Witness the great conundrum of the Democratic Party.
As the 2024 election approaches, the Left desperately needs to turn out young voters. Yet the party’s own policies and lack of patriotism have sapped young people’s belief that America is saveable, or even worth saving. Put simply, Democrats are trying to motivate the very voters they have most demotivated, making electoral victory a mountain to climb.
This conundrum was crystalized in a late May poll. A Democratic pollster, Blueprint, surveyed registered voters between the ages of 18 and 30 — the youngest millennials and the majority of Gen Z. A clear majority stated that America is in decline. About two-thirds said that politicians are corrupt, using their power for personal gain. After reviewing the findings, the pollster concluded that young people see America as “a dying empire led by bad people.”
These aren’t the words of people who are rushing to the ballot box. They reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo — the kind that fosters electoral apathy.
But apathy doesn’t spring from nowhere, and the same poll points the finger at some specific culprits. A majority of young voters say they were happier before the pandemic. A stunning 77% say that COVID-19 changed the country for the worse, while nearly half feel less connected to their friends and communities.
Who was in power for most of the pandemic? Democrats, especially President Joe Biden. What policies did his administration pass or pressure the country to enact? Lockdowns that shut young people out of school, work, and social lives. A spending binge that mortgaged young people’s financial future, adding over ten trillion dollars to the national debt. Ham-fisted mandates, from masks to vaccines, polarized people, divided communities, and worsened a culture of distrust that exists to this day.
Then there’s the Left’s attack on America itself. Democrats have spent the past four years decrying our country as racist, while questioning the very foundations of our experiment in self-government. Look no further than Biden’s recent commencement address to Morehouse College, in which he essentially told the almost entirely black audience that America hates them.
Is it any wonder that young people’s belief in America has cratered? And why would you show up to vote when you’ve been told that our democracy is built on a foundation of lies and lynch mobs?
The Republican temptation will be to let young voters languish in their dissatisfaction. In my own conversations with GOP pollsters and pundits, the general mood is to write off younger millennials and Gen Z’ers, since they clearly dislike America and still lean Democrat even if they don’t vote. But that couldn’t be more foolish or short-sighted. If young people are demotivated about America, then Republicans should remotivate them and restore their belief in our country.
Now more than ever, the GOP needs to rally around policies that will unleash opportunity — the key to restoring faith in America’s promise. They need to make a full-throated defense of free-market capitalism, which is rooted in the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, while applying its principles to everything from housing to college affordability. They need to get government out of the way in virtually every part of our economy, pointing out that bureaucrats and mandates hold back the very people they claim to help.
Ultimately, Republicans need to meet young voters with a simple message supported by common sense policies: America is a place where you can succeed. That’s the great promise of free-market capitalism. Growth and opportunity aren’t good for their own sake. They matter because they enable people to apply their talents, pursue their dreams, and find the fulfillment that comes from contributing to your community.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA
Alas, this isn’t the direction of a growing number of Republicans, who increasingly embrace government control under the guise of “industrial policy.” That will only destroy jobs, increase poverty, and continue to undermine young people’s faith in America — exactly what the Left is already doing.
Democrats have created a conundrum for themselves by pursuing an agenda that saps the spirit of the voters they need most. Republicans can either fall into the same trap, or they can give young people a reason to believe in America again, and vote accordingly.
John Tillman is CEO of the American Culture Project.
