Admin
Verse of the Day
The Newsroom
Recent Posts
- Honesty and Civility..A Good Place To Start
- Shall We Dance?
- I Haven’t Deserted You
- Can You Relate?
- Tis Better To Give Than To Receive
Recent Comments
- ~J~ on Honesty and Civility..A Good Place To Start
- Sue on I Haven’t Deserted You
- ~J~ on Can You Relate?
- ~J~ on Happy Thanksgiving
- Piano Girl on Does Our President Have to Go to Church to Prove He’s Christian?
- ~J~ on Does Our President Have to Go to Church to Prove He’s Christian?
- David M. on Does Our President Have to Go to Church to Prove He’s Christian?
- ~J~ on Those Wonderful Church Bulletin Bloopers
- David M. on Those Wonderful Church Bulletin Bloopers
- ~J~ on Bar-B-Que
Blogroll
Newspaper Rack
Categories
What happened? What have the republicans done to bring this on themselves?
Written by GussSince 1968, the Republican Party has repeatedly capitalized on controversial Democratic stands to win over swing voters - stands on civil rights, women’s rights, busing, affirmative action, gay rights, crime and the use of force.
In the current election cycle, the shoe is on the other foot. The swing electorate appears, for the moment, to be leaning Democratic.
“The story of this period is that independents now line up closer to the Democrats than to Republicans,” said Andy Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center. “Independents are so down on Bush, so down on the war, that that is a real problem for these Republican candidates once they get past arguing with each other.”
A major survey [pdf] seeking to identify characteristics of independent voters, conducted by the Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University, found that unaligned voters view the Democratic Party favorably by a 55-41 margin, and the Republican Party unfavorably, 55-41. Independents were asked which party they prefer on 10 different issues, and they chose the Democrats on nine issues, including healthcare, 48-20; the situation in Iraq, 44-28; global warming, 49-21; and on such social issues as abortion and gay marriage, 43-26. The only issue on which independents preferred Republicans was “the U.S. campaign against terrorism,” 39 GOP, 30 Democrat.
“The Republican Party is fragmented, and it really poses a problem,” said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican pollster, currently unaffiliated with any candidate, who recently conducted a study [pdf] comparing the GOP electorate of 1997 to that of 2007. Fabrizio found, furthermore, that the median age of Republican voters has risen substantially over the past 10 years: in 1997, 28 percent were over 55; in 2007, 41 percent were. The percentage of Republicans between the age of 18 and 34 has dropped from 25 to 17, and those between 34 and 55 dropped from 44 percent to 40 percent. This suggests that, at least in the short run, Republican ranks face the threat of depletion.
david Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 7:39 amVisit david
I wish I had a better memory about where I read this yesterday, but I was in a trial until 8 pm and most of the day’s a blur. Anyway, I did reach an editorial concerning how the President could recover some respect of the American people. Known know if “respect” is really the right word, but that was used in the article in lieu of improvement in the polls. One-in no particular order-was improve his communication in both style and substance. However, what grabbed me was focused on our misconception of the health of the economy. The editorial suggestion was that unless the administration tackles gasoline prices, the American people are not going to believe we have a healthy economy. Despite every other economic indicator, the price of gas is what hits us on the most frequent basis and convinces many Americans the economy is is ruins. Another suggestion was that the President learn to say: (for example)”The immigration bill was a mistake. I have heard the wishes of the American people and have to take action that addresses the illegal immigrants already here.” DISCLAIMER: NOT a “hot-button” issue in my state or with me, but I know it is in many areas. If I drudge up any more from the recesses of yesterday I’ll add more details. I need that Altzheimer’s vaccine NOW!
Ayschlay Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 8:00 amVisit Ayschlay
I’m reminded of what the US war in Vietnam did to LBJ.
Big Mo Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 8:35 amVisit Big Mo
What happened? The Republicans stopped being Republicans. They slowly moved away from what bought them to Washington to power in 1994 and turned into innefectual Democrats. And last year thy paid for it by finally losing that power.