Move over baby boomers, there’s a new generation in town.
The "pig in the python" metaphor was probably invented to describe the boomer generation, estimated originally at 77 million in the U.S.
For the post-World War II period, everything in America was about the boomers: suburbs planned, TV dinners invented, public school construction exploded and pop trends drove marketing. Business found it was difficult to do anything except cater to the quarter of the country that wouldn’t stop talking about the Beatles.
Now the boomers are looking at Social Security plans and driving (slowly) toward retirement — but they have a political shock awaiting them.
The group to pay attention to is the millennial generation, born between 1982 and 2002. There are 95 million in the millennial generation in the U.S. and they are already having an impact.
Not only are there numerically more in this new generation, they are different. The millennial generation is multi-hued. They have parents and grandparents from Asia, Latin America and Mexico. The boomer generation is based on a white majority because, as historians note, the U.S. essentially closed its borders between 1920 and 1960.
A Pew Research Center paper notes that the "millennial generation" of young voters played a big role in the resurgence of the Democratic Party in the 2006 and 2008 elections.
That support is waning a bit, with early reports from the 2012 election showing a slight tapering of support, but still a majority of millennial voters considering them-selves as Democrats first.
The millennial generation is different; they are not baby boomers who know how to use smart phones, say two millennial generation women from Hawaii, one Democrat and one Republican.
Laurie Au, 28, now doing graduate work at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, is the former deputy communications director for Gov. Neil Abercrombie. She took time off to drive to Ohio to help with the successful "get out the vote" campaign for President Barack Obama.
"As a generation, we may have more of a global view; we are connected globally and see how our economy is interconnected," Au said in an interview.
Twenty-nine-year-old Beth Fukumoto, who briefly was chairwoman of the Hawaii GOP, just won election to the state House as a Republican, ousting 16-year Democratic veteran Marilyn Lee.
"The millennial generation does appear to be more Democratic-leaning, but they appear to be more open-minded, more able to split the ticket and not wedded to one political party," Fukumoto said in an interview.
Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, who at 40 is part of Generation X, says the new generation has important political differences.
"The younger generation cares deeply about a strong economy, but they also believe in gay rights and women’s rights — these have become defining issues for younger voters," Schatz said in an email message.
Also defining the millennial generation is a total connection to a world seen through the Internet.
"We can get the millennial generation more involved, but it has to be on Twitter and via Facebook," said Fukumoto, who got her master’s degree from George Washington University.
If the Republican Party is to win over her generation, it will be with short information bursts.
"People’s understanding now is in flashes, not long narratives," Fukumoto said.
Politics for the new generation may change and evolve as fast as you download a new app for your phone.
—————
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
