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| Since 2016, as the Democratic field has expanded, Bernie Sanders has maintained a significant fund-raising advantage among college student in Iowa |
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Since losing the caucus last year against Hillary, Sanders has still maintained the strong lead he had with young voters particularly with those in Iowa that are college age. However, this year Sanders is being much more proactive about trying to get his demographic to vote, and at every stop, during his tailgate tour, he reminded his audience that even with their more progressive views, nothing meaningful would happen if they did not go and vote.
This targetting of a more younger demographic will be very beneficial to Bernie's campaign, as nowadays there seems to be a tendency with younger generations to have more moderate to liberal political philosophies. However, even with this new liberal generation rising up, there is a much larger problem that may prevent their more liberal ideologies from being represented in government. Bernie's criticisms of the government target those that are considered elites, harping on that the economic and political systems in place in our country tend to favor elites. While his criticism is not untrue, and not unfounded, his message merely echoes the sense of powerlessness felt by those he targets with his message. Young voters mark one of the first generations where children are making less money than their parents, and many young voters may feel disenfranchised with the idea of voting because they feel the system they are trying to change is rigged against them. As Sanders himself says, "What we're really fighting against is apathy."
Though Bernie's message about wanting to rework the country's politcal and economic systems rings very clear, it seems that his campaign message emphasizing the unfairness of the system may once again backfire on his young voters. However, with a large percent of voters 65 and over voting more conservatively, Democrats seem to have no choice but to pander more and more to younger generations in order to gain their votes.
What are your thoughts on this new era of politcal pandering to younger generations? Do you think that the call to action will inspire more apathy from millenials and Gen Z voters or do you think this reality check is just what nominees need to secure that last vote.
5 comments:
I think that the trend of younger generations being more liberal has been going on for some time. In my opinion, this isn't quite a new trend, but with the onset of the Internet and immediate access to mass media, the liberal opinions of younger people are more founded.
Sanders has definitely been trying to reach younger audiences for voting since they seem to be very apathetic in terms of politics (as our government textbook has said multiple times). I recently saw quite a few ads from Sanders on Reddit, a forum application whose main demographic are younger people. The post had 17 awards (you can pay real money to give awards to posts) as well as 8,000 comments and a hidden number of votes.
In his debate, Sanders had a very loud and assertive attitude, invigorating those who support and watched him. I really don't know how the younger generation will respond to Sanders and other candidates' efforts. Apathy has been commonplace in teenagers, who also generally haven't experienced enough of the effects of politics (i.e. taxes, loans) to feel compelled to vote. In addition, the majority of young potential voters are going through a transition from high school to college or the workforce, and are busy with things like surviving and studying.
In the 2018 midterm elections there was a record voter-turnout, with Democrats taking back dozens of seats in Congress. I think part of this was due to Democrats, alongside celebrities, appealing to young people to vote (mainly through social media and the internet). So in response to Steven's question, I think political pandering to younger generations is effective in securing more votes.
I predict that this trend of more liberal younger generations, who are being heavily encouraged to vote, combined with the nation's polarized attitude towards President Trump, will lead to a record voter turnout in the 2020 election. And I argue that large voter input is a good thing because the result will be more representative of the true majority's will, rather than a minority gaining power because not enough people voted.
I think it is still a good idea for Biden to attract the younger generation in which some people might start to form political opinions of their own and start to reflect on how the government affects their daily lives through matters such as health insurance and taxing. But I do agree that it could, in fact, might help the older population in the states (Gen Z and millennials) to ponder on his ideas and perhaps agree with his perspective. Though this may be rare, especially since these groups are more stubborn on having their usual democratic or conservative mindset, it could potentially bring a stronger liberal perspective in the nation through his ideas.
The point will brought up is quite intriguing. I had no idea that Sanders was going so far as to engage with his audience on a forum as public as reddit. And if people are really paying money to endorse him on that site alone, I think it might demonstrate that the people supporting Bernie might have more dedication this year than they did in years prior. It seems that Bernie's more "edgy" (not really though) campaign tactic is strumming a cord with its viewers and in turn might let him pull ahead of other contenders.
Like Steven, I didn't realize either that Sanders has been attempting to appeal to the younger generations even through forums used often by young adults. Honestly, I don't believe that this tactic or any other tactic to appeal to younger potential voters will be very successful. I've seen many ads on social media and other popular electronic sources amongst young adults, all varying in subject, but I've never really given any of them a thought. It appears that many of my peers ignore them as well, and like Will mentioned, many young adults are not focused on small ads as they attempt to work towards careers. I think that a trend of apathy will continue because it appears that younger generations stay away from politics, most likely not realizing how much future policies and politicians will affect them.
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