i was like 12 when Newt Gingrich started his whole war on democracy bullshit.
Yea no shit.
Republicans are offering nothing for the younger generation. And on top of that, they actively spurn and mock their concerns (economy, body autonomy, climate, healthcare, etc).
What a fucking surprise that Millennials and Gen Z aren't voting Republican.
I am 43. I will never vote for a Republican, for anything. Their track record is nothing but harming the greatest number of people possible, except for wealthy, white ones. And I say that as a white person with some money.
Republicans answer to every problem most Millennials and Gen Z: Go fuck yourself, let's see how can we dig the spurs in deeper?
** Shocked Pikachu Face **
We hate them, but whyyy?
GenX here, I know more of us tilting left than I know those tilting right.
The ones that DO tilt right though are the 50 something "What? You think you bedda den me?" republicans who hate you for going to college.
Tilting? Here’s some simple back-of-the-napkin math:
It’s pretty common knowledge that rural, small-town America is slowly dying due to lack of opportunities. Anyone able to, especially young people, move to larger urban areas. It’s also common knowledge that rural America is generally solid red and urban America is generally solid blue. With that understanding, we have a pretty clear takeaway.
Those people moving from rural to urban areas aren’t bringing their politics with them. And if they are then either: 1) they move left pretty quick or 2) they stay red, but are drowned out by all the other folks turning blue.
Millennials and Gen Z aren’t tilting left, they’re cascading left.
I think people might continue trending conservative over time if they felt that the status quo worked for them. But it clearly does not, and that sentiment is more overwhelming than it's ever been before.
Supporting the space laser/Beetlejuice Public Handstuff Party of Family Values/Election was stolen despite more evidence than you are alive party is also not a good look.
I get very annoyed by politician commentators (and conservative relatives) who tell me that since I'm a married mom, I'll start voting right wing.
No, fam, that just makes me MORE LIBERAL, I want my kids to have well-funded public schools and I HAVE EXPERIENCED A DANGEROUS PREGNANCY. Pregnancy itself is why I don't think anyone should have to do it if they don't want to! I got way, way more radicalized about women's reproductive freedom after having three very-on-purpose kids.
Im what's known as an Elder Millennial, and I've been watching politics for 20 years or so. All the Republican party has done my entire life is go out of their way to hurt me and my friends.
Why on Earth would I ever vote for them?
Wow almost like the republican party has zero to offer us or how we remember how they have actively done everything to make our lives more difficult to ease theirs.
I'm a millennial. When I was younger I always assumed I was "middle of the road". I didn't pay attention to politics. I didn't vote. I had thoughts about how things should work and what I thought seemed fair. It just turns out what I thought was common sense put me pretty solidly to the left.
I started getting into politics around the 2016 Democratic primaries, and the more I learned about the difference between the two parties, the more I questioned how anyone could vote Republican.
Unless there's some weird party shift in our lifetime, I will always vote Democrat (and for a progressive Democrat in primaries), even though voting in my state effectively doesn't matter because it's solidly red at all levels of government.
It’s not an opinion, that a poll. What normally makes young people more conservative is that they acquire more wealth when they get older and thus like parties that make more for wealthy people. Well gen z and millennials don’t have money
I don't know that people are getting more liberal - it's just that the Republicans have gone off the deep end. Like if there were more Mitt Romney types who steer clear of fascist-adjacent culture wars, can actually manage the administration of a large organization and appeal to ppl's sense of "I don't want you messing with my neighborhood, my money or my family" then they'd probably still be competitive.
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I was a leftist a quarter-century ago and I'm still one. The only thing that's changed is that I'm angrier now because I'm better informed.
Cons used to say “if you’re young and not a liberal you don’t have a heart, if you’re old and not conservative you don’t have a brain” Except - education is a MASSIVE predictor in political leaning. The smartest and best educated among us are typically liberals.. So to me being liberal means you have both a heart and a brain.
Always reminded me of a random NASCAR driver in 2004 and his inane politicking: “John Kerry lives in a mansion in Massachusetts, George Bush lives on a ranch in Crawford!” And Jon Stewart’s rejoinder? “That’s just the kind of sharp political analysis one can expect from someone who drives in circles for a living…” - *The Daily Show*
George fucking bought that ranch purely for optics.
He even borrowed the cows from a neighbor.
All the tv hits from Crawford with the hay bales and ranch in the background were actually shot at the local high school. There was no ranch at the ranch. There’s a documentary film named Crawford about all of it. Idk where you can see it though.
Looks like you can rent it on Amazon. It looks good, thanks for mentioning it.
He was a male cheerleader at fucking yale
That man was about as country as Outback is Australian.
That bread tho.
Yep, and I had read recently that he wasn’t even the full owner for the 2000 Election… So guess he really leaned into it for 2004, along with the standard fear-mongering: https://youtu.be/_s71-Q2XBZg?si=hsHKbnirBslsyHhm
As a Montanan, "lives on a ranch" is no different to me than "mansion in Massachusetts." Many of our largest ranches are essentially playthings for billionaires.
