Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Number of Republicans declines to 32-month low

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU
 
deadparrot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 12:30 PM
Original message
Number of Republicans declines to 32-month low
The number of Americans calling themselves Republican has fallen to its lowest level in more than two-and-a-half years. Just 31.9% of American adults now say they're affiliated with the GOP. That's down from 37.2% in October 2004 and 34.5% at the beginning of 2006. These results come from Rasmussen Reports tracking surveys of 15,000 voters per month and have a margin of sampling error smaller than a percentage point.

The number of Democrats has grown slightly, from 36.1% at the beginning of the year to 37.3% now.

Those who claim to be unaffiliated have increased to 30.8% this month. That's the highest total recorded since Rasmussen Reports began releasing this data in January 2004.

Add it all together and the Democrats have their biggest net advantage—more than five percentage points—since January 2004. In the first month of 2006, the Democrats' advantage was just 1.6 percentage points. Last month, 32.8% of adults said they were Republicans and 36.8% identified themselves as Democrats.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/rasmussen/partisantrends20060901
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
OrangeCountyDemocrat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 12:32 PM
Response to Original message
1. They're Still Out There Folks....
They just don't want to admit it, especially in case things really start going to pot.

george? george who? I voted for that other guy. What's his name.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
IntiRaymi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 12:34 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. They will not vote for their principles.
They will vote their prejudices. That is all that is left of the 'Conservative' platform.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
goforit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:47 PM
Response to Reply #3
13. Those delusional principals like the world is flat?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Raster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:14 PM
Response to Reply #3
22. Voting your prejudices IS the conservative platform.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
IntiRaymi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 05:51 PM
Response to Reply #22
44. True. n.t.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #1
8. Yep, those unaffiliated bastards hide their GOP shame behind
a gauzy curtain of nonalignment....
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
bdamomma Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #1
12. that's that denial creeping in.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Thoreau-Ly Donating Member (120 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:53 PM
Response to Reply #1
14. Which One?
President Kerry or President Gore?

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
GOPBasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 12:33 PM
Response to Original message
2. That's good news.
Things are looking good. I'm still scared of Diebold, but other than that, I think the American people have woken up.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:41 PM
Response to Reply #2
11. woken up to what, exactly? They still vote Republican
becasue they think Bush is too liberal. So why on earth would they vote for someone who is even more liberal than Bush?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Demeter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 12:35 PM
Response to Original message
4. This Sounds Like Something From Don Davis or the Onion
Could it actually be the TRUTH???
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
miketorse Donating Member (37 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 12:41 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. The Onion
At least we don't believe the Onion, like the prolifers do.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:50 PM
Response to Reply #5
25. ahahahahahaha
thank you for reminding me of that :7
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
nxylas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 03:59 PM
Response to Reply #25
32. Reminding you of what?
Sorry, I must have missed this story. The only case I know of people believing The Onion's stories is when the fundies started quoting their piece on Harry Potter leading to a rise in Satanism among 6-year-olds as if it were a real news story.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 05:05 PM
Response to Reply #32
42. This!
Edited on Fri Sep-01-06 05:12 PM by redqueen
Well crap, he's FINALLY taken it down. :(

Here's the skinny: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-elliott/prolife-site-takes-the-o_b_24907.html

And the comments that came in after his original blog entries are archived here: http://www.haloscan.com/comments/turnstile/115219671206889457 (he deleted those way back when)

:rofl:


this is the blog where it used to be http://monthlycallforlife.blogspot.com/

:rofl:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
NEOBuckeye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 12:43 PM
Response to Original message
6. So much for Rove's plan
He wanted to establish a permanent Republican majority.

He may very well be producing A majority, but it's far more likely at this point to be a Democratic one.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:40 PM
Response to Reply #6
10. Don't be fooled. They still hate you and me as much as ever
they just are now engaged in a movement to separate "Bush" and "conservative" in people's minds, saying shit like "Bush isn't a true conservative like I am".

Part of this is to save face and to rally a new conservative movement, part of this is to pretend that conservatism is a noble and classic ideal, and part is to demonize the left further by saying Bush's policies (which they support) are liberal.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Thoreau-Ly Donating Member (120 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:57 PM
Response to Reply #10
15. Yeah, But
That movement is going to fade away from the forefront, because it will only get worse with them. There is no future for it.

