Hold
Tight to Your Smartphones, The
Millennial Revolution is at Hand
A new book
with Michigan ties tells who's winning
the hearts and minds of this young,
politics-changing voting bloc.
by Jean
B. Eggemeyer
If you
believe today’s political environment is
marked by tired ideological rhetoric and
partisan deadlock, get ready for a fresh
new attitude in government.
As
America’s largest and most diverse
generation — the Millennials — becomes a
powerhouse bloc of voters, America is
poised to undergo a dramatic political
and societal transformation, according
to former Michiganders Morley Winograd
and Michael D. Hais, authors of
Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube
and the Future of American Politics.
The
realignment, they posit, is already
underway and likely will be reinforced
with lasting effect in the 2008 and 2012
presidential elections.
Why will
this generation have such an impact?
There are many theories that Winograd
and Hais were able to test using
extensive survey data. Hais, a former
University of Detroit political science
professor, is an experienced political
pollster and a former vice president
with Frank N. Magid Associates, a
communications research firm that
provided the authors access to its
research on Millennials.
In
addition to being the largest generation
in U.S. history — there are at least a
million more Millennials than Baby
Boomers — the Millennials are civic
minded, inclusive, consensus driven and
believe in using government institutions
to effect change. These values and
belief systems differ greatly from the
Generation Xers and Baby Boomers before
them.
Hais also
explains that the political values
Millenials are forming in their teens
and 20s will stick with them throughout
their lives. Because of their overall
focus on bettering society, we can
expect this massive generation to
continue to turn out and vote in large
numbers throughout their lifetimes.
Winograd,
whom many may remember in his roles as a
Michigan Democratic Party leader at the
state and national levels (and whose
work helped create the current delegate
selection process!), and Hais believe
this generation, given its collectivist
characteristics, will solve some of the
great societal and political problems of
today, like the health care crisis.
Given the
complete ease with which Millennials use
today’s communications technologies,
they will also have a profound impact on
political campaigns — and already are.
“The most
dramatic evidence of the Millennial
impact can be seen in the vast
quantities of money that are being
raised — particularly on behalf of
Democratic candidates — online,” said
Winograd. “And in one particular case,
the case of Barack Obama, the $55
million raised in a month used to be two
years’ worth of political donations,
especially for a Democrat. That
represents a new, completely different
dynamic in American politics.”
“Instead
of having to depend upon wealthier
Americans or interest groups,” he adds,
“…there are campaigns, as Obama’s has
demonstrated, that now have the
capability of simply asking their
supporters to finance their campaign.”
The impact
of the Millennials on Michigan’s
political landscape will be felt as
well.
“We don’t
know yet who the candidate in Michigan
will be who will appeal to this
Millennial generation, but my bet would
be that the existing power structure
that has learned how to run top-down
campaigns and control messages for the
television stage and events…will lose
dramatically to the first candidate — in
either party — who adopts this
peer-to-peer, bottoms-up campaign style
built on the new technology, with the
new message,” said Winograd.
The
message that is important to
Millennials, the authors say, is one of
optimism, of creating a hope for a
better future. In the current
presidential race, Winograd and Hais
point to Sen. Obama as the current
“winner” in the competition for the
hearts and minds of the youngest voting
bloc because of his skill in
articulating a positive vision and
rallying support for it.
Winograd
and Hais are quick to point out,
however, that it’s still early. Sen.
McCain’s and Sen. Clinton’s campaigns
are adjusting to lessons learned in
attempting to reach out to this powerful
new generation.
To get the
latest news on the horse race, you could
check the chatter on MySpace; odds are
that thousands of Millennials are.
Bookworm Jean B. Eggemeyer is a
Lansing-area communications
and marketing professional.
In your ear
Morley
Winograd — a longtime Democratic
operative and one-time member of the
commission tasked with rewriting the
delegate-selection process — talks
about the current Michigan
Democratic delegate situation.
Listen.
Millennials will shake up the 4 Ms
of politics — money, media, message
and messenger — say Hais and
Winograd.
Listen.
The
civic realignment will mean Michigan
candidates, to be successful, will
need to listen and respond to the
Millennial Generation as well.
Listen.
YouTube is always “on”; will
candidates be? Winograd and Hais
talk about the impact of technology
on campaign strategy and the
perception of authenticity.
Listen.
Iris,
fingerprint, facial and other
biometric security scanning is no
longer science fiction. Could online
voting be in our future? Winograd
weighs in.
Listen.
Which
candidates get “the vision thing”
that’s so important to “enrolling”
Millennial voters?
Listen.
Listen to all.