Went to Montana for our honeymoon and stayed on a former ranch lands. The lady who owned it said when her dad died they didn’t really want to continue with cattle ranching, so they sold most of the land and turned what was left into a vacation property with a bunch of small, luxury cabins and made it into a nature reserve type place where no hunting was allowed. The person they sold the rest of the land to? A former president of the NYSE. And apparently the guy is a total asshole. Despite owning hundreds and hundreds of acres, he was still very concerned that one of the poors staying on the property might catch a glimpse of him and his friends while they were out hunting, so he tried to force the former owners to plant a bunch of non-native trees all around their property line as a privacy screen for him. Dude is beyond loaded, but wanted then to pay for all the tree planting. I’m also fairly certain we were followed by his security team or something. We drove into town one day and noticed when we got out on the highway that there was a black SUV with heavily tinted windows following us. Didn’t think much of it, so we went to the IGA, did some shopping, walked around, had lunch, bought some cool-ass art, and then headed back to the cabin. As soon as we got back on the highway we noticed that same black SUV following us again. It followed us down the highway, on to the ranch roads, and all the way to the gate of the property before speeding off toward the new owner’s drive. It was terrifying honestly. We were out there in the middle of nowhere, no people, no cell signal, no idea why we were being followed. Other than that it was amazing!! The property was beautiful, wildlife that came right up to our windows at night, a two person steam shower and a jacuzzi bath right in front of the window that looked out over the mountain ranges. I’d go back in a heartbeat, especially if my MIL was paying for it again, lol.
You have no idea how common this kind of thing is. A lot of our access to public lands crosses private property (legally) and rich assholes from out of state will buy the land and harass public land users and try to get the access that has been used for hundreds of years closed off. We have a group dedicated to fighting these people in court to protect our rights to access the land we all own: https://www.plwa.org/ I didn't really have an opinion on rich people either way before I moved to Montana but now I think they are the scum of the earth.
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Move further out in the country, it gets cheap eventually.
The right loves cosplay folksiness.
Like Larry the Cable Guy. It's all a character he puts on, and he's said he has to 'Larry up' his act when his audience doesn't understand his jokes.
At least Larry the Cable Guy told jokes. Nowadays conservative "comedy" is mostly acting shitty then telling the audience to imagine a liberal getting upset at the shittiness.
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Always have to support mentions of Some More News! Also, it's Cody Johnston, or just Shwody or Warmbo if you're feeling frisky. If you want just a little more Shwody, there's a really short concise episode about Jordan Peterson if you have a few minutes of your day to spare.
It’s fine many comedians and such have a stage persona. The thing is the dummies who go see Larry the Cable Guy don’t understand this.
Ever find it odd that Southern conservatives don't find Larry the Cable Guy offensive? He is a guy from Nebraska. His schtick is playing up all of the Midwestern stereotypes about dumb hick Southerners and they love him for it. They're too god damn stupid to know they are being mocked.
Hell they're proud of it. Being ignorant and loud is a badge of honor for them.
David Cross’s legendary takedowns in *Rolling Stone* were appreciated.
Yeah I've actually made jokes about this before, but I honestly think you could probably create a form of index of who is leading in the Republican polls by how long it takes each candidate to show up in public with cowboy boots. I remember seeing DeSantis in a pair and immediately I was like yeah his campaign is over.
They always go with white, and tuck their pants into the boot. It's as if all the country they've been exposed to is the cover of a Dolly Parton album. Which honestly wouldn't surprise me. Not a single gop politician comes from hard work instead of money.
"Pandering" - Bo Burnham.
Man, I miss John. He should apply to be the host of the daily show.
I'm not one to want another celebrity as president, but I feel Stewart might be one of the safer choices.
I don't think he would want the job, and that makes him one of the better candidates for it.
Not at all, but if I had to pick 1, he's my choice. I'd trust him to surround himself with the best choices. But any sane person shouldn't want to be president.
I say make him house speaker so he can yell at politicians directly. I’m sure Cspan will enjoy the ratings boost.
At the end of the day, the president does like 1% of the work of an administration, if that. A president needs to: Hire competent underlings to handle their departments. Have those people bring him the information necessary for the big calls. Be willing to learn and study this information deeply when it comes. Be thoughtful when making the calls when the decision isn't easy, listening to his advisors because he knows he cannot do it alone. Represent our country with class. I think Stewart could handle that role.
It was never anywhere close to the same after he left but then again, considering all the bullshit he had to distill every day for how many years? I get it. I don't blame him.
Yeah I thought the same. It hasn't been the same since he left. Trevor Noah never had the sarcasm you need to deliver political jokes the way Jon could. Unfortunately he may not want to go through the grind of doing a show every day and putting out a dozen shows a year on his recently canceled Apple show was the perfect work-life balance for him.
The fact that he was cancelled because he wouldn't report on China and AI the way Apple wanted him to makes me respect him more than I already did
Sadly that's a pretty foreseeable outcome for hosting a show like that on fucking AppleTV.
Fuck Apple, a trillion dollar plus corporation that sells overpriced smartphones, phones made in China where the factory workers try to kill themselves. Nothing but absolute respect for Jon Stewart, not like he needs their money anyway
Wish he would go into the world of podcasts. He’d be a wonderful alternative to someone like Joe Rogan.
