Democrats couldn't win without 'em!
Republicans decided to figure out why young voters were
avoiding their party like MySpace:
The most damning conclusions lay in the survey’s examination of how people view the two major parties in terms of broad attributes. For Democrats, young voters chose “tolerant,” “diverse” and “open-minded,” while for Republicans they often chose “rich” and “religious.”
In focus groups in January, the report said, young voters were asked to list leaders of the Democratic Party. “They named prominent former or currently elected officials: Pelosi, the Clintons, Obama, Kennedy, Gore. When those same respondents were asked to name Republican leaders, they focused heavily on media personalities and commentators: Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck.”
So it’s not terribly surprising that when they were asked what words came to mind when they heard "Republican Party," the results "were brutal — closed-minded, racist, rigid, old-fashioned."
Per the exit polls:
18-24: Obama 60, Romney 36
25-29: Obama 60, Romney 38
30-39: Obama 55, Romney 42
40-49: Obama 48, Romney 50
50-64: Obama 47, Romney 52
65+: Obama 44, Romney 56
The circle of life and all, this is horrible news for the GOP. Their strongest supporters are the most likely to not be around the next cycle. Meanwhile, those young voters aren't just young, but also heavily brown. The median age of a native-born Latino is 18. As of last month, Latinos students outnumber their white counterparts in Texas schools. In 10 years, that'll be true for everyone in the state.
So when these youngsters talk about "racist" and "rigid" and "closed-minded" Republicans, they do so not just as an observation, but from personal experience. And with the GOP so closely branded with the buffoonery of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Bill O'Reilly, there is little chance the party can reverse that perception; Republicans aren't about to start distancing themselves from their right-wing media overlords.
Limbaugh and O'Reilly like to brag about their power, and it's true. They've been clearly instrumental in costing Republicans the millennial vote for a generation, if not forever.