Try nubile newbies.

I have nothing sparkling to add either, but I successfully parented three (white, military brat) kids, all of them now 20-something. When I read the earlier post, I called on my experts.

My son is not only anti-GOP, he says emphatically that he will only vote for female candidates, and is tithing the Clinton campaign. (I cringed)

My middle child is a med student and healthcare access is her number one priority. When aWol made his "you just go to the e.r." crack, she went nuts. She is so far supporting Edwards. She is pro-union - she has some hospital experience now, and has noticed that the nurses with union representation seem to be happier and take better care of their patients.

My youngest is the farthest left, and gave me an ear full about the evils of the GOP and warmongering.

They would have to be absolutely insane to be anything BUT anti-Republican.

Now, about that group who do support Republicans...
What the heck is the matter with them?

Here's one for you to try on:

'young adults.'

It works fairly well, as it lends credence to their youth, and has the added bonus of acknowledging their citizen/human being status.

MarkH - they have affluenza.

I don't have anything sparkling to add to this, but just thought it was worth pointing out.

Fortunately I am here, and I do have something to add. This is really part of the long term trend of the Democratic Party after the left wing and the hippies took over the party in the 60's. Just as white flight caused moderate, independent, and conservative whites to leave the cities, so also these same white people left the Democratic Party because it was too liberal. It was because these same white people decided to vote Republican that Democrats lost so many elections.
So I don't see how it is possible for Democrats to regularly beat Republicans in the future if they do not get these white voters back. Frankly, if I were a Democrat (I am an independent), I would be dismayed at these poll results and mortified about the future of the Democratic Party. Just my 2 cents of course.

Al is so full of it.

Watch the Democrats interview all these cagey Republicans on CSPN in the various investigatory hearings and you'll wise up about your Republicants and why they will not win the next election.

Al, if you were an amusement park ride, we would have to be "this tall" to ride, because you spin something fierce!

'Coming up with synonyms for "young people." '

How about, "The MySpace Generation"?

Colin

I think when it comes to a situation like that you should just stick with 'young voters' and not bust your brain trying to come up with clever titles.

When you use the word said, it fades into the back round, but when you used 'spoke, whispered, enunciated', it becomes distracting and you lose the reader. Probably should follow the same rule here.

ps,
First time poster, love the blog

With due apologies to gays, I must ask if as many as 49% of young white males are gay.

Use the term the GOP uses behind closed doors.

"Food"

You could just divide them into two groups: young people and their companions.

Ah, Kevin.

You wrote an op-ed about the collapse of the Republican party among young people? Heh, give me some of what your smoking.

In my community (not all white) GOP is truely the frontrunner. In my youth group, everyone is firly in the Republican camp. We have a Latino League in town, and they are very pro-Republican.

Why? The Democratic party is the party of the past. The party of unions. The party of affirmitive action and socialism.

The Republican party offers hope. Hope to young people worried about Socail Security solvency. Hope about economic growth. Hope about American military might and strenght.

Not just that, but look at all the big sports stars. Charles Barkly, John Elway, Dante Culpeper, ARod and on and on. Winners. Winners are Republicans. Thats why winners and people with no College education are Democrats.

[Democrat is a noun. Get the adjective right, or your comments will be deleted.]

"I was a Republican. Before they lost their minds." --Charles Barkley

...you know what's really hard about writing about young people? Coming up with synonyms for "young people."

Try "Youths".

Or, if you're a My Cousin Vinney fan, "Yewts".

Works for me.

Los jovenes.

How about "proto-adults"?

Egbert-- Democrats are the party of good spellers, too--I can see why you aren't enrolled.

What about young people concerned about the future of spelling, egbert? Which party do they belong to?

via urbandictionary.com: Yoot.

Jovenes of European descent like the GOP just fine, and that is troubling. Many of us probably know many jovenes just like them, who bask in wealth they did not earn but think they deserve. I guess they are just like the party they identify with.

Ugh Gen Y. That's awful, Kevin. We're the Millenials. Stop defining us in terms of Gen X. ;)

' How about, "The MySpace Generation"? '

Followed closely by "The Facebook Bunch"?

As for Repubs being the "party of hope". Best laugh of the day, egbert. We can only "hope" they're leaders do 10-30 in medium-security facilities across the nation. (The maxes being too dangerous, thanks to their own greed and cruelty, of course. Fortunately, we don't have to be like them.)

'Coming up with synonyms for "young people." '
How about, "The MySpace Generation"? Posted by: Colin

Since, like all of us here "back in the world," the yoot of today (save for the relatively few with parents on active duty) bear no burden for Shrub's military adventurism, they really aren't paying attention to what the government is doing to us all. Their electoral participation over the last decade shows this.