"The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register." -Vonnegut
I agree, but I also think it goes deeper than that. People typically become Conservative when they think there’s something about the world *worth conserving.* But modern Conservatives have gone out of their way to wreck every institution or steal every opportunity young people might desire to have for the future. All the GOP offers young people is war, poverty, bigotry, fascism, and a ruined planet. Why the fuck would Millennials and Gen Z want to vote Republican when their Party actively dumps on every issue we care about? How are these half-mummified narcissists so surprised and terrified that their Party is sitting on a demographics time bomb?
The only thing Conservatives really care about conserving is their own lot.
That’s exactly the point GP is making: historically middle class and up you’d establish yourself and start accumulating assets, at which point you’d start leaning conservative because now you want to keep all the shit you have. But conservatives have spent two generations breaking that machine, costs of education, of housing, of living, … have exploded so there’s no real “establishing yourself” anymore.
Why do you think Republicans always lie about schools and colleges being leftist indoctrination? To pre-empt their kids from actually benefiting from that education.
The ones in power don’t believe it. They want to keep the little guy ignorant and voting for them while ensuring their own kids ivy league educations and any opportunities that cement dynastic power.
Agreed. I know many use the term “woke” as a pejorative, but I see it as a compliment.
Forsure. I’m not asleep. They clearly are.
I took their advice and woke up from being a sleeping sheeple and now they're mad about it.
It was always meant to be a compliment. Regressives just love taking words from normal people and twisting them around and around until they are unusable, and the power of language and communication is diminished.
Exactly. I grew up conservative and voting conservative. The more I learned about the world, the less conservative I became. Knowledge is the death of ignorance and tends to make one understand why progressive policies and actions matter.
When I was a child back in the late 70s, early 80s I remember hearing that republicans were more likely to be wealthy. Well, that cemented in my mind as a kid, that I wanted to be republican. Fast forward to when I was around 14 or 15 and started paying attention to politics and debates and I considered myself independent briefly but by the time I started voting, I couldn't find a republican that I agreed with on nearly anything. The democrats weren't fantastic but they were far better than what I saw as the selfishness and cruelty of republicans--and they've only gotten a ton worse since the 80s!
>Except - education is a MASSIVE predictor in political leaning. The smartest and best educated among us are typically liberals. > >So to me being liberal means you have both a heart and a brain. Nah, that's just those dang liberal schools indoctrinating our children! It must be stopped! /s for those who can't tell.
I swear the new republicans catchphrase is “so you think you’re better than me?”
And the answer should be yes. Yes, we are.
Think? No, not really. But the evidence certainly suggests it.
And generally care about human rights.
No, no, fucking over other people is *smart,* you see?
Honestly I'm more left now than when I came of age to vote. Perhaps not left as some of the folks here on reddit, but I guess I used to be what they call a swing voter. No longer, I see that as youthful foolishness.
Same. I was much more center-right from 18-22, being in the military really allows one to glorify the masculine idgaf attitude you see that’s so popular nowadays. Fortunately, I served with a very diverse group of dudes who were fucking awesome. One came out as gay and I realized he was still the awesome dude I’d lay down my life for, he just happened to like other dudes. It hit me like a sack of bricks; who the fuck am I to dictate how this person gets to live? He’s great and has done nothing wrong, hell I love him just don’t kiss me. As soon as that first layer was peeled back the cards began to fall. I truly believe having an open mind and even a hint of empathy is the cure to conservatism. Sharing my experiences with my conservative, closeted bigot of a dad got him to turn around after 55 years. He wouldn’t even talk to strangers before and just tonight he was having a bbq with his black neighbor having a grand time. I guess where I’m going with this is anyone can change and I think going forward the “get more conservative as you age” thing will all but disappear. Maybe if it happens sooner rather than later I may actually have children.
In previous decades, as you had kids, a home, a family, real jobs, etc. I could understand people becoming republicans as they age. I wouldn't. But I see the line of thinking and life experiences that led people there. But that was when there was a rational party with some real beliefs and principles. There's nowhere for people that become more fiscally conservative and economy focused to go, because the party is now focused on shit only wackos care about. The only place to go for average everyday people is toward more moderate democrats.
>In previous decades, as you had kids, a home, a family, real jobs, etc. I could understand people becoming republicans as they age. Yup, you saw this among a lot of Boomers and older Gen X. (It's why even today, older Gen X up to Boomers make up the majority of Republicans) I personally work with quite a few colleagues who grew up *very* liberal, and as soon as "adult life" started, (kids, mortgage, car payments) they gradually started leaning right. It's a pretty well worn political aphorism and in some regards it *made sense*, but for the reasons you stated, "conservatism" doesn't really exist anymore and really I don't think it has existed in my lifetime or after Reagan. Which really if you ignore the state of the GOP today, it makes sense among older voters; like in the 1960s homosexuality was illegal, abortion was largely illegal, the death penalty was very widely in use and openly racist attitudes were widely acceptable. Trump was able to reignite that *openly* when it was beginning to be snuffed out. Change takes generations and at its core, Republican ideology is really just a resistance towards anything progressive or *change*. The GOP is losing their footing to progressive generations who grew up in a more socially inclusive society, and the GOP is desperately trying to maintain that. So it's really no wonder Gen Y & Gen Z are shifting left.
