Looks like the mythical Youth Vote finally materialized. As National Review Online's Andy McCarthy notes:
Preliminary indications are that the youth vote (ages 18-29) was way up: an increase of somewhere over 2.2 million (maybe way over) from 2004 (a year in which it was very high), and as much as 13% over 2000. The Left's dominance of the academy is now having a material impact on electoral politics. As we think about the future of conservatism, we ignore that at our peril.There is a reason that most brand-building advertising is aimed at that same youth market. Once a Bud man, always a Bud man. I fear that it will be difficult to move these young and first-time voters away from the Democratic party. I know that when I was in high school, witnessing the juxtaposition of Carter and Reagan, I was going to be a conservative Republican for life. I couldn't wait till I was old enough to vote for Reagan in '84.
By the way, the site that McCarthy links to, Circle: the Center for Education and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, is affiliated with Tufts University and appears to be a gold mine of information on, uh, civic learning and engagement.
Posts
2 comments:
Yeah. One of the finest aspects of the 80s was when the 18-24s voted for Reagan 65-35 over Mondale. Belinda Carlisle's husband was an aide to Nancy Reagan.
Fielding Goodney
I have been thinking about that connection that Reagan had to "youth" back then, and comparing it to Obama's appeal now. I still maintain that Reagan's appeal was not only a sharp contrast with the Carter era, but was also very ideological. Obama's seems to lean very heavily on fluffy "change, hope, unity" stuff to contrast himsefl with the Bush era.
I know this is a commonplace to observe, but I don't think Reagan gets his due for offering a change in tone matched by change in substance, which is important to keep in mind as the GOP begins to eat itself alive before attempting to spitting out a new (?) version of itself.
Post a Comment