The Bernie Sanders Millennials: How Democrats 'Missed The Opportunity To Win A Generation'

And heading into a general election battle in which the two candidates of America's dominant political parties are both widely disliked, the decision to abandon both Democrats and Republicans can hardly be dismissed as unreasonable.

Democrats, Pales argues, should be extremely concerned by the fact that millennials have, by and large, rejected the candidate pushed by the establishment from the beginning.

"The Democratic Party missed the opportunity to win a generation of voters, which is a shame considering the profound effect that Sen. Sanders has had in shaping the opinions of young Americans."

Some data indicates, also, that millennials don't harbor the same skepticism toward socialism as previous generations — and they don't harbor the same love for capitalism.

In a survey conducted by Harvard University, a majority of those who responded said they "do not support capitalism," the Washington Post reports.

This could be due, at least in part, to the fact that millennials face increasingly grim economic prospects. They are saddled with student loan debt, their incomes are growing slowly, and their opportunities are dwindling, despite the fact that they are highly educated.

"The millennials landed on the job market at a miserable moment in economic history. On the upside, that should give us something to lord over our children when we're middle-aged and cranky. On the downside, our poor timing will probably depress our incomes for some time to come, since graduating into a recession can drag down your earnings for years."

According to a poll conducted by the Black Youth Project at the University Chicago and the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, both black and Hispanic millennials favored Sanders by significant margins.

The Democratic establishment, by both embracing Hillary Clinton and at times brazenly rejecting Bernie Sanders, has so alienated the millennial generation that it will be difficult to win their support in the future.

"Yes," Pales concludes, "Hillary Clinton may have won older and more devoted Democrats, but the Democratic Party lost the opportunity to secure an entire generation as a result."

If Democrats haven't gotten the message yet — a message that says their ties to corporate America and their tepid reforms are no longer enough to address the nation's economic crises — perhaps they never will.

[Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]