The Dawning of A New Political Age

As our readers are aware NDN has been making an argument for the last several years that a new politics of the 21st century was emerging, one being driven by a new 21st century set of governing challenges, by a new tech and media environment, the emergence of a very different set of demographic realities, and the utter collapse of the conservative movement and Republican Party.  You can elements of this argument in some important stories tonight as we all try to make sense of the historic events unfolding in front of our eyes: 

From a Susan Milligan Boston Globe article tonight:

``It's a new day in Washington. A new political era is coming,'' said Simon Rosenberg, president of the Democratic interest group NDN. ``I don't think we're going to see the restoration of an old political age, but the ushering in of a new age,'' he said. ``They're going to rewrite the rules.'' 

And this one tonight from Wired: 

"The scale and scope of this campaign is unlike anything that we've ever seen before," said Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of the nonprofit think-tank NDN in Washington, DC, a veteran of President Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. "Compared to our 1992 campaign, this is like a multi-national corporation versus a non-profit."

"He's run a campaign where he's used very modern tools, spoke to a new coalition, talked about new issues, and along the way, he's reinvented the way campaigns are run," he added. "Just like the advent of radio changed the relationship between those that govern and their voters, President Obama will start to reinvent the relationship between American citizens to their President using internet-based tools."

Or this from the Houston Chronicle: 

"This does feel like a game-changing moment in our history," said Simon Rosenberg, head of the Democratic group called NDN. "This is the dawning of a new political day and a 21st-century politics."

Or this from McClatchy:

"The Republican playbook that worked for them for a generation, that's become an anachronism," said Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network. "There's a new voting population, new coalitions, new issues, new media. The Republicans have been fighting the future. That is one of the reasons why they are in trouble. They've gotten on the wrong side of history." 

Or this from USA Today: 

"We are entering a new political era because the changes that are going on in the country are bigger than just politics," says Simon Rosenberg, president of an advocacy group called the New Democratic Network.

"There's the emergence of a new governing agenda that's very 21st-century in nature, very different from the challenges we faced in the 20th century. There's a new technology and media environment, and we're going through the most profound demographic changes in American history."

Obama was winning the election with "a very 21st-century coalition," Rosenberg says.

Among key voter groups, Obama:

•Swamped McCain by more than 2 to 1 among Americans under 30, members of the huge Millennial generation that are moving into voting age. Four years ago, John Kerry edged George Bush among young people by just 9 percentage points.

Young voters gave Obama the most lopsided advantage for a candidate among any age group since that data became available in the 1976 exit polls.

•Reversed gains Bush had made among Hispanic voters, despite McCain's Southwest roots and work on immigration reform. Obama was carrying Hispanics by more than 2 to 1. Four years ago, Bush won support from 44% of Latinos, the nation's fastest-growing ethnic group.

•Won a majority of women with children, another Bush group four years ago, and widened the Democratic advantage among working women.

•Made inroads among upscale voters, traditionally a Republican stronghold.

Obama and McCain split college graduates, a group that had supported Bush four years ago. And Obama led McCain by 6 percentage points among those with a family income of more than $200,000. Four years ago, Bush won those voters by nearly 2 to 1.

McCain didn't improve the Republicans' standing with any major demographic group, the surveys showed.

He maintained the GOP's lead among seniors, those 65 and older, but lost ground among the white evangelical Christians whose support was critical for Bush four years ago.

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