NewsWire: 6/21/22
- The title says it all: “Why Are We Still Governed by Baby Boomers and the Remarkably Old?” In an op-ed, political analyst Yuval Levin argues that we need more Gen X leaders. (The New York TImes)
- NH: Hand-wringing over our gerontocratic leadership isn’t new. In 2020, we wrote a NewsWire with basically the same title as this op-ed (see “Why Does America Have Old Leaders?”). But Yuval Levin takes it in a different direction. He points out that most people calling for change want Boomer and Silent lawmakers to make room for Millennials. But what about his own generation: Gen X?
- “We plainly lack grounded, levelheaded, future-oriented leaders,” Levin writes. “And like it or not, that means we need a more middle-aged politics and culture.”
- But what does “middle-aged politics” mean? Levin is arguing that because of their current life stage, Gen Xers are the leaders we need now. But Xers themselves have been slow to assume power--both because smaller shares compared to earlier generations have run for office, and because voters haven’t turned out for them.
- As I’ve pointed out before, Gen Xers have famously lagged earlier generations in their share of governors or members of Congress. With the exception of Obama, no Xer even entered as a presidential primary contender in either party until 2016, 55 years after their first birth year. (Even Obama might be a stretch, since many pundits consider him to be a Boomer.) While Gen Xers have certainly increased their presence in government since then, they haven’t, well, made much of a mark.
- In a way, Gen Xers face the same perception problem that Silent Generation faced. The Silent were first overshadowed by their "stature gap" compared to the older GIs--and later were dismissed for not having the passion of the Boomers. There was Walter Mondale, who lost to Reagan in one of the biggest electoral landslides in history. Then there was Michael Dukakis, who began his 1988 presidential bid as one of the “Seven Dwarfs” the media doubted could ever be front-runners. He’s also remembered for the infamous tank photograph that was meant to make him look macho but ultimately helped sink his candidacy.
- Take the Democrats. A huge crop of Xer Democrats ran for president in 2020, but none of them did well. Instead, they were bested by candidates in their 70s. Kamala Harris did become VP, but has since basically vanished from the public eye. And whatever happened to Bill de Blasio or Cory Booker? Xer Democrats are stuck with the perennial image of outsiders who don’t really want to run the system or confront core national problems. Millennials are talked up for their activism and idealism, while Xers like Beto O'Rourke, Kirsten Gillibrand, Andrew Yang, and Tulsi Gabbard draw attention for their offbeat branding and gimmicky proposals.
- The story is different on the Republican side. In part, there are more of them because Xers, as a generation, lean to the right (see “Why Gen X Favors Trump”). But it’s also because their party’s leadership is more in alignment with their attitudes towards government. There are plenty of populist Xers who are thought to be natural successors to Trump because, even when he was in office, Trump never stopped attacking his own "deep state." GOP Xers, like Trump, don’t want to belong to national institutions even when they lead them. Who could forget Paul Ryan--the epitome of the Washington establishment--claiming that Rage Against the Machine was his favorite band?
- This recent Politico profile of Iowa State Representative Cherie Westrich also captures this attitude well. Westrich, who was born in 1966, was inspired by Trump to enter politics and described her political philosophy prior to 2016 as “often just voting against the incumbents of either party.” She insisted on keeping her independent registration until two weeks before her first election and only registered as Republican because of Iowa election law.
- I agree with Levin that American politics is desperately in need of new ideas. But based on Gen X’s political trajectory so far, the “levelheaded” and “grounded” leadership he longs for isn’t what is on offer.
- As I read this piece, I was reminded of the recent book, A Generation of Sociopaths, by Bruce Gibney, the Gen-X Silicon Valley tycoon. Gibney argues that Boomers (the "sociopaths") have become aging yuppie narcissists whose selfishness, irresponsibility, and civic detachment are steering America toward disaster. But if that's our the biggest problem, it's hard to see how Gen Xers--selfless? prudent? civically engaged?--are the answer. And indeed Gibney hardly mentions Xers in his book.
="full-article__paragraph--gray-box">
To view and search all NewsWires, reports, videos, and podcasts, visit Demography World.
For help making full use of our archives, see this short tutorial.
