Exploring a theory about age and party loyalty

[BainsBane]

I'm wondering if there is a correlation between age and how one feels about politics and the Democratic Party.
So if you'd indulge my curiosity by answering the following poll, I'd appreciate it.

14 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	I'm 18-35 and I am a proud supporter of the Democratic Party
	0 (0%)
	I'm 18-35 and I am disillusioned with the Democratic Party
	2 (14%)
	I'm 36-55 and I'm a proud supporter of the Democratic Party
	7 (50%)
	I'm 36-55 and I am disillusioned with the Democratic Party
	1 (7%)
	I'm over 55 and I'm a proud supporter of the Democratic Party
	4 (29%)
	I'm over 55 and I am disillusioned with the Democratic Party
	0 (0%)
	How dare you ask my age?
	0 (0%)
	How dare you ask my political affiliation?
	0 (0%)
	I'm a Republican mole
	0 (0%)
	Other-explain below
	0 (0%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[2banon]

1. Poll is too "black and white' either/or

and the higher age bracket should be increased ... just my 2 cents

[BainsBane]

2. I understand

but the slots are limited.

[2banon]

15. true, that.. ;) n/t

[BainsBane]

7. I could change the upper age brackets

but people have already answered. Kind of don't think I should now.

[dipsydoodle]

3. What actually comes with age is cynicism

.

[Whiskeytide]

12. Possibly, ....

... but you could also argue that wisdom and tolerance comes with age. I think that the older we get, the more we come to accept that we're all different, even - especially - within the Democratic party itself. Our list of important issues will look very similar, but your number one may be different from my number one, and there may be several on my list that don't appear on yours, and vice versa.

When, by design, an organization represents a very diverse group of people, and yet cannot be all things to all people at all times, some level of dissatisfaction among some members of that group at certain times is simply inevitable.

As I have gotten older, I have come to realize this. I'm a little more patient and realistic. I understand that we cannot make make things right across the entire political spectrum overnight. Its a big political animal. It moves slowly. We just have to keep it moving. This doesn't mean I'm always happy with Democratic leadership. I'm just more understanding.

[Broken_Hero]

4. I'm between 36-55

and I'm very supportive of the Dem party. My dad was Union, and my mother was a Dem as well. My aunt, and grandmother are both republicans and I believe all of my brothers are RWers, and my one sister is a Dem.

[ZombieHorde]

5. I have never identified as Democrat.

They're way, way too violent for my taste.

[BainsBane]

6. but do you vote for Democrats?

I think that is more important than how one identifies.

[ZombieHorde]

8. I do for local elections.

I live in Montana, which is a red state, so my vote for POTUS doesn't matter, so I don't always vote Dem. I voted for Obama the first time, but wrote in a name the last time. I usually write in names for POTUS.

[Fumesucker]

9. And coincidentally collecting names for the great purist purge of 2014

[pintobean]

10. I think there's a mentor. /nt

[Capt. Obvious]

18. She's making a new list

[frazzled]

11. If DU reflected society at large in its distribution of ages ...

this poll might be of some interest. I think previous polls have shown, however, that the DU population skews older. So of course you will get a greater percentage of older responses.

[bigwillq]

13. 36 and disillusioned with political parties (nt)

[reformist2]

14. I would say I "settle" for the Democratic Party. I never had any "illusions" about it.

[BainsBane]

16. That works

As long as you vote Dem. It's probably closer to my own views as well.

[BainsBane]

17. Kick

[Warren DeMontague]

19. I'm proudillusioned. Or disallowed.

Edited: Saw your response

[BainsBane]

21. I answered

I think I know the problem. You saw my picture, assumed I was under 35, and looked in the wrong column.

[Warren DeMontague]

22. I get that. People are constantly shocked to find out I'm not simultaneously 12, and 90.

Honest mistake.

[BainsBane]

23. Here's a tip

Never tell Seabeyond your age (or anything else you don't want broadcasted). She ran around Colorado Springs and Pueblo announcing it to everyone.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. I bet it was a hoot, seriously.

The mountains mess with my head- I'm very much a sea level person- but that's some undeniably beautiful country.

[Douglas Carpenter]

20. I'm over 55 and support the Democratic Party almost always - but I never had an illusion

that it is not dominated by Wall Street power - so I guess one cannot be disillusioned if they never had an illusion that the party was something it is not

[Aerows]

24. While I like the fact that you posted this poll

when it comes to Democrats, you could have just as easily asked:

"I like cats and I support the Democratic Party"

"I like cats and I am disillusioned by the Democratic party"

"I do not like cats and I am disillusioned by the Democratic party"

"I do not like cats and I support the Democratic party"

Your poll is just as valid as that one, because we don't vote as a behemoth bloc. Each of us as individuals have nuances that contribute to our votes.

I'm not trying to be critical, just being honest about the validity of polling statistics.

[elleng]

26. 'Pride' has little to do with it,

smart, wise, something else.

[doxydad]

27. LONG TIME Dem

At age 62, I have been a lifetime Dem, and YEP I vote! And write checks to progressive candidates, regardless of their State, or mine.

[etherealtruth]

28. How about "kinda proud" and "kinda disillusioned"

I have bifurcated feelings

[YoungDemCA]

41. Same

nt

[bravenak]

29. I'm 33.

The democratic party hates itself so much that i cannot call myself exactly loyal. We apparently hate president Obama and he is the reason i call myself a dem. Like many millinials i have not voted in many cycles and 2 out of three i have voted for obama. I can't stay loyal to a party that hates my favorite president, but i also can never vote republican.

