National Journal’s Ron Fournier speculated Monday that, given Millennials’ attitudes today, “the safest bet is” that they’ll eventually turn “against both parties.” Fournier notes that for many young people, the Republican and Democratic parties are often incompatible with Millennial values.
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A recent study by Michelle Diggles, Ph.D explores some of the distinguishing characteristics of the Millennial generation. Among these are social tolerance, skepticism of large institutions — be they church or government — embrace of diversity, openness to government solutions to an extent and eschewing party identity.
Millennials want to mold, but not be molded, by politics.
The study shows that as many as 50 percent of Millennials identify as an independent, a number that’s risen by an astounding 11 percentage points since 2008. A Gallup poll from January showed that 42 percent of Americans identify as independent and concluded that “Americans are increasingly declaring independence from the political parties.”
This independent mentality, meaning “Millennial voters are unlikely to align with a political party that expects blind faith in large institutions – either governmental or nongovernmental,” raises an interesting question:
Are Republicans and Democrats at the mercy of Millennials?
Diggles and Fournier think so. Diggles described the political attitude of the Millennials succinctly:
Millennials have come of age in a period of increasing availability of information and expansive customization of goods and services. Their experiences have led them to an `a la carte worldview, including in politics. They may be voting for Democrats in wider margins than Republicans, but there’s no indication that they have bought the “prix fixe” menu of policy options historically offered by the Democratic Party, nor that brand loyalty to the Party will cement them as Democrats forever. Yet while Republican claims that these voters are winnable in future elections are plausible, they, too, have been asking younger voters to agree to a multi-course tasting menu with limited options. Millennials are pragmatic – they want to know what works and are willing to take ideas from each side. They eschew ideological purity tests of the past. In short, they are winnable by both parties, if only policymakers understood and reflected their values.
In other words, Millennials are a fickle bunch, but not an unreasonable one. When presented with ideas they will listen and even champion them, but success matters. If it isn’t working they notice, and quickly–as evidenced by Millennials fairly rapid abandonment of Obama and Obamacare.
As of December 2013, “57 percent of millennials disapprove[d] of Obamacare, with 40 percent saying it [would] worsen their quality of care and a majority believ[ed] it [would] drive up costs.”
Millennial party independence has also been exemplified by their latching onto a growing libertarian movement, which exhibits similar characteristics of social tolerance, self-reliance, pragmatism, love of liberty and fiscal conservatism.
Student’s For Liberty’s Matthew La Corte commented that “Millennial libertarianism is a dynamic, international, cultural, and intellectual cause with the ultimate goal as the reduction of the role of politics in human affairs.”
“Sure it’s a political philosophy but it’s also a mindset and lifestyle. Libertarianism is not found in a book. It’s not reflected somewhere in a chart. Libertarianism is the product of millions of individual experiences which show that liberty works.”
Regardless, Republicans and Democrats will likely have to contend with somewhat uncertain Millennial ebbs and flows in the next election and beyond.