When Barack Obama was elected last November, I chalked it up to an electorate that was: battle weary after seven years of fighting a war on terror; frustrated with eight years of Republican management (or mismanagement as it were) of the executive office; and, frightened at the sight of their life savings and other investments evaporate overnight. But I was comforted somewhat by the thought that democrats, emboldened with a spark of political relevancy, would inevitably overextend themselves leading to swift retribution at the ballot box.
I still think the former will occur; however, after reading the results of this Rasmussen poll, I'm not sure of any short-term political ramifications benefiting republicans. The phone survey found that 53% of adult respondents believe capitalism is better than socialism, with a quarter apparently not being able to tell the difference between the two.
Perhaps more alarming for the Republican Party, only 37% of those surveyed under the age of 30 years old prefer capitalism - almost evenly divided among those who are BFF's with socialism (33%) and those who couldn't focus their attentions away from the Xbox long enough to venture an opinion (30%).
As we saw in the election, Obama was able to connect with this voting segment in a manner that made republicans seem stale and out of touch. This survey would seem to further that notion - and signal to the GOP that it has its work cut out for it in terms of outreach programs to the younger generation of voters.
Friday, April 10, 2009
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Those people appear to be lacking in education. And my drumbeat of shutting down the Department of Education in Washington as a first step is getting louder (in my head at least). How much money does it cost to keep that behemoth fed and how much has that well-fed behemoth improved the quality of the education of our children (and young adults)? The Department of Education began consuming our tax dollars in 1979...the kids born that year are the high end of the age croup of which you speak. Coincidence?
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