Millennials: Throw Them Out, Especially the Republicans

One of the big problems with midterm elections is getting voters out to the polls for midterm elections which lack the fan fare and higher drama of presidential contests.  A new study shows that Millennials are not pleased with either political party or Obama for that matter, but overall, they prefer Democrats - and a Democrat Congress - over the Republicans.  Thus, the question becomes, how do the Democrats both engage Millennials and get them to realize that staying home from the polls does NOT make things better.   Politico looks at the findings.  Here are excerpts:

According to a Harvard University Institute of Politics poll of of Americans ages 18 to 29, 56 percent of the so-called millennials say President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats and Republicans are all responsible for the dysfunction in Washington. And 53 percent of millennials say they would recall and replace all 535 members of Congress today.

Millennials disapprove of both parties in Congress by at least 60 percent. Thirty-five percent of respondents approve of congressional Democrats, compared with 60 percent who disapprove; 23 percent approve of congressional Republicans, with 72 percent disapproving.

Forty-two percent say they consider themselves to be independent voters, compared with 33 percent who call themselves Democrats and 22 percent who say Republicans.

Millennials, widely viewed as more liberal than the rest of the country, would prefer a Democratic Congress, with 50 percent saying they would want a Congress controlled by Democrats following the midterm elections and 43 percent saying they prefer a Republican-controlled legislature. But young adults, fed up with both parties, appear to be largely up for grabs on major issue areas.

“Millennials could be a critical swing vote,” IOP Director Maggie Williams said in a statement accompanying the results. “Candidates for office: Ignore millennial voters at your peril.”

Millennials give a slight edge to Democrats over Republicans on which party they trust to handle several issue areas, including the economy, foreign policy, immigration policy and health care. At least 39 percent of young adults, though — a plurality in all four areas — say they are not sure which party they trust to handle those issues.

Millenials may be unhappy with both parties, but if they stay home next week, they will find that by default they will elect Republicans who are totally adverse to their interests and concerns.  Yes, the Democrats have their failings, but at least they are not anti-equality on all fronts and anti-modernity to boot.