Of course, there will always be fundamentalists, but, like I said yesterday...

Our responsibility is not discharged by announcement of virtuous ends. Our responsibility is to achieve these objectives with social invention, with political skill, and executive vigor. I believe for these reasons that liberalism is our best and only hope in the world today. For the liberal society is a free society, and it is at the same time and for that reason a strong society. Its strength is drawn from the will of free people committed to great ends and peacefully striving to meet them. Only liberalism, in short, can repair our national power, restore our national purpose, and liberate our national energies.

John F. Kennedy


They will never have that attitude of progress, which we clearly hunger for, again.



Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
gaspee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:00 PM
Response to Original message
7. Weird
How so many people have no convictions and want to go with the "winner"

But then I thought about it and almost saw a glimmer of hope that people were finally waking up.

Maybe.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 01:38 PM
Response to Original message
9. "I'm a libertarian" or "Im a conservative, not a Republican"
That's the popular talking point.

I call bullshit.

They're BushBots and tools, and they're apologists. That's all they will ever be.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Thoreau-Ly Donating Member (120 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:03 PM
Response to Reply #9
17. Sometimes You Get
"I'm an Independent," which is all well and good, but sometimes one feels like asking, "But, you do understand how the political process works and what is going on politically?"

"Right?"

Good people can of course be any party they want, but what I don't understand is this new Allen/Burns/McCain/Bush/Bob Jones U. blatantly racist shit in the Republican party. That should be condemned.

Why are so many Americans so fucking stupid? Why, Why, Why?

We're supposed to be good people. But it's like too many of us have lost our humanity.

Bit of a rant, apologies.

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
LL7 Donating Member (2 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #17
23. Independent here:
I am an independent and I am disgusted with the Bush presidency. I am also disgusted with the Republican congress. I vote for about 75% Democrats, but I refuse to align myself solely with one party. As an independent I find rabid Democrats as infuriating as rabid Republicans. Base your vote on your convictions, not the party line.

I am socially liberal, but fiscally conservative. I believe in a balanced budget. I believe in treating all people equally. I am stongly in favor of the rights granted us in the Constitution. As such I see Bush as the absolute worst president in history.

I also am turned off by the racist overtones of the Republican party.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Seedersandleechers Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:51 PM
Response to Reply #23
26. Welcome to DU
:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Thoreau-Ly Donating Member (120 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 03:05 PM
Response to Reply #23
27. Yes, Thank You.
And about the party line: definitely. Many of us are outraged at what the party has done--or, moreoever, what it hasn't done--in our names, and so in that sense, need to hold onto the better meanings of the party's principles, such as those espoused by Adlai Stevenson, John Kennedy, Jefferson, etc., etc.

No question: Bush is the worst president in American History. Only a genocidal maniac would be worse. And there continues to be disturbing questions about Bush's sanity.

Bush has a new, cruel, callous past-time with his bicycle: making his aides and guests run three miles when the temperature is over 100 degrees while he rides his bicycle along side and barks orders at them to run faster.

This week Bush broke from his usual long summer vacation at his Crawford, Texas, homestead for a press conference and meetings in Washington. The week before, while the Lebanon war was still raging, Bush invited Reuters correspondent Steve Holland to join him on an hour and a half bicycle ride in 100-degree heat. (Bush holds contests for his staff at Crawford to belong to his "100-Degree Club." When the temperature hits 100 degrees, they run three miles while the president rides his bike alongside them, urging them to run faster. "You can do it! Come on!" At the end, they receive T-shirts and pose for pictures with Bush.) "Bush does not ride quietly, constantly shouting out in his Texas twang the names of trees and geographic features and yelling at himself to pedal faster," Holland wrote. As Bush rode up a hill, leading an entourage of sweating Secret Service agents and the reporter, he shouted to no one in particular: "Air assault!"


Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Raksha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 06:43 PM
Response to Reply #27
47. That's absolutely outrageous! Do you have a link for this?
Re >>Bush has a new, cruel, callous past-time with his bicycle: making his aides and guests run three miles when the temperature is over 100 degrees while he rides his bicycle along side and barks orders at them to run faster.<<

That sounds like something a decadent Roman emperor like Nero or Caligula would do, or maybe a French monarch just before he got his head lopped off. He's glorying in one's own power by humiliating others and making them sweat (literally in this case). That's absolutely disgusting.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
delete_bush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 09:24 PM
Response to Reply #47
58. He really is a sociopath.
A truly sick man. How many stories are out here about college and pro football players who become ill or even die under the same conditions. I was curious too so found the article by Sidney Blumenthal in Salon and will pass it on (requires viewing an ad if you aren't a member, is the very last paragraph).

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2006/08/17/bush/
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rusty charly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 03:20 PM
Response to Reply #23
28. who's an example of a "rabid" Democrat?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
LL7 Donating Member (2 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #28
30. rabid people
I have met them. They are the ones who can't give you a good reason for why you should vote for the Democrat, but only that you should. Honestly I can't name one in the public eye, and the ones I have met privatly are far outnumbered by Rabid Republicans. But they do exist - you may even be one for all I know. My general rule is not to trust someone who whould check the "All Republican" or the "All Democrat" candidates box (we have those on our election forms in NH). That doesn't mean I think happening to vote for one party is wrong, but rather doing so without thought. I would rather leave a vote blank if I don't know for sure I want a particular candidate.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
RUMMYisFROSTED Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 05:18 PM
Response to Reply #30
43. "I can't name one in the public eye"
Neither can I.

But I can name 250 RR's in Congress alone. Another 30-40 in the media and 1 in Hollywood.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
sandnsea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-03-06 04:00 AM
Response to Reply #30
73. Perhaps you mean someone like me
Who wouldn't vote R if someone put a gun to my head. Why? Because of the mess you see in Washington DC right now. That's what Republicans are, lock stock and barrel. Call me rabid if you want, but if you haven't figured out Republicans are responsible for the decline of this country since Reagan took office, then maybe you haven't been bit hard enough.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
civildisoBDence Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:16 PM
Response to Reply #23
37. And another independent
I generally support Democrats in local elections because I believe that most governing should be done near the source. Ditto for taxes--keep them local as much as possible.

And up until 2000, I generally supported Republicans in national elections because I don't trust humongous bureaucracies that siphon resources away from localities and wind up working for the good of the bureaucracy itself, not the people.

DUHbya changed all that. I'd give up a leg (okay, a toe) to see Democrats take the House and Senate in '06 and impeach the bastard.

I still prefer divided government--no single party controlling House, Senate, and the presidency--and the past six years are all the evidence needed to see why.

Satire as thick as a president's skull
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
marions ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-03-06 03:50 AM
Response to Reply #37
72. no single party
"controlling House, Senate, Presidency"

I could go for that. This struggle to dominate rather than govern for the best interests of all is undermining this country.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
maxsolomon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:22 PM
Response to Reply #23
39. news flash
you're a democrat.

everyone believes in a balanced budget except neocons.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
The Wizard Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 07:10 PM
Response to Reply #23
48. Nixon's Southern Strategy
laid the groundwork for the underlying bigoted message of the GOP. Their language is code for, "You're bigots? So are we. Vote Republican." They appeal to the worst fears and lowest instincts of the 25% they know will buy a one way ticket to Paradise without understanding the consequences of their actions. If W is really a religious man then I must be the Pope.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
KnaveRupe Donating Member (700 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 09:36 PM
Response to Reply #23
59. I hear you, re independent status.
I was a registered Independent for 20 years. This year I switched my registration to become a Democrat. If you're interested, my reasons for so doing are in this post I wrote back in February:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/KnaveRupe/1

Basically, since there are no longer any Republicans I can in good conscience vote for, it made sense for me to switch and to try and make the Democratic Party into something I believe in. And I found that I had always been a Democrat. It felt like coming home.

If you're a "fiscal conservative", you'll find DLC types around here that you'll agree with, as well as people who will tear you a new one for not being liberal enough. The Democrats truly are the "big tent" party; and no matter how much we may argue among ourselves, every single person registered to this board is committed to repairing this country that the Republicans have brought to the brink of destruction. Every one of us wants nothing more than to see Bush, Cheney, Rove, and the rest of their ilk permanently gone from the American political landscape.

