Great analysis. I think you hit the nail on the head. The party that figures this out will be the dominant party for sometime. Most people are tired of government paralysis, but older people have occasionally seen government work. The problem is that it has not worked for some time now. If I were Congress, I would be doing something other than squabbling over passing last year’s budget. Maybe hold a hearing or two on the waste that has already been exposed.
If politicians didn't have to spend so much time raising money -- which GenZ is unlikely to approve pf or provide -- we would have a better chance of getting younger and more innovative people in office. Get money out of politics. Corporations are not people. Clear accountability... the opposite of what the current Republican administration wants. Cynical view? Absolutely, and with good reason.
I don't disagree. There's no better symbol of Democratic impotence than letting one of Trump's hired brownshirts turn you away without a fight from a govt building they have no right to restrict. It's like Democrats don't realize they have weight they can throw around. The first one who pushes past on of these Nazis will be the next Presidential nominee.
GenZ certainly is not a unified and predictable grouping! First,it depends where they are located in the US; do they live in cities and progressive suburbs; which adults they interact with (maga or not); and most importantly, are they educated beyond high school? Second, are you talking about their concerns to protect abortion, safety from gun violence and control of weapons, and what about climate change which potentially could destroy their future? Or are they racists, ethnic bullies, and full fledged ““trumpers”?
Yes, of course, Gen Z is not unified -- but the bigger point is that Trump and his team are running circles around Democrats and therefore maybe they can dig deeper and appreciate that Gen Z wants to make an impact. Plenty of young Trump supporters are doing that now- and if Democrats changed their ways, they could leverage some of their talents for themselves.
Yes, Dems can address fairness issues and leverage GenZ who are educated and live in cities &burbs in PA, MI and WI but Volpe doesn’t distinguish them from maga/GenZ in virtually all Southern states and Northern rural areas who dont know much about anything! We live in a bi-nation and polls which don’t recognize the differences are worthless and misrepresent those huge differences! GenZ is not a unitary allegiance by any means and educated ones far outnumber the dumdums-thank you!!
I’d say that these young men don’t have enough experience to realize that bureaucracies move slowly in order to avoid catastrophe. My guess is that this DOGE experiment will provide that experience— and we will all pay the price of educating them.
Copying and pasting the opening few sentences to the piece --
DOGE is not just an experiment in governance—it’s a direct challenge to traditional institutions and a glaring national security risk. It opens the floodgates to sensitive government infrastructure, granting unvetted young engineers access through loosely monitored recruitment pipelines. The scale and speed of this infiltration should alarm all of us, not just policymakers.
Great analysis. I think you hit the nail on the head. The party that figures this out will be the dominant party for sometime. Most people are tired of government paralysis, but older people have occasionally seen government work. The problem is that it has not worked for some time now. If I were Congress, I would be doing something other than squabbling over passing last year’s budget. Maybe hold a hearing or two on the waste that has already been exposed.
If politicians didn't have to spend so much time raising money -- which GenZ is unlikely to approve pf or provide -- we would have a better chance of getting younger and more innovative people in office. Get money out of politics. Corporations are not people. Clear accountability... the opposite of what the current Republican administration wants. Cynical view? Absolutely, and with good reason.
What Musk is doing is criminal. How can you have an ordered society without rule of law.
I don't disagree. There's no better symbol of Democratic impotence than letting one of Trump's hired brownshirts turn you away without a fight from a govt building they have no right to restrict. It's like Democrats don't realize they have weight they can throw around. The first one who pushes past on of these Nazis will be the next Presidential nominee.
GenZ certainly is not a unified and predictable grouping! First,it depends where they are located in the US; do they live in cities and progressive suburbs; which adults they interact with (maga or not); and most importantly, are they educated beyond high school? Second, are you talking about their concerns to protect abortion, safety from gun violence and control of weapons, and what about climate change which potentially could destroy their future? Or are they racists, ethnic bullies, and full fledged ““trumpers”?
Yes, of course, Gen Z is not unified -- but the bigger point is that Trump and his team are running circles around Democrats and therefore maybe they can dig deeper and appreciate that Gen Z wants to make an impact. Plenty of young Trump supporters are doing that now- and if Democrats changed their ways, they could leverage some of their talents for themselves.
Yes, Dems can address fairness issues and leverage GenZ who are educated and live in cities &burbs in PA, MI and WI but Volpe doesn’t distinguish them from maga/GenZ in virtually all Southern states and Northern rural areas who dont know much about anything! We live in a bi-nation and polls which don’t recognize the differences are worthless and misrepresent those huge differences! GenZ is not a unitary allegiance by any means and educated ones far outnumber the dumdums-thank you!!
I'm not sure what makes you believe GenZ has far more educated ones than not?
I’d say that these young men don’t have enough experience to realize that bureaucracies move slowly in order to avoid catastrophe. My guess is that this DOGE experiment will provide that experience— and we will all pay the price of educating them.
Copying and pasting the opening few sentences to the piece --
DOGE is not just an experiment in governance—it’s a direct challenge to traditional institutions and a glaring national security risk. It opens the floodgates to sensitive government infrastructure, granting unvetted young engineers access through loosely monitored recruitment pipelines. The scale and speed of this infiltration should alarm all of us, not just policymakers.
Some how I skipped over that. My apologies!