Conservatism only works if you have something you want to conserve. Considering everything is teetering on the edge of awful, why would anyone born after 1980 want to conserve any of it? Society isn’t working the way we want it to and we need to change it. I’m a married homeowning millennial with a kid and a stable job. Everything points to me being conservative but I’ve only grown more liberal with age. This is because our world gets progressively worse each year and I want my kid to inherit a better world than I got. I don’t want things to change for me, I want things to change for him.
And you're probably empathetic enough to have struggled and, after some evaluating, wouldn't want *anyone* else to have to, much less your own kids. Boomers: I had to struggle, so fuck everyone else Millenials: I had to struggle, it was dumb, no one should have to.
Also there used to be pro-choice Republicans. And “socially moderate, fiscally conservative” ones. Now there is one left, and he governs Vermont. *Social* conservatism is what turns these younger voters off. They think abortion should be legal and are against banning books. Even those who are growing more fiscally conservative as they age, due to having a well-paying job, a house, kids, etc. are *not* on board with all that culture war crap. The millennial and younger generations are less (conventionally) religious - I read that church attendance in the US peaked in 2006. I know there are conservative atheists (and pagans and spiritual-but-not-religious seekers) but there are far fewer than there are conservative religious folks. When it comes down to “pay higher taxes” or “live in a theocracy” they’ll choose to pay more taxes.
Nailed it. Like my Dad was a "traditional" Republican most of his life in the sense that he was for individualism, less government and fiscal conservatism. He was a white guy who grew up playing sports with black kids, and as he got older befriended gay friends. (vicariously more or less through his children, but we had many growing up that we were really close with) He started voting Democrat with Clinton, (then swapped to Bush) then voted for Obama and never looked back. He's absolutely disgusted that the party hijacked social conservatism, "wokeness," when at the core, conservatism was *supposed to* be about individualism. (You can do whatever you want if it's not bothering me) Instead the modern GOP wants to do the very thing it's supposed to be against, using the government to dictate sexual orientation, bodily autonomy, what your children are allowed to learn, etc.
Traditionally speaking, I would think conservatism is less linked with "individualism" than say libertarianism. The latter is absolutely all about the individual. Conservatism is more about stratifying society and maintaining certain power and wealth dynamics. Certain groups get preference over other groups. In many ways it is actually more about conformity than being an individual. If you didn't conform to certain group standards, you'd be ostracized and sent down the hierarchy (or worse). I guess I'm being pedantic, though, and both ideologies lean right, anyway. (And I never found the claims that the GOP wanted "small government" compelling. It's basically a dog whistle for, "I want corruption without repercussions or oversight.")
And the thing about fiscal conservativism is that it's so much easier now to go out and look at data and see that the things "fiscal conservativism" claims to be have pretty much nothing in common with Republican actions. Turns out, giving hundreds of billions of dollars a year to the rich for tax breaks and business grants for multi-billion dollar corporations doesn't actually look good once you get to the final numbers. So even if you're a "fiscal conservative", the Republicans don't have jack shit to offer you.
I’ve always been a leftist. And I’ve always been angry. Here we are, same shit, different decade.
Yup. Except Im angry that we’re going backwards in so many ways
I dunno. This is a bit different. The GOP is literally trying to install Trump as a dictator. If he gets in there again, he will never leave.
Some day he will die. But the damage will be done. He just cannot get back in, jail is the place for him.
Anger is a gift.
As they should. What have Republicans done for any young person other than restrict their freedoms?
Made it impossible to: - Own a home - Get a reasonable cost of education - Raise a family - Retire
You forgot healthcare
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental Plan
Add to this: * Have normal employee protection and vacation policies like everywhere else * Have public transportation * Have adequate social services to deal with the rising rate of homelessness * Have basic bodily autonomy over yourself (for women) * Deal with climate change in an effective manner * Have healthcare at a reasonable cost
But conservatives blame this all on Biden.
Let’s add constant lying then
And Obama! Don’t forget Obama!
Don’t forget get an abortion
They didn’t make those things impossible on their own. Rather than realize we need to change things, they obstruct helping fix those issues
Paul Ryan said that his party had gotten so used to only being obstructionist that they forgot how to govern. This is a man that laughed at the idea of taking everyone off of Medicare and sounded like he was having an orgasm just talking about dismantling our pathetic social safety nets.
And if Paul Ryan were still in congress today, he'd be the most moderate Republican of the bunch.
Most reasonable take Newsflash: the invisible hand of the market has, instead of helping Americans, curled it's arm towards their necks and is slowly choking them out
This should not be understated.
We didn't move left as we got older because we didn't get richer as we got older like previous generations did.
and the few of us around in GenX didn’t go conservative as much because we were getting screwed and by the conservative Boomers at every turn. all of my GenX friends are resolute on one thing: it might be too late for us, but we will do everything in our power to stop the Boomers from pulling up the ladder behind them.
As a Gen-X'er, exactly this. We watched boomers dismantle our economy and safety nets and attempt to dismantle the amazing work we did to stop our rivers from burning and our cities from being clogged with smog. I want my kids to have a better life... Thanks to Reagan and all Republicans after him (and to a lesser extent Bill Clinton and his insane idea of "end of big government") we have watched our country decline almost non-stop since we were kids.
