The Grandparents Vote: 70 Million Lovers Of Children

The grandparents of America are one of the largest untapped voting and consuming blocks that is rising to 70 to 80 million people who view many separate issues with one great common interest: the love of their grandchildren and all grandchildren.

As the holiday season arrives, grandparents are looking to buy the grandkids toys that are safe, joining in the national movement to leave their grandkids a better world by combating global warming, and even joining the Peace Corps in record numbers as the Peace Corps reaches out to them, to use their experience in life to serve our country and help the world.

It is one of the most interesting and powerful demographic trends of our time, as the huge surge of baby boomers grows older, there is a whole new age bracket for grandparents who are younger and in many cases at the peak of their careers.

A good example is the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives, who is the ultimate career woman as one of the most powerful leaders in America, but also the ultimate doting grandma.

Nancy Pelosi moves effortlessly from managing trillion dollar legislation and making the Congress environmentally friendly (stay tuned) to planning the most exciting Christmas gifts for the grandkids and the most fun locale for the few holiday breaks the family can take when legislative business allows.

Pelosi is the most visible example of this megatrend in American demographics with even younger grandparents who are in their late 40's and 50's adding to the population of seniors in the more traditional grandparents pool.

While the Census Bureau lags behind the curve and does not yet include a direct question in the Census about the exact number of grandparents or baby boomer grandparents in America the number is huge and will soon reach 80 million Americans.

One new growth company, grandparents.com, is reaching out to baby boomer grandparents as well as the more traditional sixtysomething and older grandparents with their project of "all things grandparents" that could be an important site for discussing issues of unique importance to grandparents as grandparents, with the common denominator being their love for grandkids rather than their particular age group or self-interests.

The grandparents vote creates the possibility of major new issue-based alliances and even potential consumer-based alliances between large groups representing the grandparents and the grandkids on the many issues in which they have a shared interest.

In a column in The Hill newspaper December 5, "The Greening Of America", I suggested there is a new post-partisan majority in America and cited issues such as climate change as drivers of this political phenomenon that defined public opinion. Another good example is a bipartisan bill that helps both grandparents and kids called "The Kinship Caregiver Support Act.

The Senate bill is S 661, introduced by Senators Clinton and Snow, the House bill, H.R. , was introduced Congressmen Danny Davis and. The growing list of sponsors includes both Democrats and Republicans and the support behind the bill includes leading voices that span the generations such as the American Association Of Retired Persons and the Childrens Defense Fund.

This bill would enable many thousands of foster children to share safe and loving families and among many worthy goals, would combine the love and experience of grandparents with the foster children in ways that would light up the love and lives of both.

Similarly, the Peace Corps has begun a highly successful campaign to attract Americans including the baby boomer grandparents, and sixtysomething and older grandparents and seniors to their valuable international work.

These new Peace Corps volunteers bring extraordinary life experience that helps other countries and our country, and poor children living in the Third World are particularly served by having the benefit of the enormous experience, wisdom and knowledge that this latest generation of Peace Corps volunteers bring to the effort.

What gives the grandparents vote such huge potential, is that the grandparents are united in their love of grandchildren, and interested in the issues that benefit not only grandparents and their generation, but grandchildren they love in that special way that only grandparents can fully appreciate.

Protecting the environment and leaving a safer planet to the grandchildren, protecting the kids from toys that can be dangerous and even life-threatening, sharing conversations and family discussion between the grandparents, parents and grandkids are all special attributes of the unique values of grandparents and the extraordinary potential clout of grandparents as voters and consumers, for political leaders and companies that answer their call.

Comments

[peonyharp]

"The Kinship Caregiver Support Act... would enable many thousands of foster children to share safe and loving families and among many worthy goals, would combine the love and experience of grandparents with the foster children in ways that would light up the love and lives of both."

Bringing together two groups of people who are undervalued and oft forgotten by our culture -- what a noble, loving, compassionate outcome to strive for.

I appreciate your writing about this bill, Mr. Budowsky. We owe a debt to those who came before us, and are the guardians of those who will follow us.

[Quaoar]

You might want to use another phrase than "Lovers of Children". People might think you're a member of NAMBLA or a GOP congressman.

[Gipsytim]

What a ridulous notion! Grandparents have been throwing the kids and grandkids under the bus for the better part of two decades now for a tiny little bribe politely referred to as a tax cut. This is the Republican party's true grand achievement - to turn parents against their own children. And itw only going to get worse now that the baby boomers are retiring.

The boomer generation is totally narcisstic and don't give a damn about future generations! This is why George W. Bush is the ultimate baby boomer. In Bush, one sees stripped naked the arrongant self-centeredness of the entire boomer generation. For Bush and his generation is is all about what I want and who cares if others get hurt by the repercussions. This is the true boomer legacy and future historians will look upon the boomer era with shock and horror at how one generation could devour and destroy everything like a swarm of locusts.

[jmpurser]

It does occur to me that the beloved grandma's about to take the field are the same ones who voted to steal 9 trillion dollars from the grand kids in the first place. The idea of them as a power voting block just doesn't thrill me.

[Pdubya]

thanks for this.

check out www.grannywarriors.com

[LiberalLo]

If all these boomer grandparents who supposedly love their grandchildren and everyone else's, why is george bush president of the United States for his second term? And why is there a legislature that does not have enough votes to override dumya's veto? Were they not able to comprehend what he did in his first term and that their children's children unto the third and fourth generation will be paying for his malfeasance? This member of the "greatest generation" would like to know.

[jmpurser]

You can only expect grandma to vote in the grandkids best interest WHEN SHE LIVES IN THE SAME LOCALE AS THE GRANDKIDS!!!

If Grandma has moved to AZ, NM, or FL then don't count on her voting to raise property taxes to pay for better shools.

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Spend $billions on a stupid war and plain old re-distribution to the already wealthy. Stick the kids with the bill. Hope some cheap toys buys them off.
Where the GOP prove they are the true masters is making the current generations feel good about making the kids pay.