Pirate's Cove

The problem here for the young Democratic party voters is that they invest all power in the politicians and government, and do not seem to be able to do anything without being directed. It’s like with ‘climate change’: they mostly will not act on their own beliefs until they are forced to. Politicians are not leaders, they are public servants. The young folks do not get that, because the Credentialed Media and schools do not teach that anymore (behind paywall at NY Times)

Young Voters Are Fed Up With Their (Much) Older Leaders

Alexandra Chadwick went to the polls in 2020 with the single goal of ousting Donald J. Trump. A 22-year-old first-time voter, she saw Joseph R. Biden Jr. as more of a safeguard than an inspiring political figure, someone who could stave off threats to abortion access, gun control and climate policy.

Then she wasn’t paying attention to the reality, and invested too much power in a guy who hid in his basement most of the campaign

Two years later, as the Supreme Court has eroded federal protections on all three, Ms. Chadwick now sees President Biden and other Democratic leaders as lacking both the imagination and willpower to fight back. She points to a generational gap — one she once overlooked but now seems cavernous.

“How are you going to accurately lead your country if your mind is still stuck 50, 60 or 70 years ago?” Ms. Chadwick, a customer service representative in Rialto, Calif., said of the many septuagenarian leaders at the helm of her party. “It’s not the same, and people aren’t the same, and your old ideas aren’t going to work as well anymore.”

But, see, these young people are mostly unwilling to lead themselves, and simply look to Authority. They think Government should act like their bosses in their service industry jobs, because they obtained a worthless college degree with lots of debt. Here’s where the real fun begins

While voters across the spectrum express rising doubts about the country’s political leadership, few groups are as united in their discontent as the young.

A survey from The New York Times and Siena College found that just 1 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds strongly approve of the way Mr. Biden is handling his job. And 94 percent of Democrats under 30 said they wanted another candidate to run two years from now. Of all age groups, young voters were most likely to say they wouldn’t vote for either Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump in a hypothetical 2024 rematch.

One percent. One. 1. Uno. Jeden. Bat. ????. Have you ever seen that? I can’t remember ever reading a piece showing that kind of approval

The numbers are a clear warning for Democrats as they struggle to ward off a drubbing in the November midterm elections. Young people, long among the least reliable part of the party’s coalition, marched for gun control, rallied against Trump and helped fuel a Democratic wave in the 2018 midterm elections. They still side with Democrats on issues that are only rising in prominence.

But four years on, many feel disengaged and deflated, with only 32% saying they are “almost certain” to vote in November, according to the poll. Nearly half said they did not think their vote made a difference.

Those numbers should not give Democrats confidence for the mid-terms. It is a damned good reason to return most power back to the states, where it belongs, as that government is much closer to the People than the far away, divorced from reality Central Government, isn’t it?

Interviews with these young voters reveal generational tensions driving their frustration. As they have come of age facing racial strife, political conflict, high inflation and a pandemic, they have looked for help from politicians who are more than three times their age.

Those older leaders often talk about upholding institutions and restoring norms, while young voters say they are more interested in results. Many expressed a desire for more sweeping changes like a viable third party and a new crop of younger leaders. They’re eager for innovative action on the problems they stand to inherit, they said, rather than returning to what worked in the past.

But, few actually want to get involved themselves, outside of some loud, screeching protests. They expect Other People to do it, because they have been taught to just Comply.

After years of feeling that politicians don’t talk to people like him, Juan Flores, 23, says he’s turned his attention to local ballot initiatives on issues like housing or homelessness, which he sees as more likely to have an impact on his life. Flores went to school for data analytics but drives a delivery truck for Amazon in San Jose, California. There, home prices average well over $1 million, making it difficult if not impossible for residents to live on a single income.

“I feel like a lot of politicians, they already come from a good upbringing,” he said. “A majority of them don’t really fully understand the scope of what the majority of the American people are going through.”

First, he’s right, doing things locally is much better than relying on the federal government, and the way it’s supposed to be. I won’t do another deep dive into the point of how our governmental system was set up, but, states were meant to be their own sovereign entities, excepting for specific, delegated powers to the federal government, designed to unite the new nation and establish certain norms, like with monetary policy, cross-border commerce, and the military.

Second, he’s also correct that most elected federal politicians are divorced from the People.

The Times/Siena College poll found 46% of young voters favored Democratic control of Congress, while 28% wanted Republicans to take charge. More than 1 in 4 young voters, 26%, don’t know or refused to say which party they want to control Congress.

That’s going to leave a mark for the mid-terms, and not in a good way for the Democrats. Anyhow, it’s a long, long piece.

Read: Bummer: Young Folks Fed Up With Old Government Leaders »