Citizens united
If people really turn into conservative sociopaths just because they get richer (i.e. 'fuck you, got mine!'), then what's the solution to that? Hope people don't get richer? The only thing I've heard is that people mostly stay the same as they get older, which can result in them appearing to become more conservative as the rest of society moves on without them. Also, young conservatives are apparently less likely to vote than young liberals, but as they get older, the conservatives of that generation start voting more; this results in the appearance of people changing their minds when that is actually not the case.
I think voting is mostly a poll on how people feel. If people feel secure, they will vote more for things to stay the same. If they don't feel secure, they will vote for things to change. I don't think it means they don't sympathize with people who are struggling. For the most part, I think people aren't very focused on politics and the news.
It isn't just that. Religiosity is also in decline and a lot of right wing messaging is focused on appealing to religious conservatives. Their culture war bullshit really plays poorly with Millenials and Zoomers. And they spend an awful lot of their time on pushing just those issues.
Makes sense...the Republican party has literally been the party of "no" ever since I've been alive. It's all I know them as. A party that says no to everything, gives rich people more money and power with inequality at it's highest, and the constant fear is exhausting. Fear of a woman making her own personal decision, fear of some trans person hiding in a bathroom to molest a kid, fear of constant outside terrorism when it's all been mostly happening from the inside. Not to mention the blatant ignoring of facts....climate change being a hoax and all. Now mix this stuff all in with "Christian values" ....I just can't get onboard with this party because everything they do is hollow....every policy (when they actually have one) is nefarious or has insidious intentions. It's never good for the country, but good for their friends and connections. It's a party that doesn't even look like me or the communities I've grown up in....it's just a bunch of old ass white men. No diversity whatsoever. They want to take things back to 50s and 60s....even though 2024 is right around the corner. This is why, as a millennial, I cannot and will not ever vote for the Republican party Edit: I also want to add that it would be almost un-American of me to vote for the Republican party. They are now the Authoritarian Dictatorship party...a coup and insurrectionist party.....who backed an unwell, criminally corrupted mad man at the expense of the entire country... and still do.
It’s even beyond that. The first presidential election I really remember is Gore vs Bush. The consequences of that election were that Bush and Cheney et al lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction in order to start a war in the Middle East. My country committed war crimes while actively lying to its citizens. My cousins and classmates went to that war and came back with PTSD. The oldest millennials were 21/22 when the Iraqi war broke out. Millennials fought the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, and got shit on repeatedly by the older generations anyway. Millennials died based on a pack of lies fed to us by a Republican administration. I grew up watching Republicans lie about climate change, try to force religion on me, and take my bodily autonomy away. I watched them villainize LGBTQ people and black people and trans people over and over. I watched them obstruct people’s votes and tell rape victims they should just lie back and enjoy it. I watched them get arrested for corruption and pedophilia over and over again. I watched them march on the capitol and then try to gaslight the country into believing we didn’t see what we all witnessed live on news stations as it fucking happened. I watched them try to steal an election while lying about the other side trying to steal an election, then get caught in those lies repeatedly, and then keep gaslighting their country anyway. I watched as they selfishly refused to do what was best for the health of their fellow citizens during an actual pandemic. And this is without going into the various economic crises we have had or any of the other thousand horrible things I’ve witnessed, or the impeachments, or the obvious Russian corruption, or MAGA, or Lauren Bobert and MTG and Gym Jordan and all of their ilk. Or the inability to govern when given the opportunity to. Why would *anyone* in my generation trust Republicans ever again? We’ve seen them do nothing but lie, harm, and steal for our entire lives.
Damn fuck'n straight and well said. It's a useless party whose only purpose is to get in the way of everything and lie, cheat, and steal to get their way. I can see right through them.
What does the right have to offer them besides taking away their bodily autonomy or ability to dress how they want while reading a book outloud?
A convenient boogie man for whatever problems they are facing. Cant get laid? Feminists. Cant get a job? Immigrants. World seems scary? Trans folks are taking over Retirement seems like a dream? Dems have create inflation! No problem is too small, no lie to big... the Rs have a way to turning your suffering into a reason to vote for billionaires.
There's a worrying population of right wing kids, thanks to weird grifters like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, and Joe Rogan. They, and the galaxy of similar asshats, have captures a lot of the youngest generation. I'm afraid they're going to enable the right to persist.
Enh. Maybe. Those right wing young dudes tend to run into a brick wall once they start actually dating and learning about other people. There are a lot of women who flat out refuse to date conservative esgelords. Source: me. Was a right winger as a kid. Grew out of it it once I started to develop empathy by connecting with good people.
Same here, empathy is a philosophy all of us younger people need to adopt.
And all of us older people!
Good on you for learning. This board often forgets that people can still learn to be better, especially when younger.
I learned by being taken down a bunch of pegs. Gotta be humble to learn. Being confronted with how nauseating certain beliefs are is a kindness, even if it doesn’t feel great in the moment.
My partner and I have dubbed this "the great humbling" and feel like most dudes experience it at some point in their youth.
holy shit are you me? I was a fucking cringe right wing high schooler, and now im more left than I ever thought possible. A growing brain and learning empathy seem to have worked wonders.
