A Problem of Shrinkage

[a completely inoffensive name]

I wish we had just listened to George Washington and not had political parties in the first place.

[Spino]

I wish we had just listened to George Washington and not had political parties in the first place.

It's a nice thought but it doesn't jibe well with human nature. Human beings are naturally very hierarchical, tribal animals. We have a marked tendency to draw lines where none exist. Such is the lot of primates.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Why don't you just become like Canadians? They have that cheesy notion that that anyone can just buckle up and make an honest living, while at the same time being sort of socialist.

[Aemilius Paulus]

I wish we had just listened to George Washington and not had political parties in the first place.

You like one party-system ? Go to Russia then!! We may have different parties, but only Putin's United Russia holds any power. jk. But they are pretty powerful.

[a completely inoffensive name]

You like one party-system ? Go to Russia then!! We may have different parties, but only Putin's United Russia holds any power. jk. But they are pretty powerful.

What? I said I didn't want any parties whatsoever.

[Lemur]

For what it's worth, I'm clearly not the only person thinking about this.

The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll shows the depth of the party's problems. Just 21 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as Republicans. That's the lowest since the fall of 1983, when just 19 percent identified themselves as Republicans. Party identification does fluctuate with events. But as a snapshot indicator, the latest figures highlight the impact of Obama's opening months on the Republican Party. From a high-water mark of 35 percent in the fall of 2003, Republicans have slid steadily to their present state of affairs. It's just not as cool to be a Republican as it once was.

The Republicans have many demographic challenges as they plot their comeback. Obama has attracted strong support from young voters and Latinos -- two keys to the future for both parties and once part of the GOP's calculation for sustaining themselves in power. Suburban voters have moved toward the Democrats. Specter can see that problem acutely in the suburbs around his home in Philadelphia home. Obama is also holding a solid advantage among independents, the proxy measure for the center or swing portion of the electorate.

Reihan Salam, co-author of "Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save America," said this week that the danger for Republicans is to believe they now represent a vast, silent majority that is waiting to reassert itself. A louder voice from a smaller cadre of supporters is not the answer, he warned. That will just prevent Republicans from reassessing their old agenda, developing new ideas and once again learning to reach out broadly. [...]

Sixty percent of the country trusts Obama to make the right decisions for the country's future -- but just 21 percent trust Republicans in Congress.

Despite their solid opposition to the president's economic and budgetary policies, Republicans in Congress have seen this trust quotient decline eight points since January. A CBS News-New York Times poll found that 70 percent of Americans believe Republicans have opposed those policies for political reasons, rather than because GOP lawmakers genuinely believe the policies are bad for the economy.

[Marshal Murat]

. A CBS News-New York Times poll found that 70 percent of Americans believe Republicans have opposed those policies for political reasons, rather than because GOP lawmakers genuinely believe the policies are bad for the economy.
I wonder how the questions were phrased...

I think that reveals two key things concerning public views of Republicans and politicians in general. Few seriously believe that the Republicans have an ideological conflict with passing big budgets, and some no doubt do have conflicts with passing big budgets. The public is so cynical as to believe this is a purely political move, and it is, to an extent but it's also an affirmation of some Republicans that they don't believe that the budget it the right idea. They are actually sticking to conservative principles in some form or another.

The Republicans can claim a youth vote just as easily as Obama did. The youth aren't going to always going to swing one way, so if the Republicans can sell it right they could take in the youth vote. Besides, Obama is a President, and like all Presidents after two terms we will tire of him. Besides, no one has ever maintained serious control of Congress (filibuster proof Senate and House majority) during a favorable Presidency.
The Republicans need to be able to embrace Schwarzenegger (California) and Crist (Florida), and get their followers to do so. They are fiscally conservative but they're open on social issues, and that's where Republicans need to moderate, move back to close-center at least.

[Lemur]

Marshal Murat, I suspect that a fiscally conservative, socially moderate Repub party would be a force to be reckoned with. But how to accomplish such a thing without a revolt from the social conservatives/religious right is beyond my tiny lemur brain's capacity.

I wonder how the questions were phrased...

A worthwhile question. Here's the WSJ/NBC poll (PDF warning). Here's the NYT/CBS poll he's referencing.

[Marshal Murat]

Subliminal messaging.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Gentlemen,

I have removed the off-topic and frankly snarky tangent on creationism. Please ensure it does not try to adapt to the new environment otherwise I shall be forced to make you extinct.