Once and for all, Boomers are not GOP they are Democrats

[Fresh_Start]

They are primarily Democratic.
On this chart they are the age 44-62 cohort which is predominantly democratic.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1018/democrats-post-gains-i...

[DUFan]

1. Thank you

I'm 56 and the people I see around me who are Republican are the age of my parents, not my peers.

[MineralMan]

2. Boomers are not any one thing. Not by any means.

They're divided, just like the rest of the population. It's impossible to make such broad statements and have them be anywhere near accurate. There are no easy answers.

That said, the stats show that we're Democratic in larger numbers than not. Many of us have also been strong activists since the 1960s. Boomers, however, also include some real doozies of conservative Republicans. We're pretty diverse.

[Fresh_Start]

4. it is possible to make statistical inferences

and its true that the Boomers are statistically more Dem/Dem Leaning, than GOP/GOP leaning.
Are we supposed to discard statistics and facts in the spirit of bipartisanship?

[MineralMan]

9. No, it's not stupid to use that information.

However, your OP title is misleading. I suggest that you always use qualifiers in your statement. It's not true to say that Boomers are Democracts. It is true to say that 51% of Boomers are Democrats. There's a real difference between the two statements, and accuracy is important.

It has nothing to do with bipartisanship or anything else. Statistics have to be used appropriately. Yes, we have a majority of Democrats among the Boomers, but it's hardly a large majority. It's divided, like every age group.

It's just as incorrect to say that boomers are Democrats as to say they are Republicans. Qualify your statements to make them more accurate and you'll make your point better.

[Fresh_Start]

15. I expected people to read 3 lines and look at the chart

not hiding anything

[MineralMan]

18. Expect nothing. Few people on DU bother to click through to

links. It's up to you to provide the information in your OP. Words are free. Charts can be linked to and imbedded.



See. All you have to do is right click the chart, copy the url of the image, then paste it into your post. It's just an image.

The more information you include in your OP, the more people will understand your point. Take some time and make your OP useful. You'll get a much better response.

[snot]

38. Seconding MineralMan's reply.

[elleng]

22. Headlines are important, always.

[Fresh_Start]

25. ok...but I'm an engineer not a writer

we create big reports

[elleng]

28. I understand; my best friend is an engineer!

and I'm a lawyer > writer. We all understand difference between Premise and underlying support, and how the parts work. 'just sayin'

[Fresh_Start]

29. I'm tired of all the boomer bashing

not a day goes by on DU without something being blamed on boomers.

[MineralMan]

31. So, present your case well. It's a relatively easy case to make.

But, you have to present it factually and without false generalizations. It's easy to do. Think of it as a report on one of your engineering projects. Tell the story completely and you'll make your point. The facts demonstrated by those charts show that slightly more than half of boomers are Democrats. That's good, but it also means that almost half are Republicans. So, it's not correct to say that "Boomers are Democrats." Only about half are Democrats. There are plenty of conservative wingers in that age group, too. More than plenty, if you ask me.

[Fresh_Start]

32. please ask the boomer bashers to do that

I at least supplied some facts if people wanted to look at them
the boomer bashers are fact free

[MineralMan]

33. Never mind. You'll do as you please.

You can rely on me to point out where you've missed the mark, though. Me and many others who think information is important and should be presented in an accurate way.

[Dappleganger]

16. This is what I think too.

They are quite divided.

Now the under-30's, they are far less apt to be religious and republican--a very good thing. We just have to figure out a way to motivate their asses to the voting booth.

[Fresh_Start]

5. I'm one of the younger boomers

and not even my doctor/lawyer friends are GOP.

[HereSince1628]

3. And the majority have online computer service at home and a cell phone

But then there is always perception.

I expect only 20% of people under 30 voted on Tuesday because they felt hopeless in comparison to those huge numbers of republican baby-boomers.



We will NEVER EVER learn.

[Le Taz Hot]

6. I can't recommend this enough.

And look at the Unrecs! If there was EVER any doubt that this board has a large bias against the no-long-wet-behind-the-ears, that should clear it up for ya.

And don't you just LOVE the post about "senior moment?" AND IT'S ALLOWED TO STAND! "Senior moment' THIS ya . . . .

[Radical Activist]

7. They voted for Nixon over McGovern and for Reagan over Mondale.

Boomers have never elected a progressive President. Thank goodness for Gens X and Y.

[Fresh_Start]

8. Show me the numbers

I didn't vote for either of those or the Bushes.

[Radical Activist]

11. Your own link shows whites aged 50-64 are majority Republican.

Scroll down the page.

