Cabal
03-09-2014, 11:15 AM
The Millennial Trend: Minority Democrats Versus White Libertarians for Decades (http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/03/millennial-trend-minority-democrats-versus-white-libertarians-decades/358933/)
For the Republican Party, it's hard to see Pew's new survey of American millennials as very good news. Millennials — Americans aged 18 to 33, in Pew's estimation — are racially diverse and generally embrace liberal policies. They're also individualists who are disinclined to categorize themselves in groups, including political parties. Reince Priebus tugs at his collar.
Let's paint Pew's findings from its exhaustive survey of this age group in very broad strokes.
They are diverse, 43 percent non-white.
They identify as politically independent, 50 percent doing so.
They are skeptical of others, with only 19 percent saying most people can be trusted.
They are optimistic about the future, with 49 percent saying America's best days are ahead.
That, despite starting off economically weaker than previous generations. They have record levels of student debt (in part because they're the best-educated generation in history) and are more likely to live in poverty than previous generations at this stage in their lives.
They're less likely to identify with major groups. Fewer than half label themselves as patriots, religious, or environmentalists.
They're less conservative and more liberal than other generations.
We run the distinct risk of oversimplifying as we start parsing this data, of course, itself already an distillation of a large group of people. But it's hard not to see a portrait emerging. For example: It seems that millennials are individualists who have confidence in their own futures and an aversion to relying on other people for their own success. They're so-called "digital natives," of course, but it's still interesting to pull out this line from Pew's summary of its findings: "Fully 55% have posted a 'selfie' on a social media site; no other generation is nearly as inclined to do this." I'm just outside the bounds of Pew's millennial label (and a digital native, I like to think) but if you're trying to figure out if a person is focused more on himself, selfies seem like a decent metric.
And if that portrait holds, it's not terrible news for conservatives. It fits with the growth of political libertarians, which was documented by the Public Religion Research Institute last year. But that group is also one of the groups that's currently in tension with the Republican Party, embracing Ron Paul over Mitt Romney. Its demographics are what you might expect, with PRRI identifying them as "significantly more likely to be non-Hispanic white, male, and young."
...
Millennials in Adulthood - Detached from Institutions, Networked with Friends - Pew Research (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/)
PRRI Survey - 2013 American Values Survey: In Search of Libertarians in America (http://publicreligion.org/research/2013/10/2013-american-values-survey/)
According to a newly developed Libertarian Orientation Scale, less than 1-in-10 (7%) Americans are consistent libertarians, and an additional 15% lean libertarian. At the other end of the spectrum, an equal number of Americans are consistent communalists (7%), and an additional 17% lean communalist. A majority (54%) of Americans have a mixed ideological profile, falling in between libertarian and communalist orientations.
Compared to the general population, libertarians are significantly more likely to be non-Hispanic white, male, and young. Nearly all libertarians are non-Hispanic whites (94%), more than two-thirds (68%) are men, and more than 6-in-10 (62%) are under the age of 50.
The party affiliation of libertarians skews significantly more Republican than Democratic. Close to half (45%) of libertarians identify as Republican, compared to only 5% who identify as Democrat. However, half of libertarians identify as politically independent (35%) or identify with a third political party (15%), including roughly 1-in-10 (8%) who identify with the Libertarian Party. Roughly 4-in-10 (39%) libertarians identify as part of the Tea Party movement, while 61% do not.
Libertarians make up a smaller proportion of the Republican Party than other key conservative groups. Only 12% of self-identified Republicans are libertarians, compared to 20% of Republicans who identify with the Tea Party, 33% who identify with the religious right or conservative Christian movement, and 37% who identify as white evangelical Protestant.
Libertarians also constitute a smaller proportion of the Tea Party movement than other core conservative groups. Aboutone-quarter (26%) of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement are libertarians, compared to a majority (52%) who say they are a part of the religious right or conservative Christian movement, and 35% who identify as white evangelical Protestant.
