9 terribly painful lines about millennials in Frank Luntz's new polling memo


Respected pollster Frank Luntz, 54, published his enthusiastic findings on the American youth on Tuesday. While Luntz was apparently referring to 18- to 26-year-olds, a group this country tends to call "millennials," Luntz went ahead and rebranded the much-talked-about demographic as the "Snapchat Generation."
Luntz goes on to rave about his study's findings in a laughably excited tone. Read the most painful lines below. Jeva Lange
- "These first- and second-time voters see things much differently and with much more genuine hope than the older eyes that will mostly be reading this memo."
- "Through this poll, in partnership with Snapchat, we've listened to how young people feel — because the future belongs to them."
- "Imagine, just for a moment, the life experience of a 18- to 21-year-old first-time voter."
- "While they might have seen their parents stress over finances, they didn't have bank accounts to lose for themselves. They know it happened, and that it was really terrible for their parents. But that was mom and dad's fight, not theirs."
- "This is important. It's a seismic shift in electorate mentality, a schism between generations that could have huge impacts for many elections to come... This isn't just a perception gap. It's a chasm."
- "Yet these newly minted voters and those back for round two of presidential voting are shouting right back, 'Don't worry about us! We got this.'"
- "Young people respect people who get their scrubs, uniforms, and hands dirty — not people who keep their expensive suits spotless."
- "Young Americans have their minds as attuned to the election as they do to the Grammy Awards, and that's saying a lot."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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