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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPoll shows public souring on GOP after 2014 gains
Posted with permission.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/poll-shows-public-souring-gop-after-2014-gains?cid=sm_fb_maddow
Poll shows public souring on GOP after 2014 gains
07/24/15 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Theres no denying the electoral successes Republican candidates had in the 2014 midterms. Arguably the most significant change came in the Senate, where the GOP took control of the chamber for the first time since 2006, but up and down the ballot, Republicans won big.
With this in mind, as 2015 got underway, the conservative party had the wind at its back and was eager to show the American public that voters chose wisely in the elections. Hows that working out so far? New polling from the Pew Research Center has to be discouraging.
The Democratic Party has often held an edge over the GOP in favorability in recent years, but its advantage had narrowed following the Republicans midterm victory last fall. Today, the gap is as wide as it has been in more than two years.
The problem for Republicans isnt just the gap between the GOP and Democrats. The more pressing issue is the direction of public attitudes in early 2015, Republicans had a respectable-but-underwhelming 41% favorable rating. With GOP officials in control of Congress, most state legislatures, and most governors offices, that same figure has dropped sharply to 32%.
And before Republican leaders say, The public is souring on both parties, note that Democratic favorability has actually increased over the same period.
Looking at the breakdown over specific issues, party advantages are largely predictable Democrats have the edge on the environment, reproductive rights, education, and health care, while Republicans lead on guns and terrorism.
But one number above all should jump out at GOP leaders:
The perception, to be sure, is rooted in fact. Republican politics has been radicalized to a historic degree, a development that the electorate has apparently noticed.
But therein lies the contemporary challenge for the GOP: the party has no idea what to do to move closer to the American mainstream. If leaders move away from extremist elements in their party, theyll be replaced by their radical colleagues. If Republican policymakers abandon the far-right agenda, theyll lose in their next primary.
At the same time, however, GOP officials are currently in the process of asking Americans to give the party control of the White House, Senate, and House, effective January 2017. The more the U.S. majority considers the Republican Party extreme, the more difficult it will be for voters to give the GOP that kind of power over the federal government.
BeyondGeography
(39,377 posts)Nah.
Hydra
(14,459 posts)They pretty much were in 2008...but somehow they got a hand up.
daybranch
(1,309 posts)We can now support Bernie Sanders message rather than the weak kneed non-committal liberal jargon of yesteryear.
We progressives are taking over the party because the people need us to do it for them. We are for the people first and democrats second.
So please do not tell me, we have to support Hillary or not attack her positions because she is the democrats best bet to beat republicans.