The US had their midterm elections this week and it was brutal for anyone who cared about poverty, the environment, or women's rights.  The republicans trounced the democrats in nearly every race.  Why?  It looks like it's because the folks who generally care about those things, the under-30 crowd, didn't get out to vote.

Take a gander at the attached graph from NBC.  You can see a pretty clear relationship between the years the democrats do well and the years the under-30 crowd steps up.  So can we blame young voters?  I don't think it's that simple.

It's quite possible the young voters don't show up if there's nothing they support.  The democrats seemed to be campaigning as conservatives this year, and trying to distance themselves from Obama.  Who does a progressive vote for if their choices are right and more right?  Nobody.  And that's why the real winners are rich old white guys.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/where-are-millennials-midterm-voters-skew-old-n241216