Townhall: Cathy Reisenwitz: Self-Described Liberal Millennials Are Actually Libertarian

Townhall: Opinion: Cathy Reisenwitz: Self-Described Millennial Liberals are Actually Libertarian

Forget about Latinos, African-Americans and perhaps every other non-Anglo-Saxon Protestant population in America being the reasons why the Republican Party is in trouble. The Millennial Generation which covers all of these racial and ethnic groups are the big problem for the GOP. Because Millennial's tend to be what they see Republicans as not being. Believer in social tolerance, personal freedom, getting government out of our personal lives and open to new ideas.

I actually saw the Reason-Rupe poll last week about the millennial's and their liberal leanings. And it is true that Millennial's tend to vote Democratic over these issues. Not because they are in love with the Democratic Party. Most Americans are not, but because they don't like the Republican in too many elections for the GOP and believe voting Democratic is better than not voting at all. Or voting for a third-party candidate that doesn't have a blizzards chance in South Florida in July of winning.

But if you look at what is supposed to pass as liberalism today and Liberals, that is not the reason why Millennial's are voting Democratic. If you believe in the liberal stereotypes, Liberals look more like Communists are some other type of far-left collectivist than they do Liberals. Millennial's tend to like the concept of the safety for people who need it. But they are not interested in a welfare state to manage their own economic affairs for them. And are not interested in a nanny state to manage their personal affairs, or manage their physical health for them. Millennial's tend to believe they are more than capable of managing all of these affairs for themselves.

Millennial's are more likely to vote for Ron Paul or someone like him like his son Rand Paul than they are to vote for Bernie Sanders or Jill Stein, or some other Social Democrat on the Left. But they would also prefer someone like the Paul's over a Michelle Bachmann, Mike Huckabee or Rick Santorum on the Right. Because again they believe in both economic and personal freedom. And only the Paul's from this group would give them both.

So as a Democrat I'm saying personal freedom is great and we should continue to push that. But not try to create some superstate in America with taxes so far up our, nose (to keep it clean) to pay for it where economic freedom and personal choice would be very limited. But instead economically say "we believe in economic opportunity to go along with choice and responsibility so as many Americans as possible have the freedom to run their own lives".