Welcome aboard. And, let me say, welcome home.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 12:39 PM
Response to Reply #23
69. That's the bullshit that has gotta stop
I am tired of that cliche.

"I am socially liberal, but economically conservative, because I belive in a balanced budget"



BILL CLINTON HAD 4 YEARS OF BUDEGET SURPLUS, AND IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO ANYONE BY NOW, AFTER FIVE YEARS OF BUSH, THAT CONSERVATIVES DO NOT BELIEVE IN BALANCED BUDGETS


Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
nxylas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:01 PM
Response to Reply #17
34. Doesn't Bill O'Reilly call himself an Independent?
If so, I rest my case.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
madmusic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 08:59 PM
Response to Reply #34
57. He's a liar.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
beltanefauve Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 06:02 PM
Response to Reply #9
45. Centrists, too
Edited on Fri Sep-01-06 06:03 PM by beltanefauve
"We're Centrists!" is what my Conservative parents kept saying to me over and over, the last time I saw them. They'll vote for whoever does the best job of scaring the heck out of them, basically. (Oh, and they just simply "couldn't" vote for Kerry or Gore!) And then there are my Yuppie siblings, registered Repubs. These are people who have bought into Republicanism as a brand identity, who want to belong to the "winning" team, who think being greedy, materialistic, racist or sexist is "cool", the antithesis of political-correctness. Last I spoke to my sister, she was thinking of becoming an "Independent". Maybe the Repubs aren't "winners" anymore. Has nothing to do with a shift of values. She lives in Connecticut and likes Lieberbush, too. :grr:

Bushbot apologists, as you say. As long as they're manipulated by fear or by a brand identity, that's all they'll ever be. Their true colors will always show through.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Canuckistanian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 10:54 PM
Response to Reply #9
61. Conservative, Republican, Conservative-Libertarian
They're all the same now.

The "Conservatives", the Goldwater/Reagan/Buckley moderates.

The "Republicans", the Newt/Falwell/Buchanan/Bush-the-Smarter crowd.

The "Conservative Libertarians", the Neil Boortz/Grover Norquist/Jack Abramoff "small-government" nuts.

They've all thrown their lot in with the Chimp-In-Chief and the insane Neocon cabal. They've proven it a thousand times, in articles and Fox News appearances.

And there was barely a whimper of protest of the bastardization of their own movements.

And now, they have to face the consequences of a pissed-off electorate.

Serves them right.

Eat failure, neocon appeasers.

:nopity:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 05:15 AM
Response to Reply #9
64. They sure don't want to be associated with Bush,
so how can they be Bushbots? The only downside i see is that many of those are likely to vote for a 'better republican than Bush', rather than voting Dem.

Besides this article there are many other indicators that the Bush admin has very little popular support. Such as:

--

Bush spin on Iraq war won't hurt Democrats: experts
by Fanny Carrier

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Attempts by the administration of US President George W. Bush to justify the continuing war in Iraq by comparing it to the 20th century war against Nazism as November elections draw near could actually benefit divided Democrats, experts said.

...

"A majority of the American people oppose the war in Iraq. Therefore, the Democrats, as the party that primarily opposed the war in Iraq, has this issue on its side," said Stephen Hess, an analyst at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

"It's the Bush administration that has to try to convince the majority of the American people that they're correct," he said.

Eric Davis, a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, said the war can work to the Democrats' advantage in the run-up to the November 7 legislative election.

"The strategy for the Democrats is both to talk about other issues where they're strong -- economy, health care, gas prices and so forth -- and to simply take Bush on and say that his policy has not made the region more secure," Davis said.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060901/pl_afp/uspoliticsbushiraq
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
orwell Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:00 PM
Response to Original message
16. The rise of "Unaffiliateds"...
...is a good thing.

Maybe it will eventually become the majority and help break the stranglehold of craven party politics.

Debate ideas, not ideologies...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
On the Road Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:10 PM
Response to Original message
18. That is a Huge Drop --
In other words, one out of seven self-described Republicans have stopped affiliating themselves with the GOP in these polls just in the last eight months. One out of seven.

