A Look at How Extremists Have the Republican Party in a Death Grip

Two prominent Democrats have decided to dig into the rotting corpse of the Republican movement to get a look at what lurks inside.

Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg and political strategist James Carville have announced what they plan to do about that pressing problem: namely, “The Republican Party Project,” which will provide extensive survey research devoted to “exposing, monitoring, and confronting” the Republicans while helping Democrats and progressives to regain the political offensive.

To begin advancing these ambitious goals, Carville and Greenberg released the first in a series of polls on Wednesday that showcased several of their target’s most divisive and dysfunctional features—and revealed some surprising weaknesses that could eventually prove disabling, if not fatal.

...the methodology used by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner oversampled Republicans in order to allow detailed analysis of two subgroups: Republicans themselves and independents who lean toward the GOP.

...as significant as party identification is how voters see the Republican “brand.” Although Democrats as a party and in Congress are not exactly beloved, their net negatives are around 10 points below those of the Republicans, who are regarded with absolute disdain by most of those polled. Only 13 percent believe that the GOP “shares their values” and only 9 percent believe that the GOP has “realistic solutions to the nation’s problems.”

...the gap between the parties among upcoming Millennials is nearly 20 points, with only 21 percent identifying as Republican—a data point that Republican leaders may well find terrifying. Moreover, the Republican base is holed up in rapidly depopulating rural areas, while cities and suburbs strongly favor Democrats. 

It is also worth noting how alienated moderate Republicans are from their own party, with nearly half regarding it as “too extreme.” Up to 40 percent of moderate Republicans regard their party as “out of touch,” a statement that resonates with 46 percent of Republican-leaning independent voters.

Canadian Liberals know what it means when a party alienates a big chunk of its base by heeling hard to the right.   They know because that's what took them from Sussex Drive to Stornoway and straight on to Motel 6 out on the Gloucester highway.