Top G.O.P. Pollster Finds Young Americans Are Terrifyingly Liberal
Frank Luntz looks at young Americans and does not like what he sees. (Gage Skidmore / (CC BY-SA 2.0))
New polling by the right-wing political consultant Frank Luntz found that Americans age 18 to 26 are so liberal that what he describes as their “hostility” to “the underpinnings of the American economy and the American government” should “frighten every business and political leader” and “excite activists for Sanders and, to a lesser degree, Clinton activists.”
Luntz surveyed 1,000 18 to 26-year-olds between February 11 and 14. He found young Americans to be optimistic about the future, with 61 percent saying the United States’ best days are ahead and 88 percent saying they are somewhat, very or extremely optimistic about their economic prospects, while still being concerned about “corruption,” “greed,” and “inequality.”
Jon Schwarz reports at The Intercept:
President Obama is not their favorite political figure — Bernie Sanders is. Indeed, 31 percent said Bernie Sanders is the major political figure they “like and respect the most” — more than Obama (18 percent) and Hillary Clinton (11 percent). Many fewer young people like and respect Republican politicians, with just 9 percent choosing Donald Trump, 5 percent George W. Bush and 5 percent Ted Cruz. Bill Clinton has been nearly forgotten, with only 3 percent choosing him. Elizabeth Warren also has low visibility, chosen by just 2 percent. All in all, 66 percent of young Americans chose a Democratic political figure.
Admiration of Sanders is especially strong among the younger half of respondents, with 40 percent of 18- to 21-year-olds saying he’s the political figure they most like and respect.
In addition, more 18- to 21-year-olds chose Sanders as the person they’d most like to have dinner with than anyone else, ahead of Obama, Jennifer Lawrence, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Gates, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
They aren’t nationalistic: 58 percent of respondents said they agreed more with the statement “America isn’t better or worse than most other countries” than with “America is exceptional. It’s better than every other country in the world.” In fact, 35 percent of 18 to 26-year-olds, including 42 percent of 18 to 21-year-olds, said they considered themselves more a citizen of the world than of the U.S.
Read more here.
—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
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Source: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/top_gop_pollster_finds_young_americans_are_terrifyingly_liberal_20160225/
