Luntz to delegates: GOP has 'lost' the millennial generation

[dirks]

Can I just say, and this is strictly opinion of course...that thus far the output of millennials compared to other generations in regards to the arts, literature, music, film is relatively poor and will not stand the test of time as with previous generations.

I just don't see the creativity. Every generation leaves something lasting and legendary, but I feel that millennials are going to leave less than most others.

Maybe it will change, who knows. There is plenty of time. But I don't feel overly optimistic as of now.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Can I just say, and this is strictly opinion of course...that thus far the output of millennials compared to other generations in regards to the arts, literature, music, film is relatively poor and will not stand the test of time as with previous generations.

I just don't see the creativity. Every generation leaves something lasting and legendary, but I feel that millennials are going to leave less than most others.

Maybe it will change, who knows. There is plenty of time. But I don't feel overly optimistic as of now.

That is mind-numbingly ridiculous.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Can I just say, and this is strictly opinion of course...that thus far the output of millennials compared to other generations in regards to the arts, literature, music, film is relatively poor and will not stand the test of time as with previous generations.

I just don't see the creativity. Every generation leaves something lasting and legendary, but I feel that millennials are going to leave less than most others.

Maybe it will change, who knows. There is plenty of time. But I don't feel overly optimistic as of now.

Millennials are, by definition, young.

[dirks]

Can I just say, and this is strictly opinion of course...that thus far the output of millennials compared to other generations in regards to the arts, literature, music, film is relatively poor and will not stand the test of time as with previous generations.

I just don't see the creativity. Every generation leaves something lasting and legendary, but I feel that millennials are going to leave less than most others.

Maybe it will change, who knows. There is plenty of time. But I don't feel overly optimistic as of now.

That is mind-numbingly ridiculous.

It's not ridiculous. It's an opinion...as I said time will tell. Maybe they'll churn out a Beatles or a Casablanca. I don't think they will but, let's see...

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The first sequence of percussion notes in 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' by Florence and the Machine>The Beatles.

[dirks]

The first sequence of percussion notes in 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' by Florence and the Machine>The Beatles.

yes, sure. of course

yep I was right. They're hopeless.

[hopper]

Just have to say, Millennials are losers, morons, addicting to their technology, enormous ego's, mooch off their parents well into their 30's. They're fragile and weak.

Good riddance. I mean Gen X looks like the freaking Greatest Generation compared to Millenials

True Millenials are really into their cell phones but so are some members of other generations.

I just think they are lazy members of every generation.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The first sequence of percussion notes in 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' by Florence and the Machine>The Beatles.

yes, sure. of course

yep I was right. They're hopeless.

Just because we're willing to make jokes about the unassailable icons of whatever generation it is you are, or (God forbid!) actually be emotionally prepared to reassess those icons downwards if the situation calls for it, that does not make us 'hopeless'. I'd suggest you be more willing to recognize and accept these kinds of jokes and reassessments, lest being really into the Beatles take on the same cachet of petit-bourgeois reactionary snobbery that being really into Jane Austen had in the nineteenth century.

[Hammy]

Can I just say, and this is strictly opinion of course...that thus far the output of millennials compared to other generations in regards to the arts, literature, music, film is relatively poor and will not stand the test of time as with previous generations.

I just don't see the creativity. Every generation leaves something lasting and legendary, but I feel that millennials are going to leave less than most others.

Maybe it will change, who knows. There is plenty of time. But I don't feel overly optimistic as of now.

Most legendary things from each respective generation was popular among chiefly younger people, and reviled by the older generation as trash etc. Its a bit early to just blanket an entire generation when we won't know for years or decades which cultural pieces stand and which don't.

[hopper]

50 years ago the rich paid their taxes, the republican party funded education, infrastructure and put into place common sense regulations. I think the idea that they believe that taking the government out of our society is without merit in our own history. I think this generation is educated enough to understand this nations history and the corporatist in the extreme right don't like that.

