Gen X goes to Washington-A article from Boston Phoenix

[Kucinich Feingold]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthephoenix.com%2Fboston%2Fnews%2F111866-gen-x-goes-to-washington%2F&ei=q2_9TMXoC8H98Aa__63oCg&usg=AFQjCNHZlh3A7Dw3rvuKxUIuShFxlKXTTw

[Hello_Kitty]

1. Hi and welcome to DU. Just so you know the rules only permit you to paste 4 paragraphs.

So you'll want to edit your post.

:hi:

[krabigirl]

2. I thought gen x started in the late, not early, 60s.

Sarah palin is not part of my generation.

[Radical Activist]

3. A few interesting observations mixed in with much silliness here.

First, the Gen X voting history is already more Democratic than the boomers, who voted Nixon over McGovern and Reagan over Carter. Gen X supported Clinton twice and supported Obama in larger numbers than boomers did.

As with most of these articles, it focuses too much on the older end of Gen X. Someone born in the mid to late 70's did not grow up with Reagan as a defining political experience. For most of Gen X their first formative political experience was showing up in large numbers to put Clinton in office. We then watched him turn his back on our issues, forgetting about us after election day, and squandering his second term by lying about an idiotic personal affair. Yes, that fosters cynicism and mistrust in politics. I know boomers like to make everything about Watergate (and other events that happened in their time), but that was not the formative Gen X political event as much as Clinton was.

The Democratic Party completely abandoned young people and their issues from '93-'06. We're experiences the consequences of that decision today. Are you surprised that Gen X isn't actively involved in a party that has switched between betraying and ignoring them? You shouldn't be.

There are politically active Gen Xers but most of them don't care about the Democratic Party. Republicans have done a better job of fostering new leadership. Enough Republican boomers are smart about looking for new leaders and getting themselves out of the way. Left boomers have ego problems that keep them from doing the same.