# It's been 12 years since America last had a normal presidential election, and voters born after 2005 have basically never seen "normal politics." **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 3, 2024, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094 "2024-05-03T07:34:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/21 "2024-05-03T17:06:20Z")
As bad as Trump is he is #3 in my US politicians I despise list. Mitch McConnell is #1 and Gingrich #2 (and I could be convinced to flip that ranking without too much trouble). The likes of MTG are awful too but she and her ilk have not done the damage those guys have. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/22 "2024-05-03T18:23:13Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Being a horndog and draft avoider – compared to Reagan and Bush Sr. – was enough to sully his character in their eyes. It also occurred to me that in 1992, the country had just gone through a period of reevaluation of the Vietnam war, instigated by the release of _Platoon_ in late 1986. Before that there’d been a decade largely of denial and “if we ignore it it’ll go away” about it. But a dozen big popular movies about it and a handful of TV series had softened the ground enough that to a large percentage of the public, getting out of Vietnam service by becoming a Rhodes Scholar wasn’t the biggest sin in the world. Getting into a champagne unit in the National Guard would turn out to be an issue but not a deal-breaker, apparently, for the next President. As well, Clinton hadn’t been a bomb-throwing radical, just a shaggy student; a bit harder to paint him as straight out of the supporting cast of _Hair_. Still, overall I agree with you: the WWII generation was still very much more with us at that point, and long memories no doubt played into their votes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/23 "2024-05-03T18:27:01Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > As well, Clinton hadn’t been a bomb-throwing radical, just a shaggy student; a bit harder to paint him as straight out of the supporting cast of _Hair_. “Yes, I smoked pot, but I didn’t inhale.” 8 years later, and Obama: “Of course I inhaled - isn’t that the point?” ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/24 "2024-05-03T18:33:06Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’d say the big difference today are the overt and unceasing efforts at disenfranchising voters through a variety of means. What if you were an African American in the South starting in the 1860s? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/25 "2024-05-03T18:42:54Z")
What? Do you mean disenfranchisement existed back then? Sure…absolutely. And it’s only increased since then. I am not sure what the point is. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/26 "2024-05-03T18:57:33Z")
I disagree that it’s increased. It’s been constant. Gerrymandering literally existed from the very beginning and an argument could be made that it was worse in the days of grandfather clauses, literacy tests, poll taxes and lynching. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/27 "2024-05-03T19:59:12Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Maybe, but the big downward inflection was when Teddy Roosevelt came up with the idea that the candidate should campaign. All the better if you can do it with blood running down your chest from a gun shot. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/28 "2024-05-03T23:41:13Z")
The irony is that this year far too many seem in denial that this election is truly _ABnormal_, and this is reflected in the various polls (flawed as they seem). They (media too most crucially) still seem to think it is all as normal as it used to be back in the days of FDR and Ike, when it most certainly is not. I keep trying to imagine Trump walking into a time machine, coming out in say 1964, and getting more than 3% of all primary votes, and I simply can’t. Recall some people felt that Goldwater was a bit around the bend, but they had no idea who would be coming down the pike a mere 52 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/29 "2024-05-03T23:44:09Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > And did you ask them who they voted for in that election? 😉 It definitely wasn’t Henry Clay. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/30 "2024-05-05T19:08:34Z")
Relevant article - a lot of young people have almost no recollection of what politics was like pre-Trump. > **[Politics Without Trump? His Youngest Fans Barely Remember It.](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/04/us/politics/trump-biden-campaign-young-voters.html)** > > Democrats call Donald J. Trump dangerous. Republicans see him as revolutionary. For young Trump voters, he is just normal. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/31 "2024-05-05T19:11:22Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > When Obama became a candidate, the media stopped pretending to be neutral, and started openly slanting the reporting to favor their preferred candidates. **Fact Check:** Fox News was founded in 1996. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/32 "2024-05-05T19:22:58Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > I am not a historian, but my recollection from History classis is that many of the 19th century contests were nasty events (“Ma! Ma! Where’s my Pa?” “Gone to the White House! Ha! Ha! Ha!”), and we had a period of relative civility through most of the 20th century. > > Rather than saying that ALL recent Presidential elections have been abnormal, I think of it only as a Trumpian thing. Three elections with that POS is enough. Yep. This sort of hate the other side is nothing new in the USA. > **[8 Most Contentious US Presidential Elections | HISTORY](https://www.history.com/news/most-contentious-u-s-presidential-elections)** > > These presidential elections brought out the wild side in our nation’s democratic process. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/33 "2024-05-05T19:42:41Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > **Fact Check:** Fox News was founded in 1996. You think Fox was the only one I was talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/34 "2024-05-05T19:46:23Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > You think Fox was the only one I was talking about? Irrelevant; a generalization is refuted by a single exception. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/35 "2024-05-05T20:07:46Z")
My point was, 2008 and 2012 were not normal. The moment Obama became a candidate, Fox started attacking him, and the rest of the networks started fawning over him. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/36 "2024-05-05T20:14:05Z")
Fox went after Bill Clinton long before Obama. And the legitimate criticism (Welfare to Work - in jobs now scarcer with NAFTA) were buried under Vince Foster murders stories, DNA-memento dress, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/37 "2024-05-05T21:06:13Z")
Mudslinging, partisan rancor and campaign dirty tricks are not new. What is new is the overt calling for the end of democracy by one of the major political parties. We’ve not seen that since the run-up to the Civil War and it is a direct result of the machinations of Gingrich and his accolytes. He deserves to rot in hell for it. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/38 "2024-05-05T21:19:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep. This sort of hate the other side is nothing new in the USA. Sure, but even on that list, 2 of the 8 worst were in the past 24 years - and they don’t include 2020 - which lead to a freaking insurrection - and this one with multiple impeachments and legal proceedings. So I’d suggest there might be 4 of the 10 most contentious occurring over the past quarter century, suggesting a trend greater than in the past. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/39 "2024-05-06T00:57:58Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Sure, but even on that list, 2 of the 8 worst were in the past 24 years - and they don’t include 2020 - which lead to a freaking insurrection - and this one with multiple impeachments and legal proceedings. Lets get rid of trump and we will see. Yeah there always will be a crazy fringe in the House- that’s normal. But I honestly think this is trump. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094/40 "2024-05-06T01:45:34Z")
As long as we have boomers and gen xers terrified of all things woke, we’ll have MAGA. They pass it along to the next set of privileged people who crave martyrdom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-12-years-since-america-last-had-a-normal-presidential-election-and-voters-born-after-2005-have-basically-never-seen-normal-politics/1001094.md?page=3)