The Coming Apocalypse
David Brooks, in his column in The New York Times, describes an impending disaster for Republicans.
But it’s hard to look at the generational data and not see long-term disaster for Republicans. Some people think generations get more conservative as they age, but that is not borne out by the evidence. Moreover, today’s generation gap is not based just on temporary intellectual postures. It is based on concrete, lived experience that is never going to go away.
Unlike the Silent Generation and the boomers, millennials and Gen Z voters live with difference every single day. Only 16 percent of the Silent Generation is minority, but 44 percent of the millennial generation is. If you are a millennial in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona or New Jersey, ethnic minorities make up more than half of your age cohort. In just over two decades, America will be a majority-minority country.
I remember this being a prevalent thought during the last few years of the Obama presidency. It’s why I was shocked and saddened at the election of Trump. Looking back now, I think Trump is that last gasp of a party that has been surpassed by a whole generation about to be able to vote in the 2020 election.
What I don’t see is how the Republican party can change. Who are the young, dynamic Young Republicans and what will they stand for?