Libertarians are composed of a disproportionately high number of white mainline Protestants (27%) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (27%). Only about 1-in-10 (11%) libertarians identify as Catholic, and no libertarians identify as black Protestant.
For the Republican Party, it's hard to see Pew's new survey of American millennials as very good news. Millennials — Americans aged 18 to 33, in Pew's estimation — are racially diverse and generally embrace liberal policies. They're also individualists who are disinclined to categorize themselves in groups, including political parties. Reince Priebus tugs at his collar.
Let's paint Pew's findings from its exhaustive survey of this age group in very broad strokes.
They are diverse, 43 percent non-white.
They identify as politically independent, 50 percent doing so.
They are skeptical of others, with only 19 percent saying most people can be trusted.
They are optimistic about the future, with 49 percent saying America's best days are ahead.
That, despite starting off economically weaker than previous generations. They have record levels of student debt (in part because they're the best-educated generation in history) and are more likely to live in poverty than previous generations at this stage in their lives.
They're less likely to identify with major groups. Fewer than half label themselves as patriots, religious, or environmentalists.
They're less conservative and more liberal than other generations.
We run the distinct risk of oversimplifying as we start parsing this data, of course, itself already an distillation of a large group of people. But it's hard not to see a portrait emerging. For example: It seems that millennials are individualists who have confidence in their own futures and an aversion to relying on other people for their own success. They're so-called "digital natives," of course, but it's still interesting to pull out this line from Pew's summary of its findings: "Fully 55% have posted a 'selfie' on a social media site; no other generation is nearly as inclined to do this." I'm just outside the bounds of Pew's millennial label (and a digital native, I like to think) but if you're trying to figure out if a person is focused more on himself, selfies seem like a decent metric.
And if that portrait holds, it's not terrible news for conservatives. It fits with the growth of political libertarians, which was documented by the Public Religion Research Institute last year. But that group is also one of the groups that's currently in tension with the Republican Party, embracing Ron Paul over Mitt Romney. Its demographics are what you might expect, with PRRI identifying them as "significantly more likely to be non-Hispanic white, male, and young."
...
Millennials in Adulthood - Detached from Institutions, Networked with Friends - Pew Research (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/)
PRRI Survey - 2013 American Values Survey: In Search of Libertarians in America (http://publicreligion.org/research/2013/10/2013-american-values-survey/)
According to a newly developed Libertarian Orientation Scale, less than 1-in-10 (7%) Americans are consistent libertarians, and an additional 15% lean libertarian. At the other end of the spectrum, an equal number of Americans are consistent communalists (7%), and an additional 17% lean communalist. A majority (54%) of Americans have a mixed ideological profile, falling in between libertarian and communalist orientations.
Compared to the general population, libertarians are significantly more likely to be non-Hispanic white, male, and young. Nearly all libertarians are non-Hispanic whites (94%), more than two-thirds (68%) are men, and more than 6-in-10 (62%) are under the age of 50.
The party affiliation of libertarians skews significantly more Republican than Democratic. Close to half (45%) of libertarians identify as Republican, compared to only 5% who identify as Democrat. However, half of libertarians identify as politically independent (35%) or identify with a third political party (15%), including roughly 1-in-10 (8%) who identify with the Libertarian Party. Roughly 4-in-10 (39%) libertarians identify as part of the Tea Party movement, while 61% do not.
Libertarians make up a smaller proportion of the Republican Party than other key conservative groups. Only 12% of self-identified Republicans are libertarians, compared to 20% of Republicans who identify with the Tea Party, 33% who identify with the religious right or conservative Christian movement, and 37% who identify as white evangelical Protestant.
Libertarians also constitute a smaller proportion of the Tea Party movement than other core conservative groups. Aboutone-quarter (26%) of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement are libertarians, compared to a majority (52%) who say they are a part of the religious right or conservative Christian movement, and 35% who identify as white evangelical Protestant.
Libertarians are composed of a disproportionately high number of white mainline Protestants (27%) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (27%). Only about 1-in-10 (11%) libertarians identify as Catholic, and no libertarians identify as black Protestant.