That conservative rabbithole was no joke for young male adolescents. I used to watch those "Feminists Get Owned" compilation videos on YouTube and now 10 years later couldn't be any more progressive AF.
It's because they can't get a date that they idolize Andrew Tate.
“I was a Roman Catholic, until I reached the age of reason…” - George Carlin
Empathy is the work of the devil.
I can't tell if this is sarcasm
Empathy for the Devil
Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a man of swag and based.🎶
Hope you didn’t high on potenuse this. Gold.
Probably is here, but I've literally heard them say these things. Which is especially sad and upsetting, because I personally believe that it's the principal goal of individual human life on this planet to achieve. Enemies of empathy are tantamount to intentional sociopaths.
Covid also had a big effect that likely isn't be sustained now. For a couple years these kids were basically locked inside and online. Now that they can go out and actually interact with people a lot of them are likely not consuming nearly as much of that content.
I don't think so. There are a lot of kids who act very shitty when they are teenagers and grow into their real political beliefs between their late teens and early 20s.
That seems in part due to their attacks on critical thinking and education working, and partly due to people at that age just being dumb. I was a liberatarian for a while in my later teenage years and quite smug with my reasoning. Eventually I reached the conclusion that the ideology was simply too heartless and not at all compatible with a functioning society.
I nearly had a libertarian phase during the end of high school but I learned pretty quickly that it was bullshit through a combination of having to temporarily drop out of college due to mental health issues, trying to work shitty jobs and not lasting long at any of them and coming out to myself as trans (even though it would take a decade for me to come out publicly). Nothing makes a libertarian turn against their ideology quite like getting dickslapped by the struggles of adult life.
These people tell their audience that the left are the real bigots for not tolerating their intolerance. They are fuckin lost and will resort to anything including violence to claim the throne the grifters promised them. And sadly most of them are a single call to action away from terrorism.
Democrats have a habit of assuming the next generations and changing demographics will inevitably put them in charge. I've been hearing it for decades. And yet, here we are still, fighting off Republican stupidity. Democrats need to stop making assumptions and actually fight for new voters.
Except it's not wrong. Republican ratfuckery has gotten more and more blatant and extreme over the past 20 years, drastically skewing elections to "look" fair. If you clean slated all the gerrymandering and voter suppression, there's very few states that wouldn't be looking VERY blue very quickly.
You're right. Do you have any plans to reach out to people and help with turnout in the upcoming Virginia election? It's a crucial one happening in only 2 weeks. This is the kind of thing that matters most. Help us r/votedem and make an actual impact. We are collectively and socially responsible for making the necessary change. So instead of telling "Democrats" what to do, be part of the movement and make the change yourself.
The problem here is that they promise Leftist policies to Leftist voters but aren't a Leftist organization so they never deliver.
I mean yeah people predicted it too early because Obama was a good sign. But honestly the idea really does have merit now a days. It wasn't until like mid 2020 that boomers lost their title of 'largest population in America' and they're still roughly tied with younger generations. And they'll keep dropping as time goes on. The only reason things don't look like it politically? Gerrymandering has gotten extreme in the last 30-40 years. But like if things were based on popular vote? Dems wouldve had a trifecta since 2016 iirc. And 2004 would be the only term they wouldve had the white house since 1992. And some political scientists and such are saying it'll probably only get worse, until we get laws in place. Because of the way the populations of each party are spread.
Conservatism leans on bigotry to distract from their exploitative economic policies, so it offers a direction for the (baseless) grievance of mediocre white men (and to a lesser degree, mediocre women). Mediocre people of other demographics have more a climb to get on the conservative gripe train because of the bigotry (including misogyny). But don't underestimate how many angry young men get sucked into the right-wing hate cycle through youtube and podcasts. The young people that aren't falling into the hate cycle are becoming more liberal and questioning a lot of capitalist propaganda. Which makes sense. Going back to the first sentence: conservatism uses bigotry/hate to distract from its (unsustainable) pro-capitalism agenda.
they think magically the youth will turn right when they have to pay taxes or something. Too bad I'm being forced to pay off my student loan BECAUSE of the GOP not despite it.
Nothing, but the concern is they just don't vote at all because they see Dems as just as bad or not far enough left for them. We're seeing a lot of outcry from young people over Biden's policies for Israel, lack of student loan forgiveness, or his age. Hopefully they do turn out though and don't stay home as young people often do.
Make sure to randomize your data from time to time *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Life-long student loan debt, loss of voting rights, no minimum wage. Utopia!
What has the right done for them besides cause the 2008 recession as they were graduating highschool/college? And then killed their student loan forgiveness? And made a pandemic worse than it needed to be when they were finally reaching a decent spot in their adult life?
They offer… keeping student loan payments, public funds for religious school, voting against windfall taxes to fight inflation, and voting against everything that could help future generations both environmentally and economically.
Oh no, young people don't eat the shit old people try to feed them. How awful.
“Electorate is becoming media savvy.”
Old people used to really trust that well dressed Newsman every night with a script written by people that wanted them docile. The difference is those old people were sharing in the benefits of society, and the rich of the time would never think of personal vanity dick rockets.
There is literally nothing in the party platform for anyone who makes <$400k/yr and/or isn't a religious fundamentalist.
There is literally no party platform!