I remind myself daily that DU is not representative of the average democrat and that keeps me in the Party. Once my generation takes over the reins things will improve and the country will shift left at a more rapid pace. Younger democrats are not conservative, so there will be no blue dogs to appease. And the repulicans will be mostly dead or in nursing facilities. One can only hope they haven't spread the sickness.

We have a choice right now between moving toward a handmaids tale dystopia or a star trek future.
And we have already decided, the right knows it and it scares the shit out of them. The left knows it too they are just so beat down from years of 'reaganing' that they lack the confidence to fight. Of course the republicans fight harder and scream louder. They are cornered rats trying to protect their nests. You can call us the exterminators. The revolution is already won. Our numbers grow daily while they die off. And my kids will be far more liberal then i am.

So conservatives, enjoy the end of your second gilded age. When your rich asses are old we will make you pay and mock you at the same time. Looking at the koch boy on tee vee today let me know the mocking has begun. And it shall never end.

[BainsBane]

30. I don't believe the Democratic Party hates the president

polls show otherwise. DU is FAR from representative of the party.

I was surprised when I saw your vote because your views are clearly differently from the rest who voted that way.

[bravenak]

31. If i only read DU i would not know that the majority of dems support the president.

Here supporters get called obamabots or some weakness like that.

My vote just means i see alot of areas that need improvement, but i know that it will take a while to fix it. We constantly let republicans frame the narrative and give them fuel for their fires. We fight each other thinking that we are noble idealists, and they use our words against the whole party. We need to get it together and stop letting idiots beat us.

[pipi_k]

32. Like someone else said...

Pride has nothing to do with it.

I support the Democratic Party because I agree with much of what it stands for, and because the alternative sucks.

[scarletwoman]

33. Disllusioned/Proud seems like an odd dichotomy to me.

I'm 64 years old, and I've voted in every election (local, midterm, presidential) since I was old enough to vote. And I've always voted for whichever Democrat was on offer, on the basis that no matter how much the Democrat might suck, the Republican will always suck worse.

I can't say it's so much a matter of pride, as it is a matter of practicality. It's very much a matter of mitigating potential harm. I suppose I could be "proud" about desiring a mitigation of harm, but it seems to me that's rather thin sauce.

I can say that I'm proud to have voted for McGovern over Nixon, Mondale over Reagan, Wellstone over his two different Repug opponents, Mark Dayton for MN governor, Al Franken over that despicable weasel Coleman, Jim Oberstar repeatedly until that asshole Cravack defeated him in 2010, then Nolan over Cravack.

Other than those, I've always simply voted Dem because I would never, ever vote for a Republican. I don't see it as "pride" so much as principle.

The fact is, I AM quite disillusioned in general, and definitely cynical.

So, "disillusioned"? "Proud"? Both. My loyalty isn't to a party, it's to my personal principle of mitigating harm. So I'll be proud to vote for someone who supports the same principle, and disillusioned when I have to vote for someone who, at best, just isn't as awful as the alternative.

However, I WILL vote, and I will always vote for the Democrat.

[BainsBane]

34. I should have left out proud

supporting the party is enough.

[scarletwoman]

38. The thing is, I don't much care for the concept of "party loyalty".

I'm not a sports fan, I don't get into "supporting" a team.

I support individual candidates in individual electoral races. I don't support a candidate because he or she is a Democrat, I support them because the alternative is worse.

Believe me, if there were a viable progressive third party out there running candidates who actually had a chance of winning an election, I wouldn't give a shit about the Democrats.

[hrmjustin]

35. I am 35 and a strong supporter of the democratic party.

[Skip Intro]

36. This doesn't feel right. Like you're trying to get people on record or something.

Almost like a back-door purity test or oath. Not that that is your intent, just comes across strong to me that way.

I'm not sure age and party loyalty are related, but I do suspect an age and realism correlation. At some point the truth becomes far more important than the show.

[TBF]

37. 36-55

Wish we had a strong socialist or communist party. But we don't and it's a two party system so I deal with reality ...

[Blue_In_AK]

39. I'm over 55, I support the Democratic Party,

but I am also disillusioned with it. So I guess I don't fit neatly into your poll choices. I can't get enthusiastic about Democrats who aren't progressive, so I don't contribute to the party, DCCC, or anything like that. I contribute to individuals I believe in, which usually means I have to know them personally, or that they have a long record of standing up for the causes I believe in.

[PeteSelman]

40. 36-55 disillusioned.

Too much Reaganism in this party.

[justabob]

42. one can support while being disillusioned fyi

I don't much like the blurred choices we were offered.

[BainsBane]

43. I admit they weren't written in the best way

If I did such a poll again, I would word it differently. I initially had an option that said the two parties are the same, but I thought that too extreme to capture the views of many.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

44. i am 18-35 (barely) and i am occasionally proud and occasionally disillusioned by the democrats

[politicat]

45. 35-55 and tolerant of the Democratic Party

I've never not voted Dem, I've never not been registered Dem, but I'm a Democratic Socialist. Since I turned 18, I've followed Molly Ivins' advice: in the primary, vote your heart, but in the general, go for half a loaf or even just a slice.

I'd be registered Socialist if that was available to me, but since it's not, I'm willing to push the Democratic Party left from the inside.

I strongly dislike how tight the DNC has gotten with Wall Street and the corporate power structure. I tend to be skeptical of the DNC power players.