The rich don;t pay taxes anymore? Did Congress change the tax code?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Anyway, the image in my signature pretty well encapsulates my thoughts on the Beatles at this point.

[Famous Mortimer]

A scary number of millennials do indeed think 9/11 was justified. 

I consider that a separate issue from their support of socialized medicine, which is a logical position, though.

[Virginiá]

I find it pretty funny how some just dump all over Millennials, especially over the Internet, probably using software maintained by a bunch of Millennial programmers, or perhaps posting to Facebook as old people have taken quite a shine to, you know, that site Millennials created.

Millennials over the course of their lives are going to contribute more than enough to this world, and most likely far more in terms of STEM than any previous generation could have hoped. At any rate, I don't think Boomers or GenX'ers really have any room to speak on this stuff.

[izixs]

The first sequence of percussion notes in 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' by Florence and the Machine>The Beatles.

yes, sure. of course

yep I was right. They're hopeless.

Oh no, people who you don't think will amount to anything aren't meeting your arbitrary and subjective standards. What ever shall we do.

[ProudModerate2]

..... To me personally, the typical millennial looks like an urban hipster. Just floating through life on their parents dime through whatever hip new urban area (is it still Portland?)

Portland ?
I thought all the "hip" was happening in Lubec ..... the eastern-most community in the entire 50-state USA.
8-)

[Hammy]

A scary number of millennials do indeed think 9/11 was justified. 

I can honestly say I've never personally met such a person, millennial or otherwise.

[izixs]

A scary number of millennials do indeed think 9/11 was justified. 

I can honestly say I've never personally met such a person, millennial or otherwise.

Me neither. The nearest I've seen was someone 15 years ago angry by the burst of ultra nationalism in the weeks following. I suspect they thought 9/11 was bad not just because it was a horrible thing itself, but also made his country crazy in response.

[ElectionsGuy]

Yes, yes they have. Trump is making the situation even worse than it needs to be.

I find it pretty funny how some just dump all over Millennials, especially over the Internet, probably using software maintained by a bunch of Millennial programmers, or perhaps posting to Facebook as old people have taken quite a shine to, you know, that site Millennials created.

Millennials over the course of their lives are going to contribute more than enough to this world, and most likely far more in terms of STEM than any previous generation could have hoped. At any rate, I don't think Boomers or GenX'ers really have any room to speak on this stuff.

Thank you! I'm getting tired of millennial bashing myself.

[KingSweden]

Rather than figure out why their message isn't connecting (or, God forbid, maybe ask whether it is the message itself!), Luntz and his ilk just blame somebody else. This kind of thinking is not going to solve the GOP's issues with the under-35 set.

[Redban]

You guys are mis-interpreting this situation because nobody thus far has mentioned demographics.

It's true that the GOP is handily losing the millennial vote, but the cause is not entirely the GOP's message. Rather, the cause is that the millennial generation is the most diverse generation in American history.

In 2012, Mitt Romney actually beat Obama among white voters aged 18-29 by a solid margin, 51% - 44%. However, Obama offset those losses by winning young black voters 91% - 8% and by winning young Hispanic voters 74% - 23%.

Importantly, those splits are not new --- white youths, black youths, and Hispanic youths have almost always voted by those margins. The difference between now and the past, though, is that today only "58%[of young voters] are white non-Hispanic, compared with 76% of voters older than 30."

Demographics, hence, is critical to this discussion.

http://www.people-press.org/2012/11/26/young-voters-supported-obama-less-but-may-have-mattered-more/

[Mallow]

Just have to say, Millennials are losers, morons, addicting to their technology, enormous ego's, mooch off their parents well into their 30's. They're fragile and weak.

Good riddance. I mean Gen X looks like the freaking Greatest Generation compared to Millenials

Typical.

But true. I realize that sounds curmudgeonly but millennials are extremely coddled and naive. Is there still hope for them? Sure, but they definitely need a wake-up call.

It doesn't sound curmudgeonly, it sounds stupid and malinformed. It sounds like more faux generalizations based on personal feelings and anecdotes. It sounds like something that can't be backed up factually. And it sounds completely wrong.

