In fact, the author of "The Emerging Democratic Majority" (from the early 2000s) has now recanted and said that we are entering a Republican era.
No, John Judis didn't quite say that. Since the NJ article is paywalled, here is something from Trende on it:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/02/11/what_to_make_of_john_judis_republican_advantage_125558.htmlFirst, I think Judis is right - for now. Part of the idea of a realignment finally bearing fruit in elections is that districts that might look out of reach or leaning away from Democrats become competitive or flip entirely. Without exit polls by district, it's hard to say, but once Millennials reach critical mass, Republicans will lose their grip on many areas.
Second, the last realignment was to Republicans, and so we are already in a Republican era. The reason people keep predicting a shift to Democrats is not because of hackery but because that is what history & the data currently shows. Personally I think it's pretty hackish for a Republican, in the face of all of this info, to actually suggest they are going to have a hold on power for another few decades. There is very little to actually back that idea up, and the
"we control so much at state/Congressional level blah blah" doesn't matter one bit. Parties have rapidly lost massive amounts of seats within the span of one or two elections, such as 1932, 1946, 1994 and 2010.
Third, it's not like all of us are collaborating on the same ideas. I have my own opinions on what is going to happen, and it certainly wasn't based on something happening before 2010, even if 2008 at times did seem interesting in that regard. My opinion has been for a while now that once Millennials make up almost half of eligible voters, their political preferences will begin to dominate, and their voting patterns for years now have suggested big trouble for Republicans when that happens.