The numbers prove it: The GOP is estranged from America

[Common]

Andrew Kohut is the founding director and former president of the Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/). He served as president of the Gallup Organization from 1979 to 1989.


In my decades of polling, I recall only one moment when a party had been driven as far from the center as the Republican Party has been today.
The outsize influence of hard-line elements in the party base is doing to the GOP what supporters of Gene McCarthy and George McGovern did to the Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s — radicalizing its image and standing in the way of its revitalization.






http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-numbers-prove-it-the-republican-party-is-estranged-from-america/2013/03/22/3050734c-900a-11e2-9abd-e4c5c9dc5e90_story.html?hpid=z3

[Captain Obvious]

Hard to get caught up in this stuff in the short run, party preferences are cyclical.

If the fiscal crisis continues or gets worse, economic liberalism will become suddenly unpopular.

I'm not so sure it's popular now, btw.

[Peter1469]

The key is interest rates. They only need to rise by a couple % points to bust us.

[Mainecoons]

Hard to get caught up in this stuff in the short run, party preferences are cyclical.

If the fiscal crisis continues or gets worse, economic liberalism will become suddenly unpopular.

I'm not so sure it's popular now, btw.

It's quite popular among the 47 percent getting checks.

[Mister D]

What in the world is "America"?

[Newpublius]

Andrew Kohut is the founding director and former president of the Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/). He served as president of the Gallup Organization from 1979 to 1989.

In my decades of polling, I recall only one moment when a party had been driven as far from the center as the Republican Party has been today.
The outsize influence of hard-line elements in the party base is doing to
the GOP what supporters of Gene McCarthy and George McGovern did to the Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s — radicalizing its image and standing in the way of its revitalization


http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-numbers-prove-it-the-republican-party-is-estranged-from-america/2013/03/22/3050734c-900a-11e2-9abd-e4c5c9dc5e90_story.html?hpid=z3

Its an interesting article and I acknowledge that the left has been fairly successful in redefining the center and painting Republicans as extremists. The thing of it is is thatit is the Democrats who have moved to the left.

1990-1994 sitting in economics courses where I was imbued with my generally conservative economic views, I tended to favor a government paradigm where government was at 25% of GDP, at the upper end of the Rahn curve -- which, when govt spending was at 33% of GDP placed me at center right.

I haven't moved, I still basically believe in that paradigm, but its the government that has moved to 40% of GDP, so of course, I am now an extremist because to get to my paradigm governments would need to cut about $2 trillion per year from their collective budgets. Shame on me.....

Well, low taxes, limited government, free trade, pro life, pro death penalty, generally pro defense, in a sense where exactly have the Republicans moved to the right?

Let me define the center and we'll paint the Democrats as extremists......

[Chris]

The GOP is estranged from America

More like the government is estranged. The ruling class no longer represents the country class.

[patrickt]

I think the article is about the driving force of the GOP moving to the right. It isn't about the party, or the conservatives, being estranged from America or even the United States.

Liberals can't read, can they. But, there a numerous polls showing Americans don't want Obamacare so we get Rep. Pelosi saying they would have passed it even if nobody wanted it. That's what liberal call representing America. Even nitwits can see that the Card Check Bill is a sop to the unions that Americans reject but that doesn't stop the liberals who are so far from representing America that the King has to brag about fundamentally changing America to suit him and the far left nitwits.

How sad.

[Mainecoons]

I actually think it is more like America is estranged from America. I tell people that I haven't left America but it has left me. America wasn't runaway government, welfare for all, wholesale murder of babies, idolization of homosexuality, open borders, filth-filled airwaves etc. but it is now.

If the GOP is estranged from this, at least they're doing something right. They aren't estranged enough yet, IMO.

The GOP should forget about governing this America and position itself to be ready to pick up the pieces when it inevitably collapses, and restore the real America. This one is unfixable, there are too many commons, Cigars, Nics, and other assorted clueless wonders who can't learn from their mistakes until it really burns them personally.