Updating three earlier posts: 9 4 2024
Kamala Harris Could Land Key Group of Voters, Polls Show (msn.com) Per this recent Newsweek article 9/4/24, the switch is continuing with Harris per an August 10 poll:" According to the most recent New York Times/Siena Poll on August 10, Harris is polling at 55 percent compared to Trump's 42 percent among voters age 65 and up. That advantage only slightly dips for Harris, 53-41, with third-party candidates included in the poll.
Sixty-seven percent of the 65-plus voters in the poll say they are "almost certain" to vote. In the last presidential election, roughly 52 percent of voters over 65 backed Trump."
Let me add one more reason seniors are switching to Biden. It is a generational change, per this piece in the New York Times. My silent generation has died off, with only 20 percent of us still living (the good news, bad news for me). Instead, it has been replaced by the All in the Family generation, disillusioned with the lies told us about Vietnam and the bigotry and xenophobia exposed in this classic TV sitcom.
My thoughts: The silent generation grew up with radio; the one now coming of old age had the visuals of TV with an impact much more visceral than movie newsreels, photos, and just voices. Once upon a time seniors were dependable GOP voters, but not any more
https://www.nytimes.com/
From my March 12 post this year:
Trump seems determined to turn off older voters. The demographic of voters over 65 is the second largest group of those who vote. " Cutting Medicare and Social Security" is not a phrase that will win friends and influence older voters. He immediately backtracked, saying he would just cut waste. However, his GOP MAGA party is serious about cutting Medicare and Social Security, and the question becomes, if President, would he sign such legislation. House Republicans float changes to Social Security in budget proposal (axios.com)
Trump had been losing them, and now he is actively turning them off of his MAGA world. Vintage Trump. Instead of trying to bring more into his base, he is committing political malpractice because now he is saying he is open to cutting Medicare and Social Security without saying how. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/11/politics/trump-entitlements-social-security-medicare/index.html#:~:text=Former%20President%20Donald%20Trump%20on,primary%20rivals%20over%20the%20issue.
Biden responded: “If anyone tries to cut Social Security or Medicare, or raise the retirement age again, I will stop them,” Biden said during a speech in New Hampshire. “This morning, Donald Trump said cuts to Social Security and Medicare are on the table again.” https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/biden-pounces-trump-eyes-cuts-social-security-medicare-rcna142920
That there needs to be financial shoring up, who does it, and who gets hurt just leaves the threat out there. Do you really trust the GOP to do the best for Social Security and Medicare if they get their hands on Congress or the Oval Office? The GOP has had to destroy Medicare and Social Security on their radar, ideologically motivated since the day they were created. They seem to think turning it over to the Wall Street casino and letting for-profit insurers with their fancy advertising and high overhead run and ruin the programs. *
Why older voters have stuck with Biden more than younger generations | CNN Politics
Older voters flee Trump, solidifying Biden's advantage in the 2020 race (nbcnews.com)
Biden's old guy advantage with older voters - POLITICO
Forgotten Purpose: Civics Education in Public Schools | NEA
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/americans-oppose-most-trump-policies/ar-AA1mPgWu?ocid=socialshare&pc=DCTS&cvid=b1985bfa8fa14970849a5b58c9d57617&ei=18
https://www.newsweek.com/social-security-changes-planned-if-nikki-haley-wins-election-1859696
Number of Voters as a Share of the Voter Population, by Age | KFF
This demographic of voters over 65 is the second largest group of those who vote.
Aside from the GOP hurling constant insults at Biden for his age (seniors know people's brains age at different rates, and so do their bodies), there is a reason why voters are showing a preference for Biden in a recent Q poll in Pennsylvania. and other polls dating to 2020. As an older person myself and with adult children and their spouses approaching or arriving at 65 years old, let me give six good reasons besides the GOP insulting Biden's age and abilities just because he is 3 years older than Trump.
1) We lived long enough to remember what it was like before Roe v Wade and the days when women could not apply for credit without their husband's approval or any political statements made by women in media or in politics were considered not credible because they came from a woman's emotional brain. Age brings memories of when it was worse.
2) We lived through Vietnam and the Cold War to see BS when we heard it as BS and to question BS and see Putin and China as the same adversaries as before: all about power, just without the ideology of Marxism as the reason. We understand how dictatorships, communists, fascists, or whatever work and what political freedoms mean. Age brings wisdom.
3) W got a good education in civics and American history which the younger generation did not get.'National Survey Finds Just 1 in 3 Americans Would Pass Citizenship Test - Institute for Citizens & Scholars (citizensandscholars.org)
4) Moral leadership still has value, and Trump is not a moral person. P grabbing and infidelity are not moral. Lies, in the face of fact and data, are not moral either. There is still something credible about data and evidence. Age brings us memories of higher moral standards.
5) Civil rights and tolerance of others are a moral value and worth the struggle of the movement. Many old people have moved on to more tolerance on the basis of fairness and acceptance of diversity within their own families and in the workplace, sports, and military service. We remember the violence of the resistance to the civil rights movement...Age brings with it real-life experience.
6) Policies that take away access and qualifications to Medicare and Social Security are a threat to old people's well-being. Every time the GOP advocates to "save" those programs by cutting access to them, seniors revolt and ask why not give them taxpayer support instead. Obamacare is a bridge to give affordable access to health care until those over 50 with aging bodies and health problems are not yet eligible for Medicare. Hands of Obamacare, GOP. Aging has special needs, and the government can help meet them.
Why older voters have stuck with Biden more than younger generations | CNN Politics
Older voters flee Trump, solidifying Biden's advantage in the 2020 race (nbcnews.com)
Biden's old guy advantage with older voters - POLITICO
Forgotten Purpose: Civics Education in Public Schools | NEA
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/americans-oppose-most-trump-policies/ar-AA1mPgWu?ocid=socialshare&pc=DCTS&cvid=b1985bfa8fa14970849a5b58c9d57617&ei=18
https://www.newsweek.com/social-security-changes-planned-if-nikki-haley-wins-election-1859696
Number of Voters as a Share of the Voter Population, by Age | KFF
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