I can't believe the worm is finally turning, but that's what it looks like at this point.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ClintonTyree Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 05:44 AM
Response to Reply #18
65. Or is it just, "Bush backlash"?
If a "sensible" Republican is running in 2008 (sensible to them meaning, John McCain etc.) would they still say they're unaffiliated or would they rejoin the GOP fold and push every (R) on the touch-screen?
I think much of what we're seeing is Bush backlash. They don't want to be perceived as backing a loser like Bush. But have their colors TRULY changed? Somehow I doubt it. I think their prejudices and insecurities are alive and well and waiting for a less offensive and much smarter GOP candidate to ride in on his steed and revalidate their prejudices. Bush has too much baggage right now, it's not fashionable to support him at the moment.
I can't bring myself to believe this many Republicans have had an epiphany, that they're suddenly reformed and have come over to the side of truth and justice.
Of course, I'm one of the most cynical people on the planet. When I see it, touch it and experience it, I'll believe it. I hope I'm wrong, I hope they've REALLY changed but somehow, I doubt it. :shrug: Just my 2 cents.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
StrictlyRockers Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:11 PM
Response to Original message
19. It must suck to be a conservative REpubilcan these days. ::))
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
The_Counsel Donating Member (844 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:12 PM
Response to Original message
20. Interesting. So What Percentage Of That Group...
...now considers themselves "Democrats" simply because it's trendy? I submit many of them called themselves "Republicans" four years ago for that same reason.

We Americans are nothing if not proud---sometimes to a fault: we love us a front runner and hate to be wrong, even with cold hard facts staring (slapping?) us in the face.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
liberal N proud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:14 PM
Response to Original message
21. But that will not deter the bu$h regime and the GOP congress from
violating our civil rights.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
PATRICK Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 02:45 PM
Response to Original message
24. The numbers are simplistically presented
Actual numbers, actual switches, new voters are needed. One can only guess then that the really angry GOP defectors prefer to go independent, that new recruitment dives, if successful for the GOP, might signal the defection is actually worse among former voters than the numbers show. It does not show much switching to the Dems. The size of the loss seems to affirm anecdotal experiences, public statements by disaffected GOP stalwarts(considering that principled people started leaving long before this!). For actual loss to occur at all is a very bad sign unless the recruitment by Dems is really so good it leaves stagnant GOP recruitment numbers in the dust.

In other words, Rasmussen is avoiding publicizing good news for the Dems by declining to state how the percentages are changing and how worse it looks in actual raw numbers.

It does describe a stubborn core of GOP voters-no-matter-what. Their own party is evaporating in principles(maybe they didn't have enough to begin with to notice?). Yet the meekly hopeful centrist bean counters are shifting that 2% swing thing to their side and thinking this is a huge victory for the party itself. That margin in itself is still useless against fraud and propaganda.

This is half useful and it is Rasmussen, not a wholly reliable poll.

The comment about voters going with winners is true. It would suggest that failure at election time would probably open the gates for another discouraged few per cent at least to jump ship.

I KNOW what some party centrists are thinking. If only we could be more like the Eisenhower Republicans we could bust the dams just by playing possum on radical issues. That the populists and lefties bringing this administration and its props down will not win over votes. I suggest that their hopes are either untrue(the GOP loyalists would STILL find reasons to distrust Dems as a separate issue from dislike of Bush) or irrelevant(if they were LIKE the old GOP it still would not make people join the Dems. It would just hold out hope that Tweedledum would rescue Tweedledee and together they would restore the good old GOP). Populists are probably not the ones driving away GOP defectors. Weak Dems are just as well. The only "triangulation" that means anything is presenting the party as forcefully and honestly as possible. Nothing else seems to work much anyway and OUR party would be stronger for being stronger in principle- which is a big reason the GOP leaders are spitting on their own.

Winning over the GOP by increasing the mush factor is an unstable, self-defeating victory that blurs the hardcore reasons behind black and white scandals. Luckily, I don't think anyone can defeat the totalitarian machine being born by simply blurring the lines and the party faithful in both parties are buying it yet, therefore unlikely to ever want to form such a gooey, vapid and mutable center infested with the same corporate renegades and philosophies that signal the destruction of the power GOP or the nation and world.

