Atrios has a good take on the Tories’ semi-defeat yesterday, which is consistent with this Guardian analysis:
The “youthquake” was a key component of Corbyn’s 10-point advance in Labour’s share of the vote – exceeding even Blair’s nine-point gain in his first 1997 landslide. No official data exists for the scale of the youth vote but an NME-led exit poll suggests turnout among under-35s rose by 12 points compared with 2015, to 56%. The survey said nearly two-thirds of younger voters backed Labour, with Brexit being their main concern.
The youngs are getting fucked over here, too, and if Democrats can turn them out in larger-than-average numbers, we will take back the House and have a shot at the Senate. If we do win the House, we ought to pass different versions of free tuition, and Medicaid/Medicare for all, until hell won’t have it anymore. Finance both of those with tax increases on the Trumps of the world.
Our definition of “young” needs to change, too. 55 year-olds are “young” for the purposes of fighting Republicans. Hell, even 65 is young when the Republicans are going to raise the Medicare eligibility age to 67. Lots of people put off major elective procedures until they are 65 – the thought of two more years of pain with a bad hip or bad knee prior to replacement should get a few people hobbling to the polls to cast their ballot for a party that clearly wants to push Medicare eligibility to 60 or 50 or, why not, birth. And as I assume 40 commenters will tell me, “Medicare for all” may not work in detail, but we can work out the details once we have the House, Senate and White House.