Maybe The Democrats Aren’t The Party For Millennials
Republicans aren’t the party for Millennials, at least the socially conscious ones. But this Democratic primary has me wondering if, perhaps, the Democratic Party isn’t for us either. Because without realizing it, the Democratic Party has inflicted a wound on itself by ignoring one of the largest campaign issues of today. And it’s why Bernie Sanders took 84% of the 17–29 year old vote at the Iowa Caucus.
INTEGRITY
Integrity is an important issue for Millennials. According to a 2015 Harvard University Poll on Millennials, 51% said that integrity is the most valued attribute for a future president, while only 18% said that political experience was the most valued.
Why is integrity so important to Millennials? According to a 2014 survey by the World Economic Forum, 72% of Millennials surveyed said that corruption was holding our country back. Asked whether corruption has a negative impact on healthcare and education, 74% said that it does, and 84% agreed corruption has a negative impact on the judicial system and law enforcement. Integrity is important to Millennials because they are leading the charge in an important shift in thought: You can’t reform a corrupt political system if you enjoy the spoils of that corruption.
But the Democratic National Committee and their in-house candidate Hillary Clinton don’t seem to understand this shift. In defense of accepting Wall Street lobby money, Hillary Clinton pointed out that Barack Obama accepted money from Wall Street and still enacted reform. In other words, you can benefit from a politically corrupt system and still put a stop to corruption. Not only does this miss the point of integrity entirely, it is not accurate. Whatever reform Barack Obama enacted, the largest financial institutions are larger than they were in 2008 and no one has gone to jail over the man made financial recession.
When the Democratic Party claims to be the party that will rein in Wall Street, enact campaign finance reform and end the Prison Lobby Complex, the behavior of their lead candidate, of the chair of the DNC and of the party as a whole gives no indication that they would do such a thing. Hillary Clinton is profiting from Wall Street, from lack of campaign finance reform and from the Prison Lobby Complex. The chair of the DNC is profiting from corporate interests. The pharmaceutical and financial industries are amongst the top Democratic financial supporters. This can all be found on www.opensecrets.org
A majority of Millennials (51%) identified integrity as the top attribute for a future president. And as of 2013, Millennials are the largest generation in America, representing one third of the American population.
One would think that the Democratic Party would be responsive to such a large voting force. But instead, Millennials are told they don’t understand how politics work, that they’re selfish, that they’re naive and idealistic, that they need to fall in line, that someone who doesn’t buy into this corrupt system has no chance of winning an election. And even more insultingly, they’re told that they shouldn’t trust their own judgment. That just because they see corruption in a candidate’s behavior, doesn’t mean that they are corrupt. Just because Hillary accepts money from Wall Street, doesn’t mean she’s beholden to them! Well… why are they giving her money?
But let’s be clear: Hillary Clinton is not the problem with the Democratic Party. She is one of many embodiments of the problems of the Democratic Party and our political system as a whole. The Democrats have had time and opportunities to be champions of integrity and root out the corrupting influence of money in our political system, but instead they have been culprits, along with the Republican politicians.
It’s the ability to know and do what is right, even when it isn’t financially profitable, and it’s at the core of Millennial voters’ concerns. This is why Bernie Sanders is surging amongst our generation. We’re not idolizing him as a savior.
The DNC should take note of this growing force in their electorate, the Millennials, and reckon with the call for integrity. Otherwise we might start to wonder if the Democrats are the right party for Millennial voters. Given that we’re so short on options for political parties, I think at this time, it’s best we put the Democratic Party on notice:
Get behind systemic change or get left behind.
