You can tell it’s the dog days of summer because some of Washington’s finest minds are spending their time debating the inherently unknowable question of whether today’s teenagers will grow up to be Republicans. … I’ve been reading a lot about the politics of the 1850s lately, so I’ll just […] Read more »
Politically, 18-Year-Olds Look a Lot Like People in Their 20s
There is good reason to wonder whether today’s teenagers will lean as strongly Democratic as people in their 20s do. But it has been unclear from polling data so far whether the oldest teenagers — 18- and 19-year-olds — are indeed showing signs of being more Republican than the so-called […] Read more »
Reason-Rupe Poll: Millennials Think Government Is Inefficient, Abuses Its Power, and Supports Cronyism
A Reason-Rupe survey of 2,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 finds 66 percent of millennials believe government is inefficient and wasteful — a substantial increase since 2009, when just 42 percent of millennials said government was inefficient and wasteful. … The Reason-Rupe report finds this skepticism of […] Read more »
Why Teenagers Today May Grow Up Conservative
There was a time not so long ago when the young seemed destined to be liberal forever. Americans in their teens and 20s were to the left of their elders on social issues. They worried more about poverty. They voted strongly Democratic. In retrospect, we refer to this period as […] Read more »
Younger Americans Are Less Patriotic. At Least, in Some Ways.
Americans are a patriotic bunch. Compared with people in most other countries, Americans express more pride in their nationality, and most say that being an American is an important part of their identity. Even so, patriotism in America is on the decline. But the decline seems to have more to […] Read more »
Two Swing Groups Hold Key to G.O.P.’s Future
Demographic change has put the Republican Party at an apparent disadvantage in national elections, but the party has the opportunity to make gains among two groups of voters who have become disappointed with the Obama administration. These groups, the “Young Outsiders” and the “Hard-Pressed Skeptics,” are two of seven politically […] Read more »