Presidential candidates want the youth vote, but their appeals lack substance.
For many, a parent’s discovery of emojis is a scarring event. For the two weeks that follow, every text message from Mom or Dad reads more like an Egyptian hieroglyph than coherent communication. See? Your parents are “hip” after all.
I’ve always found it endearing when older generations try to keep up with social trends, even if it seems awkward.
The way candidates do this can be different. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tries to sell me a “Chillary Clinton” wine cooler. Neurosurgeon Ben Carson releases a rap song accompanied by jazz flute and lyrics encouraging listeners to “be awesome.”
Capturing the support of young voters has long been an area of focus for presidential candidates. And it will be an especially crucial task for 2016 White House hopefuls.
According to National Journal, millennials, or people born between 1981 and 2000, will amount to 30.5 percent of eligible voters in the upcoming election cycle. Baby Boomers, or those born in the two decades following World War II, comprise a nearly identical share of eligible voters at 30.7 percent. Candidates on both sides of the fence understand the results of November’s election will rest more firmly in the hands of millennials than ever before.
What candidates are doing to win over younger voters, however, has left a lot of people scratching their heads.
Earlier this month, Clinton appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and attempted to “whip” and “Nae Nae” her way into the hearts of America’s youth. The awkwardness that ensued was too much for some to bear. Talk radio personality Charlemagne reacted by tweeting “I’m going with Bernie Sanders.”
Texas Republican Ted Cruz released a video of himself impersonating characters from “The Simpsons” in June. I’ll admit that after spending 78 precious seconds watching him re-enact scenes from a sitcom, my first thought isn’t “Wow, Ted Cruz really understands young people!”
If candidates think they can reach voters with contrived pop culture references and gimmicky merchandise, then they are doing themselves, and those they are hoping to serve, a great injustice.
It’s fair to claim that, with all else being equal, voters will favor a candidate with personality over one who shows no emotion. However, as a millennial, it’s hard not to feel insulted when candidates feel all they need to do to appeal to young voters is post a stale Internet meme on Facebook.
Let’s talk about things that are going to affect young people — things like flipping the script on climate change, dealing with the ever-present issue of mounting student debt and preserving earth’s biodiversity. A presidential candidate should demonstrate an ability and willingness to improve the lives of their constituents, not a knack for cheap entertainment.
In the coming months, candidates are going to try harder and harder to appeal to their more youthful countrymen and women.
Some might begin to move toward more substantive discussion while some might continue to rely on superficial appeals to humor and pop culture.
May the best candidate win.