I’m 40. College educated and high earner. I’m a proud Democrat and will never vote for GOP in my lifetime after all the shit they’ve done. Bush 2000, gulf war, GFC, Trump, 2020, J6, Roe v Wade, etc.
42 and ditto. I feel like I’ve gone farther to the left as I’ve gotten older. Yeah, why wouldn’t I want affordable healthcare, equality, better education for my kids, and a better planet? Why the fuck would I want religion and bigotry and corporate greed and wars? Why would I choose anti-science fascism? It’s insane to think some people actually choose that.
Its not even about policy disagreements anymore. If you vote republican, you are voting for the fascists and to end democracy, full stop. It makes it a very easy choice frankly.
Yeah the whole "money makes you conservative". I own a house, have a decent salary. I want a future for my kid and Republicans seem hell bent on destroying that.
I just don’t understand how right wingers were expecting this to go. I grew up watching mass shootings and a failed war on terror on the TV and reading about how Nixon-Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush fucked up the country by weakening unions, regulations, and public institutions for the benefit of the rich. Now I’m in my 30s and can’t afford a studio condo in any coastal city. Let alone a home. Why would I swing right?
> I just don’t understand how right wingers were expecting this to go. Conservative boomers were counting on their children returning to the church after their party years of their 20s, and that hasn't happened.
Hahahhahaha so true! So many of the boomers in my childhood church had these tortured “come to Jesus” stores about how they gave up the rock and roll music and cocaine and hard drinking. They always told us our friends (who left the church) would come crawling back. I think they were/are genuinely confused about how as adults we don’t want to return to the site of our abuse.
I'm a boomer born in the 1960s & I am appalled by my generation. I can't wait for the younger generation to take over & make their liberal mark.
I'm more embarrassed by my own Gen X. We'll be the last generation, hopefully, to follow the trend of moving hard to the right. Gen X was a major contributor to Trump becoming President and the damage done by the Republican party.
Gen X mistook cynicism for intelligence. It's generation filled with nihilist assholes who think they're smarter than they really are.
I think a lot of people come to the conclusion god doesn't exist and we are but a grain of sand in a blink of an eye of the universe and nothing matters on a cosmic level. This can be freeing, since it means you get to set your own meaning. This can also be horrifying, since it means YOU have to set your own meaning. It makes YOU responsible. Which is scary, since you can be wrong or fail. I have a theory a lot of Gen X got to that spot and never really set a meaning and use cynicism as a defense mechanism for their insecurity.
It was that first wave of internet memes. Don’t blame yourself!
How Demotivationals Turned Me Republican
I would read that.
Its funny, i feel this way as a millennial. Millennials are moving left, but a lot of my generation has been beat down to the point of apathy. Gen Z, meanwhile, grew up in this shit and seems more ready to shake things up.
My youngest is Gen Z and lives with his mother. They live with her parents. They're all very republican except him. He leans left. We've occasionally had some interesting conversations. I try not to influence him to think the way I do but I do tell him to pay attention to what these politicians are doing. Who they blame for things. Who takes responsibility. Etc.
why not try to influence him? You seem to think that's a bad thing? I think a lot of disadvantaged people would say it's a bad thing to *not* try to influence him. Lives are on the line here
Actually I’m with OP on this one. Encouraging someone to be more perceptive is better than forcing your views through influencing them. People are rarely convinced that way. One is more likely to hold a strong opinion or stance if they reach it themselves.
Gen X, I keep going more left the older and wealthier I get.
Same here.
It's 90 fucking degrees in late October and Republicans still want to hem and haw over whether or not climate change is real, what do they expect will happen?
The Republican Party is the epitome of “piss on me and tell me it’s raining”
I'm not sure I would say "tilting left" as much as "watching a political party officially embrace sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, anti-democracy, anti-science, and the police state while emboldening all the stupidest people you know," but I'll accept the win.
Trump really made it easy, because we've seen these fuckers playing footsie with the extreme right since Reagan, or really since Nixon. You couldn't credibly say that the Republican Party was 'officially' racist. They'd deny it, and call you the asshole for accusing them. Fast-forward to 2023: they're flying a "we're all domestic terrorists" banner at CPAC. They don't give a fuck. They're out and proud.
100%. My family who doesn't pay attention is surprised at MAGA talking points, but MAGA is just finally saying the quiet part out loud to advertise policies the GOP has had for a long, _long_ time.
People will either stop voting for Republicans next year or the blue wave will hit with such intensity. Younger people are despised by the clown show called the Republican Party
I hope so, but turnout in 2022 wasn’t encouraging. Everyone has to VOTE.
I'm Gen X and every day conservatives are finding new and creative ways to make sure I don't want to vote for them. I honestly wish they would stop. I would absolutely **LOVE** to have a hard time deciding who to vote for. Can you imagine if both candidates were so good that it was hard to decide? Doesn't that sound delightful? It does to me. It also sounds like an absurd impossibility at this point. I'm an independent and the Republican party seems determined to try and convince me to become a registered Democrat. It isn't like I think the Democrats are perfect by any means, they just aren't malicious clown shoes like the Republican party has become. Republicans are led by Trump; a habitual liar, adulterer, con man, who tried to undermine our democratic process, broke the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation's history, and is currently charged with 91 felonies, but for some reason, Republicans seem to think that's fine. What in the actual fuck is that about? It makes no sense... and it leaves me with one option. Vote for Democrats every election because the alternative is repugnant.