I've posted the election results by age on this page for the benefit of boomers who can't accept that hippies and liberals were always the minority of their generation. You can google it yourself this time. The facts are what they are.

[Fresh_Start]

13. are boomers now only white and only 50 or older?

why don't you also exclude Northern boomers and Western boomers while you are at it.

[Radical Activist]

21. You're in denial.

There are plenty of liberals and hippie boomers with the maturity to admit they were always in the minority of their generation. Assuming that any comment about the baby boom generation is also about YOU personally shows a level of self-absorption that, unfortunately, fits the stereotype of the boomer "Me Generation." The boomers never gave us a progressive President.

[Gormy Cuss]

39. It also shows that white 30-49 year olds are an even higher majority Republican.

So much for those Gen-Xers. Also, as Fresh Start pointed out, that's a chart for whites only.

Your misinterpretation of the linked data suggests that you didn't read it very carefully.

[demodonkey]

10. Bull. Some so-called Boomers were only 9 years old when Nixon beat McGovern.

Making them 17 when Reagan was elected.

At my polls Tuesday, I saw mostly Boomers, a few Greatest Generationers hanging on. The Gen X particularly stayed away in droves.

[Radical Activist]

12. So what you're saying is that when mostly boomers vote we get Republican victories?

You're not helping your argument. It's kind of silly to take things personally. The facts are what they are.

[demodonkey]

14. No, I am saying Gen X particularly is too sullen to vote.

The Dem boomers I know vote every time, not just when it is convenient or seems cool. If the Gen X Dems had come out, Dems overall might have done better.

And FYI I don't believe your "facts".

[Radical Activist]

17. Feel free to look it up.

Boomers voted for Nixon and Reagan. Maybe more young people would vote if boomer candidates had half a clue about the issues young people care about. You can only care about "saving" social security so much when you're a barista with a masters degree and a mountain of student loan debt and you're looking forward to the climate change disaster that the wasteful boomer generation left for us.

[demodonkey]

26. I have better things to do than look up stats, like working for election reform.

It's all about you isn't it? YOUR job isn't commensurate with YOUR education. YOUR debt. YOUR future. You, you, YOU.

That is the difference between so-called "young" people and the Boomers and generations that came before. Gen X and Y are all about 'me' not 'we' and the older they get the less attractive this is.

One bright spot, the truly young people, those just entering voting age and younger, seem to be much more engaged in helping others and caring about society as a whole. I hope for the sake of everyone's future that they stay that way.

[RaleighNCDUer]

35. Trust me, SS will become an issue for you much sooner than you think.

And who started Earth Day in 1970? Boomers.

We've been in the fight at least a generation longer than you, and at least WE know who the enemy is. It is NOT the left.

[RaleighNCDUer]

34. Not true and you know it.

For one thing, half the boomers were not yet eligible to vote in 72. In 76, when there were many millions more eligible, Carter was elected. Then, in 80, when all but the real tail-enders born in 63 & 64 were able to vote, the young, idealistic, overwhelmingly liberal boomers were not voting FOR Reagan but were splitting the vote between Carter and Anderson, in the fallout of the internicine battle between Carter and Kennedy, which put Reagan over the top.

Of course, if you were 10 then you wouldn't know that.

[Bluenorthwest]

19. DU loves to broad brush older voters

when the numbers are against them.

[Pryderi]

20. Too bad they haven't changed their party registration since 1969. n/t

[TexasObserver]

23. recommend

[Johonny]

24. call me guilty

I tend to think of anyone over 44 as a boomer

[Fresh_Start]

27. the people on social security are the silent generation

the first boomers qualified for social security 2 years ago if they were able to retire at 62 but for full retirement age 66...they are still not old enough.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RaleighNCDUer]

37. There is significant overlap between the generations -

A late boomer who has early boomer sibs is much more of the 'boomer' mindset, while a late boomer who does not, and who is the eldest sib him/herself references much differently than even his/her contemporaries. A late boomer who discovered the world through elder sibs will naturally reference cultural events through the elder sibs - IOW, a ten year old experiencing JFKs assassination will color his memories by how his more politically aware elder sibs were effected; a ten year old whose only reference is the the newcasts and the adults around him will have a vastly different experience. To those with early boomer references it is much more of a shock - to those with only late boomer/gen X references it, followed by RFK, MLK, even Wallace, will be processed with more cynicism.

That cynicism is the source of, in your words, libertarian nutbaggery.

[barbtries]

36. i'm a boomer

and a life long democrat. who leans left.