The generation gap
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However, even as Silent Generation voters tilt heavily toward Republicans, they are hardly GOP loyalists. While they register a 39%-to-56% favorable-to-unfavorable opinion of Democrats, they dislike the Republican Party by a virtually identical ratio. The difference is that Silent Generation voters say they trust Republicans more to handle major issues like the economy, health care and immigration--with one exception: voters over 65 said they trusted Democrats to better handle Social Security. "That could undermine the Republican advantage" with seniors, says Kohut. That's all the more likely given that Silent voters care more about Social Security than any issue other than jobs.
Bracing for "Scare Tactics"
Which means you can count on hearing Obama and the Democrats talking nonstop over the next year about how Republicans plan to slash entitlement programs, including Medicare and Social Security. Most Republicans counter that seniors don't have anything to worry about. Any such cuts, they say, like those in the budget blueprint of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, wouldn't touch benefits for voters currently 55 or older. "Republicans should expect the scare tactics that Democrats always go to," says Republican pollster Whit Ayres. Veteran consultants from both parties agree that a fierce Democratic message about entitlements helped the party win a longtime Republican seat in a May special election in New York State, where Democrats relentlessly attacked the GOP candidate, charging that she would rather slash Medicare and Social Security than raise taxes on the rich. Says MIT's Campbell: "Romney, I believe, is aware of this, and that's why I believe he's been careful to stick to a very moderate course on entitlement reform." Think of how the former Massachusetts governor pounced like a lion on his rival, Texas Governor Rick Perry, for calling Social Security a "Ponzi scheme."
For all the differences in their worldviews, the generations are not in direct conflict, the Pew poll found, a mildly heartening conclusion in a country divided in many other ways. They disagree, but they don't view each other as the enemy: millennials are about as concerned as Silents (57% and 59%, respectively) that there may not be enough money in the future to maintain Social Security and Medicare benefits at their current levels, which is a source of greater anxiety among the middle-aged Generation X and baby boomers (70% and 71%). Nearly every age group, including Silents, is concerned that sustaining those benefits might place too great a financial burden on younger generations, but the youngest Americans, who might have the most to fear from entitlement cuts, express slightly less concern than any other age group. If anything, the concern goes the other way: seniors seem ready to accept modifications in entitlements if it helps the next in line. In other words, young people don't want to pull the plug on Grandma to ease their student-loan repayments, while Silents don't reject the idea of means testing to spare their grandchildren a crushing debt burden. "I feel sorry for the young people," says Len Kaufman, 82, of Boca Raton. "We had a good run."