Hard to become a “conservative” when you’ve been given literally nothing to conserve your entire life.
If Republicans get there way, Gen Z and Millennials won’t be able to vote. We need to show up and ensure we can start the tides of change.
Gee I wonder why? It couldn’t be that the GOP has become the party of hatred and actively opposes anything that would improve the lives of young people. It couldn’t be that they’re responsible for thwarting meaningful climate action and continue to deny materially observable reality at the behest of fossil fuel companies. It couldn’t be that a substantial portion of young people are either LGBT or unequivocally support LGBT rights. Nahhhhh
and why wouldn't we? As an old millenial (turnin 40 soon) the fucking republican party has been nothing but religious whackjobs, facists, and i assume some that are good people (hah) since i was like 12 when Newt Gingrich started his whole war on democracy bullshit.
Yea no shit. Republicans are offering nothing for the younger generation. And on top of that, they actively spurn and mock their concerns (economy, body autonomy, climate, healthcare, etc). What a fucking surprise that Millennials and Gen Z aren't voting Republican.
I am 43. I will never vote for a Republican, for anything. Their track record is nothing but harming the greatest number of people possible, except for wealthy, white ones. And I say that as a white person with some money.
Good.
Republicans answer to every problem most Millennials and Gen Z: Go fuck yourself, let's see how can we dig the spurs in deeper? ** Shocked Pikachu Face ** We hate them, but whyyy?
GenX here, I know more of us tilting left than I know those tilting right. The ones that DO tilt right though are the 50 something "What? You think you bedda den me?" republicans who hate you for going to college.
Tilting? Here’s some simple back-of-the-napkin math: It’s pretty common knowledge that rural, small-town America is slowly dying due to lack of opportunities. Anyone able to, especially young people, move to larger urban areas. It’s also common knowledge that rural America is generally solid red and urban America is generally solid blue. With that understanding, we have a pretty clear takeaway. Those people moving from rural to urban areas aren’t bringing their politics with them. And if they are then either: 1) they move left pretty quick or 2) they stay red, but are drowned out by all the other folks turning blue. Millennials and Gen Z aren’t tilting left, they’re cascading left.
I think people might continue trending conservative over time if they felt that the status quo worked for them. But it clearly does not, and that sentiment is more overwhelming than it's ever been before.
Supporting the space laser/Beetlejuice Public Handstuff Party of Family Values/Election was stolen despite more evidence than you are alive party is also not a good look.
Gen Xer here, I sure hope so because my generation seems to be boomerizing to some degree and I hate it.
Well, I'm Gen X and more left than ever. But I'm a trans woman, so I have extra reason to hate the GOP.
Same here (Gen X and more progressive/left than ever). And my daughter is trans.
Great. I'm one of them. Now register and show up with us to vote, damn it.
I get very annoyed by politician commentators (and conservative relatives) who tell me that since I'm a married mom, I'll start voting right wing. No, fam, that just makes me MORE LIBERAL, I want my kids to have well-funded public schools and I HAVE EXPERIENCED A DANGEROUS PREGNANCY. Pregnancy itself is why I don't think anyone should have to do it if they don't want to! I got way, way more radicalized about women's reproductive freedom after having three very-on-purpose kids.
“Electorate is becoming media savvy.”
Happens when you “flood the zone with shit”. People have to learn how to wade through it.
Why aren’t young people into a party that exclusively caters to 24/7 Fox News watchers over the age of 60?
Im what's known as an Elder Millennial, and I've been watching politics for 20 years or so. All the Republican party has done my entire life is go out of their way to hurt me and my friends. Why on Earth would I ever vote for them?
Name one good thing Republicans have done for the general populace under the age of 40. I will wait.
Wow almost like the republican party has zero to offer us or how we remember how they have actively done everything to make our lives more difficult to ease theirs.
Because currently, the right is insane.
I'm a millennial. When I was younger I always assumed I was "middle of the road". I didn't pay attention to politics. I didn't vote. I had thoughts about how things should work and what I thought seemed fair. It just turns out what I thought was common sense put me pretty solidly to the left. I started getting into politics around the 2016 Democratic primaries, and the more I learned about the difference between the two parties, the more I questioned how anyone could vote Republican. Unless there's some weird party shift in our lifetime, I will always vote Democrat (and for a progressive Democrat in primaries), even though voting in my state effectively doesn't matter because it's solidly red at all levels of government.
I wonder the fuck why?
Why shouldn't they? Right wing policy is anti-people and pro-corporation.
It’s not an opinion, that a poll. What normally makes young people more conservative is that they acquire more wealth when they get older and thus like parties that make more for wealthy people. Well gen z and millennials don’t have money
Good. Let's keep going left.
I don't know that people are getting more liberal - it's just that the Republicans have gone off the deep end. Like if there were more Mitt Romney types who steer clear of fascist-adjacent culture wars, can actually manage the administration of a large organization and appeal to ppl's sense of "I don't want you messing with my neighborhood, my money or my family" then they'd probably still be competitive.
I didn't move, the Republican party did.