But the old myth, a nation evenly divided in two when it is actually thirds bereft of choice, has not had a stake driven in its heart yet. You can see the crooked "bi"-partisan dynamisms that keep the illusion alive.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
damntexdem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 03:46 PM
Response to Original message
29. That's horrible! How can nearly a third call themselves Republicans?
And a five-point advantage, even if it were to translate into an advantage among actual voters at the polls, is not enough to overcome GOP-sponsored voter fraud.

Well, there are still two months to go.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
npincus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 03:52 PM
Response to Original message
31. HAR HAR... Dubya's thinnin' them herds right quick!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
KansDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:00 PM
Response to Original message
33. You see!!! Spaying and neutering WORKS!!!
And it saves lives!

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
truthisfreedom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:12 PM
Response to Reply #33
35. heh.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
C_U_L8R Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:16 PM
Response to Original message
36. Too embarrassing to be GOP
the republicans seem to be suffering blowback
from all the stupid inane stuff they've done.
Only a "moran" would be a repuke these days.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
The Wizard Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 07:30 PM
Response to Reply #36
49. Check out this one

Tom Kean Jr., scared to be republican
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csiV015kOdo
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
NewJeffCT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 08:17 PM
Response to Reply #49
53. that is awesome
thanks for posting the link
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
C_U_L8R Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 08:36 PM
Response to Reply #49
55. pop goes the weasel
ka-pow

lovely
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
durrrty libby Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 12:01 PM
Response to Reply #49
67. What a great spot that is
All dems should run similar ads to remind people what

cruds the pugs are.

In Fl the ads are touting the candidates as Ron Reagan or Jeb Bush republicans

Like that is a good thing. Blech!


The best thing dems can do is to register tons of new voters

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mitchum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:21 PM
Response to Original message
38. 0% is the figure I'm longing for
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Ilsa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:24 PM
Response to Original message
40. What happened? Were they already raptured and left W behind?
If so, then we are in Hell if we are still stuck with him.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Jack Rabbit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 05:03 PM
Response to Original message
41. When Bush is impeached and convicted, will you be able to find any Reps?
Or will they be as hard to find as Nazis in Germany in the Summer of '45?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
The Wizard Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 06:34 PM
Response to Original message
46. Nixon won
by a landslide in 72, but by 74 no one admitted to voting for him.
George III barely stole two elections, and the well conditioned morans continue to believe. That's the advantage of faith based loyalty. There's no reasonable basis for their support, yet they blindly follow. We have about 25% of the population that will follow the PNAC jackoffs to the depths of despair like lemmings off a cliff. Now that reminds me it's time for comic relief so listening to National Lampoon's "Lemmings" is about to be played.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Zambero Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 07:39 PM
Response to Original message
50. The Republican FIB Factor
F = Fear
I = Ignorance
B = Bigotry

With this combination in place, any set of lies will do just fine, as long as it serves the ultimate goal of staying in power!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 07:44 PM
Response to Original message
51. Well, it's not because Republicans are dying in Iraq. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Botany Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 08:15 PM
Response to Original message
52. So how will they explain the repug victories?
BTW how did 37.2% in October 2004 win the Presidential election?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
PADemD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 08:51 PM
Response to Reply #52
56. I have some Democratic friends
who voted for Bush because they didn't like Kerry. I worked at a local Democratic call center during the 2004 campaign, and many Democrats said they were going to vote for Bush. We called Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. A lot of Independents voted for Bush. I was happy when Pennsylvania went for Kerry. It made those 4 hours at night on the phone bank worthwhile.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Botany Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 10:16 PM
Response to Reply #56
60. bull
dems voted for Kerry @ a 90% rate
independents according to the polls voted for Kerry too.

