Four Generations Talk 2020 Presidential Politics

Jake Neher/WDET

With the Iowa caucuses less than a month out, the Democratic primary is heating up. The field has thinned outed, polls are seeming more consequential, and political Twitter is serving its hottest takes yet.

Stephen Henderson invited a panel of voters from four different generations to Detroit Today to discuss how they view the candidates, policy and the current political climate. Back in November we had an all-female cross-generational panel, this time around it’s a group of men debating contemporary politics. 

Click on the player to hear the discussion on generational attitudes towards Democratic primary politics.

Adam Abusalah, a legislative assistant at the Wayne County Commission, represents Gen Z, the youngest age-cohort at the table. He says for him and his generation it’s all about consistency. When looking at the candidates, Abusalah says he wants to lend his support to someone who has been steadfast on the issues for a long time. He says Senator Bernie Sanders fits that bill. 

Orlando Bailey, chief development officer at Eastside Community Network, is this panel’s resident Millennial. In contrast to Generation Z’s reverence for consistency, Bailey says evolution should be celebrated. He points to former President Obama’s evolution on LGBTQ rights as something that should be welcomed and encouraged, rather than demanding consistency from politicians. 

Adrian Hemond, partner and CEO at Grassroots Midwest, speaks on behalf of Generation X. He diverged from his fellow Generation Z and Millennial panel members on the role policy should play in the campaign.

Hedmond thinks that it is difficult, if not impossible, to win a campaign solely run on policy. He thinks it’s important for the prospective Democratic nominee to also hone in on President Donald Trump’s unfitness for office. He is looking for a candidate that can boil policy down to an accessible and digestible point. 

Brian Dickerson of the Detroit Free Press rounds out the panel as acting spokesperson for the Boomers. He takes a more radical viewpoint on the policy debate. He thinks that a campaign that focuses exclusively on policy will be doomed. He says Trump’s fitness should be front and center of any Democratic’ nominees campaign.