Backed up factually? This cohort is still evolving. Millennials are not a math equation, but there are certain characteristics that they seem to share. It's generally agreed upon that they're liberal, politically correct, coddled, stay with their parents longer, have children later, are very attached to their technology and are extremely narcissistic.

To me personally, the typical millennial looks like an urban hipster. Just floating through life on their parents dime through whatever hip new urban area (is it still Portland?)

I suggest that your argument is flimsy and based completely on feelings and anecdotes, and what do I get in response? More feelings and anecdotes. Are you being intentionally obtuse?

We haven't even gotten to the part where, even if we accept some of your statistical correlations as fact (for example "young people live with their parents longer," which you didn't specifically say), they don't support the conclusions you are reaching (that "young people are therefore lazy opportunists"), since there are a number of other potential explanations, many of which are actually the result of older generations' actions. The logical argument here is so flawed as to be absolutely, 100% meaningless.

[jollyschwa]

Every generation is more liberal than the last.  That's a simple fact of history.  As the world gets smaller, people become more open minded and accepting of different cultures, belief systems, etc.  That's why I find the vitriol, hatred and anger of the Republican party to be a good sign.  Trump's so called "movement" is basically the death rattle of every backwards thinking bigot in this country.

[Figueira]

Millennials love government. They believe that government can do everything for them. Government can start your car. Need a job? Go sign and apply for a federal government job.
 Pregnant? Ask the government to fund for my child's diaper.  their sugar daddy. Without it, they can't survive in the real world. They don't know anything about self reliance. They think that abolishing capitalism, abolishing banks is a good thing, yet they use smartphones and cell phones. They think that America got what it deserved on 9/11 because America is "racist, sexist, imperalist, and too hyperpatriarchial. I know a LOT of millennials who believe America deserved 9/11. Of course the GOP may lose millennials. Once capitalism is abolished and we have more white shaming shows, we'll see what happens. We have millennials who want government to fund condoms and reparations. Of course millennials love government. Without it,  it shows how empty and talentless they are.

I love how absolutely clueless and condescending this argument is!

Some of it is the truth. A lot of millennials believe America deserved terror because of the country's past.  

Did you see thousands of Millennials chanting and cheering down on 7/11?

Maybe the ones born from 1979-1981 in college that year. They're told by professors daily that America is the Satanic Empire. I know what I'm saying. Not every professor and millennial likes America.

I'm incredibly unpatriotic, but that still doesn't mean that it's OK to kill thousands of innocent people in the name of...well, anything.

I find the assertion that you have to support a country's government in order to care about the lives of its citizens to be deeply offensive.

[progressive85]

I'm 28 years old. I'm not going to vote for a party that denies climate change exists, that thinks denying evolution exists is a reasonable position, and that doesn't support civil marriage for all.

Absolutely, I'm 30.  I can't EVER bring myself to vote for a party whose views on gender, sexuality, basic biology, and science sound consistently like something out of Medieval Europe.

The Republicans have indeed lost the millennials and one day they will pay and pay dearly for that loss.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

I'm 28 years old. I'm not going to vote for a party that denies climate change exists, that thinks denying evolution exists is a reasonable position, and that doesn't support civil marriage for all.

Absolutely, I'm 30.  I can't EVER bring myself to vote for a party whose views on gender, sexuality, basic biology, and science sound consistently like something out of Medieval Europe.

The Republicans have indeed lost the millennials and one day they will pay and pay dearly for that loss.

I'm 39 (Gen-X-lite?) and I agree with all of the above.  It has nothing to do with being young.  It has to do with opening your eyes to a world outside your comfy, white, suburban/small-town bubble.

That said, my wife and nearly all of my friends are millennials.  They are some of the most ethical, compassionate, and motivated people I know.  They are the ones actually questioning our society's norms, dissecting them, and examining the injustices that result from those norms.  Things that make older people very, very uncomfortable.  They will change the country for the better.