bottom line for bush to have won by the published #s (16 million more in 2004 than 2000)
the following had to happen;
a) all of bush's 2000 base had to have come out and voted for bush in 2004 .... no deaths
..... no voting Kerry ....... no not voting at all
b) greater then 65% of the new vote had to have voted for bush. In Ohio dem/Kerry/anti bush
vote registered 250,000 (conservative #) new voters ..... repub/bush vote registered 35,000
c) greater then 70% of the undecided vote had to break for bush ..... rule of thumb if the undecided
tends to break for the challenger.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
PADemD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 06:58 PM
Response to Reply #60
70. Excuse me,
but I was speaking from personal experience. In the county where I live, Bush received 62,102 votes (49%), and Kerry received 63,446 votes (51%). Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in our county, so some of them must have voted for Bush or stayed home. I know that my personal friend and her husband both voted for Bush. You can view Pennsylvania's 2004 election results at the following link. If you bother to check, you will see that, although Kerry carried Pennsylvania, Bush carried many counties in Pennsylvania.

http://www.politicspa.com/FEATURES/votehistory.htm
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
VegasWolf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 08:25 PM
Response to Original message
54. After these 6 years, who would want to be called a Republican? Puke! nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Hulk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 11:43 PM
Response to Original message
62. Jumping off the band wagon...
Everyone wants to be a winner...until they realize the winner is killing the country. I still shake my head at those that voted for this dufus moron...A SECOND TIME!!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
No Exit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 12:10 AM
Response to Original message
63. I hear gonorrhea's down, too.
We're so lucky we live in the age of antibiotics and other wonder drugs.

Now if we could just get those drugs to the suffering people in those red states...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Bitwit1234 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
66. Republican numbers falling
I have posted this on other lists and I am trying to put it out there so if the cons steal it, like they do most of the stuff we post on our others lists. It will where others see it first.

GOP in the poop soup. Silly I know but I love it.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mkb Donating Member (124 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 12:21 PM
Response to Original message
68. Avoid Political Extremes And Control Negative Emotions
     I think it's important to understand that avoiding the
extremes, both politically and personally, is I think a good
idea.
     Trying to find out, politically, what the extremes are,
can be difficult if you don't pay attention to what's
happening.  I think for those who are with us will agree that
there is a strong right-wing imbalance in our political
environment.  Getting it back to the middle, or perhaps
slightly left of center, requires effort, understanding, and
likely patience.
     There can be difficulties obtaining accurate information,
but I think it's factual that the top 1 percent of wealth
holders owns 48 percent of the wealth in this country.  There
are attempts to confuse people regarding statistics, but I
clearly remember seeing this statistic on the internet.  CEO
pay figures relative to what they used to be support this
statement.
     If that's true, it clearly represents the fundamental
evidence of "extreme" political and economic policy,
and something we need to turn around, as well as many things
related to that imbalance.  I continue to urge patience and
caution on how to help reverse this imbalance.
     As for those just "catching on", and any others
who may be included, avoiding personal extremes I think is
very important too.
The challenges we face require ourselves to think and act in
the best manner possible.  My experience has taught me that
letting negative emotions control my life causes me and those
I care about trouble.  People who are young, and without much
money, and also who don't "understand" the deeper
truths I think others have found out, are most likely to be
affected by negative emotions.
     Let me say again, negative emotions, particularly hate
and anger, will most likely only cause problems for you and
the people you're hopefully working with to make things
better.  There are many forces, obvious and subtle, that try
to make you hateful or angry, and if you remember to control
those negatives and how they influence your behavior, you will
save yourself and others much pain and difficulty.
     We can't expect perfection from people, but my experience
has taught me valuable lessons that I don't want friends and
allies out there to have to learn the hard way.  I believe
many people purposely did harm to me, but I made my life and
those who I'm trying to help, which includes many of you I
think, more difficult because I took more time than I wanted
to learn this lesson.  Having a lot of hate and anger can
cause you to fall down, so to speak.
     If you start trying to help the situation get better,
it's likely you'll experience pressure and resistance, in ways
that can make you hateful and angry.  Controlling and
minimizing those emotions will really help you avoid trouble. 
There are many ways trouble can find you, so please try not to
make it easier for it to happen by letting these negative
emotions influence your behavior and make you unhappy.  Good
Luck.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Raine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-02-06 07:34 PM
Response to Original message
71. The "dirty thirty" percent
the rePUKES never lose them but I still can't understand how they can keep ANYONE on their side. :-(
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Vidar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-03-06 04:23 AM
Response to Original message
74. Good news. Thanks for posting.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Thu Dec 26th 2024, 07:41 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC