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The Future of Red, Blue, and Purple America

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The Future of Red, Blue, and Purple America

The evolution of American politics and policy has been intimately bound with demographic and geographic change. The influence of the "GI" generation, the increasing post-WWII suburbanization, and the emergence of the "baby boom" generation have each had a profound impact on American society. The Future of Red, Blue, and Purple America, a joint project from the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution, brought leading demographers, geographers, and analysts together to examine the impact of seven new trends on the 2008 election and the future of American politics. Some key trends to watch include: The maturation and development of suburbs and the increasing prevalence of exurbs Increased geographic clustering of people with similar ideology and partisanship Changing immigration patterns and the growing importance of the Hispanic vote The decline of the white working class and the rise of a mass upper middle class Changes in family structure and views, as married households with children decline and single and alternative households increase The aging of the baby boomer generation and the rising influence of the Millennial generation The twin increase of highly observant Christian evangelical denominations as well as the secular, the nonobservant, and those with nontraditional religious practices These trends were discussed and analyzed in great detail at a February 28, 2008, conference in Washington, D.C. Papers presented at the event will appear periodically on this site and in an upcoming volume to be published by the Brookings Institution in September 2008. The Future of Red, Blue, and Purple America is co-directed by Karlyn Bowman, senior fellow at AEI, and Ruy Teixeira, visiting fellow at Brookings. Featured Papers Changes in Family Structure, Family Values, and Politics, 1972-2006, by Tom W. Smith The Aging of the Boomers and the Rise of the Millennials, by Scott Keeter Religion and American Politics: More Secular, More Evangelical . . . or Both? by John C. Green and E. J. Dionne Conference Presentations The Decline of the White Working Class and Other Changes in the Class Structure by Alan Abramowitz and Ruy Teixeira The Big Sort-Migration,Community, and Politics in the United States of "Those People" by Bill Bishop and Robert Cushing Race, Immigration and America's Changing Electorate by William H. Frey Religion and American Politics: More Secular, More Evangelical . . . or Both? by John C. Green and E. J. Dionne The Aging of the Boomers and the Rise of the Millennials by Scott Keeter The New Suburban Politics: An Analysis of Metropolitan Voting Trends Since 2000 by Robert E. Lang, Thomas W. Sanchez, and Alan Berube Changes in Family Structure, Family Values, and Politics: 1972-2006 by Tom W. Smith Event Materials : Video and Audio : Summary : Transcript

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The Future of Red, Blue, and Purple America

The Future of Red, Blue, and Purple America is a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution that focuses on the impact of demographic and geographic change on the 2008 elections and beyond. Selected papers from the upcoming Brookings Institution Press book and presentations as well as audio, video, and summary files from the conference held at AEI on February 28 are available here.

AEI and Brookings have launched the Election Reform Project. The program is a joint effort to monitor the implementation of the Help America Vote Act and to develop a bipartisan policy agenda for further improvements in the administration of elections.