(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Gen Z is going to save our democracy [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-12 While Vice President Kamala Harris continues her dramatic rise in the polls as her campaign of joy, positivity, and optimism generates levels of enthusiasm not seen among Democrats since 2008, convicted felon Donald Trump sinks further into desperation, denial, and delusion. Prison is looking more likely every day. Make no mistake: We have a long way to go until Nov. 5, and if this year has taught us anything, crazy shit can happen out of nowhere. But I’d rather be ahead within a margin of error in swing states than behind. And that’s where Harris is now, holding a 50%-46% lead over Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Trump’s going to have to triple down on the rigging in Georgia to have any hope of offsetting that electoral disadvantage. Two things are killing Trump’s campaign: 1) He’s now the old, out-of-touch candidate who appears to be losing it, and 2) the average, normal American — non-MAGA, in other words — is pretty worn out and repelled by Trump’s corrosive anger, perpetual grievances, and unparalleled narcissism. Not to mention the insurrectionist-in-chief is rapidly becoming unhinged. The Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago from Aug. 19-22. Harris should get another bump in support coming out of the Windy City, which means her lead could increase — and her momentum build — with just 75 days left in the campaign. It’s unlikely Trump’s campaign of hate and retribution will stem the tide in such a short time. And the key to Harris’s victory in November? Young voters. Yes, I know, younger voters historically haven’t turned out for presidential elections. Of 13 elections since 1972, turnout among voters ages 18 to 29 topped 50% only four times: 1972 — 55.4% 1992 — 52% 2008 — 51.1% 2020 — 55% This bodes well for Harris, and here’s why: In the first three results above, the Democratic nominee was a “future,” or “change,” candidate — George McGovern (1972), Bill Clinton (1992), Barack Obama (2008) — who motivated young voters to go to the polls. Harris is the change candidate in this presidential election. Trump is 78 years old. His clear mental decline, which has been chronicled for many months in this blog and elsewhere, has sharply accelerated since President Joe Biden stepped aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee on July 21, just days after the Republican National Convention. Harris since has dominated the media spotlight, reducing Trump to spouting nonsense about how Harris’s enormous rally crowds are AI fakes. Trump’s act is tired and predictable, and he will only become more deranged as the campaign enters the fall. Notice that the year in which turnout among young voters was highest was in 2020, when Biden defeated Trump. You hardly could call Biden a “change” candidate four years ago, but he certainly was the “sane” candidate. And young voters recognized that. But the Biden of 2024 could not inspire younger voters, who already were concerned about his age before the June 27 CNN debate meltdown that precipitated the 81-year-old incumbent’s exit from the race. Many young voters also harbored deep hostility toward Biden for siding with Israel and (in their eyes) tacitly supporting the slaughter of innocent Palestinians. In early July, I wrote: While there certainly is awareness among many young voters that Trump should never be let anywhere near the Oval Office again, there also is genuine concern that Biden is too old now to do the job he wants us to give him for the next four years. Now young voters have in Harris someone in whose competence, commitment, and energy they trust, and they are responding. In this MSNBC segment, Director of Polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics John Della Volpe, offers some insights based on surveys of Gen Z voters. The money quote from Della Volpe: “Significant numbers of young people say [Harris] is listening, she cares about them, and that she’s fighting for the things that they care about. Those are the qualities and attributes that young people seek in a modern president, and she’s improving every single day on those things. Beyond that, younger people will want to see her values, and to ensure that they’re aligned where they are — and I believe that they are — and then her vision for the future. So, again, these are the earliest days. She has their attention. Many are helping her on social media lift up the excitement that they see across these rallies.” Unless it turns out that Gen Z is AI-generated and thus another insidious fake, this spells real trouble for Donald Trump, convicted felon. (From Project Orange: Saving Democracy From the Trump-MAGA Cult) [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/12/2262749/-Gen-Z-is-going-to-save-our-democracy?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/