How Gen X Delivered the Election to Donald Trump

Generation X is starting to flex its cultural and political muscle, data show.

https://jjmilt.substack.com/p/how-gen-x-delivered-the-election

Two and half years ago, Politico published a story featuring Cherielynn Westrich, a founding member of the power pop band The Rentals who went on to become a lawmaker in Iowa.



Westrich, who was first elected to the 81st District of the Iowa House of Representatives in 2021 before joining the senate to represent the 13th district, is described as “a Zelig-like figure in ‘90s pop culture,” a reference to the 1983 Woody Allen movie that shows Leonard Zelig (Allen) popping up in historic scenes with all sorts of famous people from the 1920s.

As journalist Ben Jacobs explains in the article, Westrich played with Spike Jonze, toured with Alanis Morissette, and worked for Flea (yes, that Flea); and she’s not shy about talking her rock n roll past.

“Well so, you guys know who Madonna is?” she asked a group of children at the Iowa state capitol. “Madonna signed my band to her record label, and we toured all around the world and got to play all the big coliseums like Madison Square Garden, and then we had videos — you guys know about MTV? — we had two of them, and you can still find them online from a long time ago back in the 1900s.”

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