Some good news - Younger voters giving GOP the cold shoulder

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Frustration with war, strong views on social issues initiate new trend

WASHINGTON — Ben Bronson, 18, is the kind of young voter Republicans have attracted for decades. A Texas Tech University freshman and Fort Worth-area native, he's a deer hunter who hates Hillary Clinton and opposes gay marriage. But he's disappointed with the Iraq war and stops short of identifying with the GOP.

Conrad Camit of Houston is the son of committed Republican immigrants from the Philippines. A former political independent, the Texas A&M University graduate, 33, said the war sealed his conversion to the Democratic Party.

Also, he said, "growing up in an immigrant family, you tend to be supportive of a pro-immigrant stance, which is definitely a Democratic ideal," said Camit, now communications vice president of the Harris County Young Democrats.

These Lone Star State voters reflect a national trend: Exit polls from recent elections and survey research show the nation's young people are less likely to embrace the Republican Party than any generation since the '60s.

<snip>

Becoming independent
Young white evangelical Christians, a bulwark of support for President Bush, have been dropping away from the president and the GOP. Although 87 percent of evangelicals 18 to 29 years old approved of his job performance in 2002, just 45 percent say they do now, according to a Pew Center survey. Those who said they're Republican has fallen from 55 percent in 2001 to 40 percent this year.

Some are staying conservative but declaring their independence.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5212398.html

If the GOP isn't careful they're going see a third party step in and steal away their disillusioned youth vote.

[EFerrari]

1. This trend is the reason that the Cabal targeted college students

in 2004. I don't know about 2001.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. 2000 they had more of the youth vote still in their pocket

The numbers are stark: Voters under 30 were the only age group to favor Democrat John Kerry for president in 2004, 54 percent to 45 percent, according to CNN exit polls. The party's support among young voters surged by 7 percentage points from 2000, when Democrat Al Gore led George W. Bush 48-46 among young voters.

Among under-30 adults, Kerry was backed by 88 percent of blacks, 65 percent of Asian-Americans, 58 percent of Latinos and 44 percent of Anglos, according to CIRCLE, the University of Maryland election research center.

I fully expect to see a strong attempt to disenfranchise our (Texas') young African-America and Hispanic vote in 2008.

Texas, though generally more conservative than the rest of the country, may mirror the national trend in the next election. One reason: The state has more Hispanic and African-American young people than the U.S. average.

This is not going to be permitted without some underhanded Republican tricks.

[DS1]

2. I wonder if he knows why he hates Hillary Clinton

I know why I don't like her

[Toots]

5. Most just give you a blank look if you ask them that

Out of curiosity, is there any Republican you would vote for over Hillary?

[DS1]

7. no, that's a ridiculous notion

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. The number one question I find myself asking Republicans in regards to this is, why?

I'm honest and tell them she's not my first choice, but I ask them why they "hate" her.

Number one answer is they don't want another Clinton in office. They almost never have substantive reasons, however.

[Jade Fox]

3. There is no doubt.....

that the GOP is in full on self-destructive mode and is alienating voters young and old, but that may not matter if the media keeps delivering the neocon message and the Democrats don't step up to the plate.

[EFerrari]

8. Or at very least put a sock in the mouths of Democratic pundits

who echo Republican talking points.