More On Realignment--Issue Advantages And Shifts

by: Paul Rosenberg

Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 07:00

Gallup has a new poll report:

December 7, 2007
Democratic Party Winning on Issues
Democrats preferred to handle 6 of 10 issues; Republicans lead on 2
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Less than a year before Americans go to the polls to choose the next president and the 111th Congress, Gallup finds the Democrats holding a considerable advantage over the Republicans in public perceptions of which party can handle a variety of national issues.
Overall, the Democratic Party is perceived as better able to handle 6 of 10 issues that are likely to be heavily debated in the 2008 campaigns, and they roughly tie with the Republican Party on another 2. The Republicans lead on illegal immigration and terrorism, but their previously substantial advantage on terrorism has been cut by two-thirds since 2004.
According to the new USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2007, the Democrats' strongest issue areas include healthcare, the housing market, protecting Americans' rights and freedoms, corruption in government, the economy, and Iraq. The two parties are roughly tied on moral values and taxes. The Republican Party leads in public perceptions of which party can better handle terrorism and illegal immigration, but not by as much as the Democrats lead on their best signature issues.

Most significantly, for shifts in opinion since January 2004, Iraq (26 point shift) and terrorism (20 point shift) lead the way, even though Democrats still trail on the latter:

Read the whole report.

Paul Rosenberg :: More On Realignment--Issue Advantages And Shifts

Tags: Polls, gallup, Realignment, health care, Iraq, economy, terrorism, taxes, Rights, Corruption, (All Tags)

Print Friendly View

Send As Email

More On Realignment--Issue Advantages And Shifts | 3 comments

confirms what we already knew... (4.00 / 2)

Republicans are in serious trouble. Short term and especially long term. Their advantage in handling terrorism will never recover in the long term as it was obtained through false pretenses in the first place. Also terrorism is a fading issue (barring of course another horrible attack). The only issue that is going to help them is immigration. Many centrists and independents and even populist and some liberals agree with the far right about the need to crack down on illegal immigration. Usually for different reasons, but they agree.

Of course in the future the immigration xenophobia bigoteering is going to come back and bite them in the ass. Hopefully the Democrats will court the Hispanic vote even if it results in short term political losses. If Democrats can manage to do anywhere near as well at solidifying the Hispanic demographic as lifelong Democrats as the have done with the black demographic, well then lets just say Republicans will never win another national election again. It is very unlikely they will be able to court the Hispanic voting demographic as successfully as the black one, but if they can even get close, that will be the end of the GOP.

The GOP shot themselves in the foot. They created a constituency that is scared shitless of Muslims and terrorism. This makes them very loyal to W but it also makes it nearly impossible for any of their candidates to run a reality based primary campaign, they MUST be insanely hawkish to satisfy their 30% base who they somehow and tragically convinced to fear Islam feverishly.

Their other problem is they courted the racist and bigot vote. Sure it helped them steal some votes in the south but now they are forced to perpetually nominate homophobic perverted religious bigots (I say perverted because these people someone managed to transform Christianity to a religion about hating gays instead of loving neighbors). They cannot even convince their bigot base which they worked so hard to court to vote for a Mormon or a Catholic (much less a woman or a female) even with all of the Republican establishment and power broker pundits and talk radio idiots begging their base not to elect Huckabee.

Long story shirt the GOP fucked themselves. I just hope the Democrats don't blow the chance to pick up the Hispanic demographic just because some DLC idiot wants to play centrist.

End this war. Stop John McCain. Cindy McCain is filthy rich.

by: wiretapp @ Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:59:15 PM UTC

It's Krushchev's Disease (0.00 / 0)

What worries me most about the Democrats is reminiscent of Krushchev in the early 1960s. On the one hand, he would denounce the West's alienating materialism. Then he'd turn around and say, "But we are catching up with you!"

If only the Dems could restrain their desire to catch up with the GOP in all the ways the GOP has screwed itself and the nation so badly.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 17:03:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]