So, except for people of all political stripes who get paid to spin this kind of thing, who cares?

Nobody is perfect, but egbert is close to being a perfect idiot.

Me: Yeah, I almost used "millennials" too. But I decided not to because I was afraid an op-ed audience wouldn't understand it without explanation.

Millennials sounds like a breakfast cereal, though

How about:

"the generation that is fighting the Iraq war"

or

"the generation whose classmates are dying in the Iraq war"

Millennials sounds like a breakfast cereal, though Posted by: consider wisely always

However, most of those I've brushed up against over the last few years are just about as cognizant. So . . .

I think the long-term demographic shift underway argues against Al's point. Regardless of race, voters of age 18-29 have adopted social attitudes that can only be described as "progressive". They support gay rights, nontraditional roles for women, do not believe that a strong military is the key to peace, and increasingly support universal health care. The Pew Research Center has studied this effect: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/10/14/weekinreview/15kirk_graphic.ready.html

or simply

"The Iraq war generation"

Kind of like the WW2 generation but with a bitter ring to it.

(Because it isn't true that the 18-29 yr olds "bear no burden for Shrub's military adventurism". In fact, it is exactly they who bear the biggest burden - both in the fight itself and in paying the bills for decades to come.)

A millennial sounds like someone who would be very old.

Egbert lives in a very very small town. Does your youth group have more than you and your teddy bear.Or the hipanic group, What is that, a couple of Bratz dolls in your toy box.Oh that Independent thing,Just like O'Liely, Independent Republican, that does not shield you from being a dumba$$

And I think Kevin hit it on the proverbial noggin when awhile back he compared the line up of republican presidential candidates to "Stepford" residents.

I would think young voters would have a hard time relating to that group of contenders.
Nerdy, wierd, uptight, restrictive....worse than old Uncle AL or Uncle Egbert...

I think the long-term demographic shift underway argues against Al's point. Regardless of race, voters of age 18-29 have adopted social attitudes that can only be described as "progressive". They support gay rights, nontraditional roles for women, do not believe that a strong military is the key to peace, and increasingly support universal health care. The Pew Research Center has studied this effect: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/10/14/weekinreview/15kirk_graphic.ready.html
Posted by: JCS

Actually, save for a blip during the previous Dark Age (aka: the Reagan Administration), that's been typical since the mid-1960s. Unfortunately, the adage attributed to Churchill about youth and liberalism and old-age and conservatism also holds true.

Egbert, i hate to admit it, but I think you are right. Your youth group's passion for the GOP clearly proves that Kevin's numbers are wrong.

You see, statistic is really a very simple science - that is why sports-people are usually so very good at it.
Say you want to know how John Doe Junior feels about politics. All you got to doe is select a random sample, just like you did by using your youth group. After all, these fine young people are all free thinking, independent individuals - therefore, there is no selection bias there. (Actually, selection biases are for nerds, and are therefore defined as s.c. "loser mathematics"). You are using winner mathematics, that's the way you wanna go!

Keep up the good work

You know, it makes me kind of disturbed that Egbert takes so much time out to talk to youths about their political affiliation and about which political figures are "winners" ...

Reminds me a bit of that scene from the movie "Airplane" where the pilot leans over and asks the kid, "Johnny, have you ever seen any gladiator movies?"

But then again, Egbert may just be making this all up, since he is on someone's payroll to go out and troll liberal-leaning blogs.

Egbert, buddy -- you OK?

-- Bokonon

>>people with no college education

Wait a minute. I thought colleges and universities were communist brainwashing mills -- just like the media. And the courts. And YouTube. And Wikipedia. And the Internets. And reality.

The trick is to get them to come out and vote en masse.

Fortunately I am here

Another opinion that has validity only in Al's mind (or subroutines, if you please)

Once the college educated youth realize they are not going to be rich(in most cases) due to the fiscal irresponsibility of conservatives, they will switch.

Maybe they're tired of "waitin' on the world to change."

I wrote a poem/song lyrics based around the John Mayer song, here's one version:

Working on the World to Change

I don't want to watch the news
Cause I’ll see how much we’ll lose,
So I’m tired of waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change.
Tired of waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change.

Now when I get together with my girl,
We can put aside our fear,
But then I look around and remember,
That this is all for real,
And I get tired of waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change.
Tired of waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change.

