Young Voters Up for Grabs?

Republican Governor Scott Walker

Yesterday, we linked to an article about, and commented on, the false predictions of peak oil production, made five years ago by those who did not see the innovation ahead from domestic energy manufacturers.  Today brings news that Republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker avoided recall in part because he received the majority of votes among Wisconsinites under the age of 25.

Much like the popular assumption at the time that domestic manufacturers could never become a significant factor in oil production, the conventional wisdom after the 2008 election was that the Democratic party would dominate politics quasi permanently because young voters had swarmed to elect President Obama.  Less than four years later, we may be finding validation of another view that seemed logical at the time:  in 2008, voters young and old voted against George Bush and the Republicans, who had held the White House for the prior eight years, as much as they had voted for Barack Obama and the Democrats.

But no matter the reason for the decisions of voters four years ago, it seems logical that young people will increasingly vote against candidates of parties who attempt to enforce entitlements that will be provided at the expense of the future well being of our youngest and most capable citizens.  The math that the pundits did in 2008, predicting electoral dominance for Democrats powered by the support of younger generations, may need to be revisited as the the weight of entitlements, and the source of their funding, becomes better understood.