Obama and the Post-Partisan Vote

Less than ten days in, the Obama administration is already embroiled in the partisan controversies that have dogged every president over the last thirty years, dispelling any notion of a honeymoon for the new president. With conservatives on Capitol Hill reverting to the attack-dog mode they perfected during the Clinton years, it's easy to understand why Obama's liberal supporters are becoming uneasy over the president's continued efforts to seek grounds for compromise with his Republican adversaries. "If the conservatives are going to act like this is war," many on the left are saying, "Then we need to start shooting back."

Obama is not going to be a pushover for the Republicans, as his blunt "I won" in response to some of the Republicans' more extreme demands in last week's meeting about the stimulus package demonstrated. But those who want Obama to declare open warfare against the right are missing the point. Obama's conciliatory moves--from selecting Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor of California's Saddleback Church, to deliver the invocation at the inauguration to bending over backward to entertain conservative complaints about details of the stimulus bill--don't indicate weakness or uncertainty on his part. Instead, they reflect his consistent desire to position himself as the first political voice representing post-partisan America.

Like so much of what Obama has done, this strategy has its roots in generational change. In all of his political choices, Obama has his eyes on 95 million young Americans currently aged 9 to 30--the Millennials. The largest generation in history (more numerous even than the Baby Boomers), they played a major role in Obama's election, favoring him by fully two-thirds (66 percent), as compared with the 54 percent majority carried by John Kerry four years earlier. Out of 23 million Millennial votes cast, this produced a seven million vote plurality for Obama--virtually the same as Obama's overall margin of victory.

And as we discovered when we researched the values and attitudes of the Millennials for our book Generation We, for today's youth, the culture wars are over. The Millennials are more accepting of gender equality, gay rights, racial blending, immigration, and divergent political views than any other generation. This is true even of Millennials who consider themselves evangelical Christians (twenty percent of the young people we surveyed--or about 19 million nationwide).

In our surveys and focus groups, we heard countless comments like this one from a Millennial youth in Denver: "We've all grown up after the civil rights and the women's rights movements. So I think we're more tolerant, regardless of culture or sexual orientation." Or this one, from a self-described evangelical Christian: "Conservative, liberal--you got to be able to go to both sides. Democrats don't have all the answers, Republicans don't have all the answers. Being open-minded to change is what's important."

Rather than cultural shibboleths or political labels, today's young people are focused on the same issues the Obama administration is talking about--the economy, energy, health care, education, and the environment. Many of Obama's recent moves--from selecting of Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor of California's Saddleback Church, to deliver the invocation at the inauguration, to breaking bread with a gaggle of conservative pundits, to bending over backward to entertain conservative complaints about details of the stimulus bill--reflect the same theme of outreach.

They may appear questionable from a short-term political perspective; after all, Democrats in Congress have enough votes to pass a stimulus bill without the support of a single Republican. But Obama, we believe, is always thinking about the new coalition he wants to build for the next decade--a coalition in which post-partisan, even anti-partisan Millennials will play a crucial role.

Our guess is that today's young people overwhelmingly like seeing their president extending a hand of cooperation to politicians across the aisle. And if the conservatives respond by biting it off, they will only further discredit themselves in the eyes of tomorrow's biggest and most powerful political bloc--and further solidify the Millennials' attachment to the Obama coalition.

Progressives concerned about the policy decisions that the Obama team will make in the next four years shouldn't be complacent. History shows that continued pressure from the grassroots is essential to forcing change. But we mustn't get distracted by symbolic gestures--especially ones whose meaning may not be as obvious as we assume.

Eric Greenberg sponsored a major research survey into the values and attitudes of the Millennial generation conducted by the respected Gerstein | Agne opinion research organization. He and Karl Weber are authors of the book Generation We: How Millennial Youth Are Taking Over America and Changing Our World Forever.

www.gen-we.com

Comments

[Knappsteroni]

Excellent article. thank you. I think so many of us get wrongly thrown into into the progressive category. The way I see it, the Millenial Group is far more about a gaze FORWARD away from the stale political arguments made by progressives, and toward action.

Postpartisanship is not so much about a particular result or any substantive policy view. It is an attitude, an approach. The crucial point: the measure of Obama's postpartisan effectiveness is not the number of Republicans who vote for legislation he supports.

The Post Partisan
http://postpartisannews.com/

[Justice Reign]

I am technically outside of the age of the Millennials being 32, but in spirit I feel a part of them. I am excited about this change, I am excited for progress, I am excited for what we as a nation, and a community of people as a whole can become.

http://blog.jreignconsulting.com/2009/01/28/why-obama--why-now.aspx

[Gloria Ulmer]

Thank you this is a very nice article.

It was expected for 'Progressives' to try to dissect every decision making process made by President Obama and his team.

It is also expected from the 'Progressives' to re-visit the policies and decisions taken in the past eight years by President Bush and his team.

In today's generation the 'Millennial group' has a 'more up to date' oversight of what should be a priority in decision making processes and I am convinced that President Obama with his team have the more up to date oversight.

The 'Progressives' seem to be stuck in the old ways 'the way it always used to be.'
Stagnation means to idle, to stand still, to be indifferent and uninterested towards the needs of the people.

The 'Millennial group' are working towards change.
Evolution means growth, progress, development and change for the betterment of all the people.

[Ugonna]

thank you!

[Charmed]

Nice Article.