I often think it’s not worth trying,
And we’ll argue who to blame.
But I remember the children crying,
And we should rise above the shame,
So I can’t keep waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change.
Can’t keep waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change.

You’ve got to get up in the morning,
And think you’re gonna make a difference,
Otherwise its just subsistence,
And we’ll huddle in the rain.
You gotta be working, working, working on the world to change.
You gotta be working, working, working on the world to change.

Yeah, I want my girl and I to be happy,
Without closing our eyes to the rest,
So we've all got to be busy, and
This is what we will profess:
We’re gonna be working, working, working on the world to change.
We’re gonna be working, working, working on the world to change.

If you can just join me in saying,
When you’re done with all the playing,
We’re gonna be working, working, working on the world to change.
Yeah, all gonna be working, working, working on the world to change.
Working on the world to change. Working on the world to change…

I guess I'm just old-fashioned (or maybe just old) but what's wrong with the classic "whippersnappers"?

Egbert is correct: Republicans lead in the 18-24 group. Those with higher IQs, though, despise the Republicans.

It kind of shows why the Republicans feel that voter suppression is so important to their electoral success. The groups that swing heavily Democratic are those that may most easily be scared or confused out of voting. Blacks, Hispanics, the very young and the uneducated are all groups vulnerable to dirty tricks and intimidation.

Politics is a generational thing. The lessons learned in youth guide our actions and form our decisions for many years. The youth the Republicans alienate today, will be with them for many years.

Oh, and the next time Al or his like call the Democrats "elitist", let's all remind him of his post above, where he essentially says the only votes that count are white votes.

You know what sucks? That just a little over a month ago, I was considered a "young person." What do you call freshly former young people? The "newly old"?

I remember reading Toni Morrison say her father wouldn't let white people on his property. I found that shocking and had to think about it.

The reason, I believe, is that white people had the power to stop Jim Crow (American apartheid) and to mitigate the effects of slavery. We didn't.

The GOP has used the Southern Strategy for political gain at the expense of a historically downtrodden group.

Is there anything lower than abusing the disadvantaged for your gain?

Democrats are morally responsible for the pro-life position of their party. Republicans are responsible for the racist Southern Strategy.

If you vote Republican, you're supporting racists.

Having taught college students in recent years I can say that white kids between 18-29 are only slightly more Democratic than older generations. But many of those youngish white Republicans are economic conservatives and they despise social conservatives. Among many of my own fellow college grads (I'm 33 now), a lot have abandoned the GOP because of the Confederatization and Talibanization of the Republican Party.

Now that I live in the South I might find it to be different; young people here are more religious than those in the Midwest or Northeast. But that religiosity does not necessarily translate into Republican votes. A lot of the Christian organizations around here are committed to fighting global warming, opposing the Iraq war, and helping the poor. The religious left is a lot more powerful among young white Southerners than most people realize. It doesn't counter the good ole' boy redneck youth entirely but it certainly puts the Democratic Party in play in these parts.

The issue is that black and hispanic youth loathe Republicans

Good.

Al and Egbert are getting an awful lot of comfort out of such a little (two points) advantage. How the Republicans being two points away from a minority, in what is supposedly their core demographic, translates to "the Democrats will never win elections" I can't fathom.

I think Karl Rove's "50% plus one" philosophy has rotted their brain.

Young kids get the best deal from Social Security, and I thik they feel that.

Social security is rigged to penalize the 40-55 year old, and the 75-80 year old. The other demographics pay a subsidy.

My son is not only anti-GOP, he says emphatically that he will only vote for female candidates, and is tithing the Clinton campaign. (I cringed)

In terms of sheer progressivism, when it comes to Hillary Clinton, I think of that line from "Austin Powers": "That's a man, baby!" I would cringe, too.

Ah come on....there's a study out... Things are definitely looking up especially on the political enlightenment front!

here

The Dems need to promote, promote, promote their bill on higher education access and loan rate reduction.

This is the key to the hearts of the young - the cost of college is insane today, and the amounts of loans being dumped on them is ridiculous.

White young people like the GOP just fine; the GOP has a two point advantage.

As a white formerly young person, I have to say that that is the most depressing thing Ive heard in awhile. That's the kind of stat I'd expect to see from the 80s (when I was in that demo), but after 6 yrs of one being ruled by the party of corruption and incompetency and white kids still don't get it? Surely they're not all suffering from affluenza, ie, part of or aspirants to the moneyed ruling class?

Guess they know they're not going to Iraq -- but think someone else should, so "we" don't fight them over here. Depressing. Except I don't believe it.

Michael Dukakis kept referring to "youngsters" in '88.