Pew Poll: Dem Self-ID Opens Up Wide Lead Over GOP; Liberalism Trends Up, Conservatism Down

[BurtWorm]

According to Kevin Drum:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_03/010985.php

GOP AGONISTES....A (depressed) conservative friend writes to say that George Bush has single-handedly destroyed the Republican Party. But based on the Pew survey that prompted his comment (see below) I'd say that Bush had some help. The Gingrichization of the Republican Party has taken its toll.

But the GOP isn't doomed any more than the Democrats were in 1980. They're just in for a few years of soul searching.

[Beetwasher]

1. Wow, That's Pretty Impressive!

n/t

[underpants]

2. Downloaded (112 pages PDF) and printing

for reading over the weekend.

One graph I saw had Republicans dropping rather steeply from '04 until now. From 29% t0 25% while Dems stayed steady at 33%

[BurtWorm]

5. The intro is interesting reading in itself

Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007
POLITICAL LANDSCAPE MORE FAVORABLE TO DEMOCRATS

Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about
income inequality, and a diminished appetite for assertive national security policies have
improved the political landscape for the Democrats as the 2008 presidential campaign gets
underway.

At the same time, many of the key
trends that nurtured the Republican
resurgence in the mid-1990s have
moderated, according to Pew’s longitudinal
measures of the public’s basic political,
social and economic values. The proportion
of Americans who support traditional social
values has edged downward since 1994,
while the proportion of Americans
expressing strong personal religious
commitment also has declined modestly.

Even more striking than the changes
in some core political and social values is
the dramatic shift in party identification that
has occurred during the past five years. In
2002, the country was equally divided along
partisan lines: 43% identified with the
Republican Party or leaned to the GOP,
while an identical proportion said they were
Democrats. Today, half of the public (50%)
either identifies as a Democrat or says they
lean to the Democratic Party, compared with
35% who align with the GOP.

[underpants]

8. On the religion thing

As you know we have been inundated with rhetoric about the massive evangelical (better people) crowd but yet every once in a while you hear about church attendance going down and churches "modernizing" their services to draw in not just more folks but anyone. Here in Virginia there are all kinds of mystery voters out in the Shenandoah Valley (God's country) who voted for Mark Warner but also for Bush (8% win in Va in '04 they say) and then for Tim Kaine in some degree and then Webb in about the same degree...hmmm

I could go on but you get the point. Note that the little brewhaha in the National Evangelical Association (or whatever it is called) there was always the mention that they are 60 million strong-that is one is 5 Americans. Really? Pastor Ted's organization (I think it is a different one) claimed to have 30 million members (1 in 10) but we saw that that included anyone who had given to the Salvation Army in that total. Basically this is classic prowrestling/talk radio glorious self promotion in an age where groupthink ("Friends", Coors Light, Dane Cook) works. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.

Still it doesn't add up.

[Hamlette]

12. sure it adds up, you get more money if people think you are big and powerful

so you inflate your numbers. People want to belong so they join a group with big numbers.

Religion is about money. Always has been.

[BurtWorm]

13. I'm sure they include children--infants and toddlers, even--in their numbers.

Probably people with Alzheimers and other mental disorders, as well. How many of their number I wonder are those who are really competent to self-identify as "one of us?"

[npincus]

3. Luv it.

Life just keeps getting harder for the middle/lower class majority, as we watch CEO salaries and perks increase, with multipliers of 400X the average worker's salary... 47 million of us can't afford health insurance... and the GOP keeps shipping our tax dollars off to Iraq, and champions the death of our soldiers. It's about f*cking time Americans woke the f*ck up.

[Ioo]

4. To Bad All those Dems don't Vote.

Or we would not have any republicans in office.

[BurtWorm]

6. You mean not all Dems vote.

(It's just the logician in me. ;-) )

[rasputin1952]

7. Oh...If only we had the voting records of some other nations...

could you imagine this country having an 85-90% voting rate?

What gets me are those who don't vote, and then squawk like a choir of rabid Howler Monkeys when they don't see things getting done...:grr:

[NewJeffCT]

9. Front page of my newspaper today - The Hartford Courant

nice to see the message is getting through the MSM filter...

[Arugula Latte]

10. Hey, Ronnie Reagan --

How do you like them apples, you rightwing freak ...

[Deep13]

11. The world spins to the left.

:-)

[NewJeffCT]

15. reality does have a well-known liberal bias

and, with the economy in the tank for 90% of the country, reality is what most people have to face on a daily basis.

[Dawgs]

14. And, it's only going to get better.

The older generation is dying off, and taking their bigoted views with them. Many of these people were raised to hate "gays" and blacks. They were taught that women belong in the kitchen. They were taught that war is good. These are the people that watch Fox Noise.

People like Hannity, Rush, and others will only look more stupid as these listeners go away.

[tblue37]

16. W breaks everything he touches.

Businesses, the country, the economy, the law--the GOP.

It's the Midas Touch in reverse--it all turns into caca.