Kids Strike Back

The GOP keeps losing voters by demographic division. We knew that young people were identifying Democratic in greater numbers, but the Chron has a story today about how even young people that should be Republican aren't.

The story seems to be the Iraq War, which isn't a huge surprise, and social issues, which in some ways I didn't necessarily expect. Social values are learned from parents and social groups, so it can as often be transferred by family as socialized by friends. Sometimes, though, a whole generation rejects the conventional wisdom of their parents' generation moreso than usual: observe the 1960's.

The Iraq War is a catalyst which has shifted under-30 voters away from the Republican Party. This generation was always likely to be more socially liberal, but foreign policy and fiscal feelings weren't necessarily totally aligned against Republican ideals on those subjects. Now, it seems as if the wholesale diversion is on, and there isn't much left within the GOP tent for young people to identify with. Now young people from conservative families and plenty of conservative socialization won't buy what Republicans are selling, and that spells electoral trouble for the GOP.