Younger Americans lean left

A survey in today's New York Times suggests that Americans aged 17 to 29 are more likely to be supportive of gay rights, open borders and socialised medicine.  They are equally concerned about global warming and share similar attitudes on abortion.  Click on the graphic on the right to enlarge it and view the summary of the findings.

Comments

[JF]

Don't be overly concerned by these polls. That age demographic also happens to be the least reliable voting bloc, and when they graduate from college, get real jobs, and start paying taxes, their views will moderate.

[Umbre]

I agree with JF. Only 659 people took this survey.

[Ash Faulkner]

Yup JF's totally right. All young people are dreamers to some degree. When the bills start flooding through, they'll realise :P

[Da Coyote]

This is news? Of course younger Americans lean left! After the constant bombardment of leftist nonsense by liberal teachers for the first 20 years of their lives it's a miracle that all Americans aren't outright socialists.

But come back and poll them again once they've hit 30, after they've had to get a job, pay taxes, start a family, and you'll see a major change in their attitude.

It's too bad we let people vote at 18. Just think how much better things would be if the minimum voting age was 30, or even 25.

[bundyfan]

Da Coyote: Amen

[S. Baker]

I don't lean left, 'cause I am right!

[Steevo]

Very good comments. My only concern is 'enough' of these people get mobilized in their impressionable state from educational institutions, the media including the net and our culture in general to vote. Or, to "get out the vote" which really means vote Democrat. Its been a play off the emotions and I think with such close races may make it more difficult for conservative candidates.

[brandon]

It's too bad we let people vote at 18. Just think how much better things would be if the minimum voting age was 30, or even 25.

It's too bad that is true. Just think how much better people would be if they were responsible and wise enough to make good decisions when they were 18.

[webstar]

The young, for the most part are always liberal. It take life experience to be able to tame ideology with realism. I guess you would have to be young to not already know this.

[webstar]

brandon...when i was a kid the voting age was 21. I remember our argument was if were old enough to go to vietnam were old enough to vote.

[Mary Fernandez]

What was the Churchill quote: Conservative at 20, no heart; Liberal at 30, no head?

Yes, the young lean left. The good news is, they never vote.

[JWT]

We have 54 % against gay marriage and 62 % in favour of stricter limits (or prohibition) on abortion. I'm not complaining. If we had those numbers in the UK...

[Denise]

Young people are also usually more obsessed with pop culture and their favorite celebrities to the point they will go so far as to accept the views of those celebrities without really thinking for themselves. Whatever their idol says, goes. They have something in common. The dream world.

[Denise]

That's why the liberals are always talking about the 'young votes' around election time. Young people are encouraged to vote on music video channels that promote liberal ideas.

[Frogg]

Isn't this great news!

What the NYT fails to tell you, is that although younger people tend to vote Democrat/liberal.....that number is trending conservative/Republican when compared to a decade ago (and longer). And, they support Iraq/GWOT/military in higher numbers than even some of our older Americans.

There is a saying in America....

If you don't vote liberal
when you are young,
you have no heart.
If you don't vote conservative
when you are older,
you have no brain.

America's youth is also using drugs less and has a lower rate of teen pregnancy than in prior years.

Our youth is gonna be just fine.

[Simon Newman]

I'm not seeing a big difference between young Americans and the rest, on these figures. The young are supposed to be more radical anyway, I think if anything their conformity is notable.

[Simon Newman]

Da Coyote: "But come back and poll them again once they've hit 30, after they've had to get a job, pay taxes, start a family, and you'll see a major change in their attitude"

- see this piece by Sailer on Affordable Family Formation as the key to voting trends:

http://www.vdare.com/sailer/050508_family.htm

The basic idea is that places where typical young working couples can't afford to buy a house and start a family, like San Francisco, New York or London, will trend leftwards, due to the temptations of extended adolescence.

[Ami]

The definition of a Conservative is a Liberal who has been mugged by reality. If this poll had the opposite results I would wonder at its accuracy, as it is it seems about right.

[JF]

Ami, that's typically the definition of a Neoconservative, not a traditional Conservative.

[Ami]

Paleoconservative myself, even when Mom and Dad were paying the bills and my tuition. :O)

By the way, JF, I always enjoy your postings and agree with you at least 98% of the time. I don't even agree with my husband that often.

[JF]

Thanks for your kind words, Ami. I guess 2% explains all the difference between a Neocon and a Paleocon ;)

What's important is that we, the conservatives, are the true adherents to reality and its lessons, no matter what the Left claims. Communism, nationalization, appeasement, disarmament, multiculturalism, race-based preferences, image over substance... the Left has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to failed ideologies.

That's why I'm optimistic that the 18-29 year olds represented in this poll will gradually become more conservative as they experience the real world outside of the ivory towers.

[Ami]

Both of my twenty something kids are more conservative than I am and they vote. One thing that I always insisted that they do was work. They were always responsible for buying their own books which meant summer jobs. I also collected rent from them which made a nice little nest egg when they graduated from school. When my daughter recieved her first pay check she came crying to me about all of the money taken out of it. I said, "Darlin' those are called taxes, and as long as their is a democrat in the White House that number will continue to increase." She said, "Wow, I hate democrats." My job was done. You have to get them early. :O)

[atheling]

I'm a perfect example of JF's belief. I was born into a liberal Democrat family, and voted that way into my early 30's. After that, I grew up and became a conservative Republican. So has other members of my family.

[Canman]

To paraphase Churchill: If you are 20 and not liberal, you have no heart; if you are 40 and liberal, you have no MONEY.