Factoid of the day: The myth of the left-wing Boomer
“In 1972, more boomers voted for Richard Nixon than for George McGovern. And in 2008, boomers were split evenly between Barack Obama and John McCain.”
(Source: NY Times, 5.23.10)
“In 1972, more boomers voted for Richard Nixon than for George McGovern. And in 2008, boomers were split evenly between Barack Obama and John McCain.”
(Source: NY Times, 5.23.10)
boomers (born 1943-1960 and the archetype they belong to, the “prophet” generation, are typically low participants in the voting process, almost finding the baseness of politics too below their personal spiritual inquiries.
genxers (archetype, nomad) and born 1961-1981, actually lean more republican with high tendency toward independence (no party loyalty). and where do you think millennials (those born 1982-2002ish and the current iteration of the “hero” archetype) will lean in politics?
they’re fight as a generation is the RIGHT to live a middle class existence … and so the cycle goes. they lean democrat but experience collegial relationships across party lines because they’re so peer-oriented as a gen.
earlier today, i was just talking with a friend about your book DRIVE. we’re both early-wave genxers, like you (born ’62 and ’63) and are wondering if your book taps into the energy of genxers re motivation. curious to see how the concepts of motivation — and how someone might write about it 20 years from now — and how it might be different because they belong to a different generation.
just curious. time will tell.
let me know if you want an author’s copy of “Millennials in the Workplace:
Human Resource Strategies for a New Generation.” i can hook you up. and the author (Neil Howe) is nationally/internationally known for articulating generational theory, but is local to great falls, va.
As one of those boomers who was not a pot-smoking, left wing, anti-war protesting hippie, I appreciate factual information that dispels mistaken impressions created by half-truths, exaggeration, and memories tainted by self-serving romanticism.
The 1972 election was a bit of a statistical anomaly considering McGovern only won 1 state. To gauge the liberalness or conservativeness of “boomers” (my parents) I think we’d have to look at a different election, not one that was such a landslide.
What’s really changing is the increased numbers of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian voters. The percentage of white, non-Hispanic eligible U.S. voters fell below 75 percent in 2008 for the first time ever.
Whites are still in the majority by a long shot, but the balance is shifting.