"A new trend has emerged in American politics: The very youngest voters — 18-to-24-year-olds — say they’re more conservative than the cohort that’s just older,” according to the latest Harvard Youth Poll.
“This new trend — which is true for both genders and emerged only in the last few years — is especially pronounced with men.”
I think this is exactly it. For the younger generations, things have shifted leftward, to such a degree that standard issue leftists almost look like they’re conservatives.