It happened a couple weeks ago. I was watching an Obama event on MSNBC and they were cutting back and forth with a McCain event. And it was at that moment I realized with too much clarity what this is all about.
Obama was talking about Medicare and other social programs, and how they are going to be a challenge as the number of old people in the country grows. But looking at the crowd, you wouldn't know the number of old people was growing. It was a myriad of youthful and multicultural faces.
The old people were all at the McCain event. Gray hair and glasses everywhere, dotted by an occasional shitty dye job. McCain was talking about military strength. "We can't surrender in Iraq because the colored people will come get you..." type shit.
And people were nodding, but they weren't really cheering. They were clapping, but they weren't standing. In spite of myself, I began to wonder how many of these people would actually last another 4 years. And it was about then that I realized the GOP is no longer grand, it's just old.
Let me explain my connection to politics as a 24 year old.
I have been laid off twice. Both times I was working in operations and saw the 200k salaries of worthless executives put my pittance on the chopping block. My recognition of business extends only to my understanding of greed.
The only thing I understand about the Iraq war is that it has changed two of my friends already and another is still there. When I hear conservatives talk about the war, I have to leave the room.
Social programs? I could tell you a story about a friend with cystic fibrosis and diabetes who was told he couldn't get help with his medical bills because he had a full time job. When he got upset because they told him he would need to quit his job to get benefits, he was maced by a security guard.
I got a tattoo on my leg when he passed away last year. My political beliefs are not rhetoric, they do not exist on paper, and they sure the hell aren't going to disappear if my candidate loses.
I haven't been around long enough to know politics, but I know when something is fucked. And right now, the way our government works is fucked. My generation wants Obama, and we very well may get him. But if he doesn't win, we're not going to go away. We are informed and registered to vote, and we are not going to stop until everything they fucked up is safe for OUR children.
In other words, this demographic is just getting started.