Republicans Repulsed by Bush Policy Extremes
On Saturday, James O'Toole reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Democrats have more than doubled their registration edge over Republicans in Pennsylvania over the last 2 years. The Democratic Party lead jumped from 550,00 registered voters in 2006 to 1.2 million in November of 2008.Mr. O'Toole cites a survey by Muhlenberg College's Institute of Public Opinion for an explanation of the massive move. A long-term “reaction against Republican policies" was a major factor. Quoting from the Post-Gazette:
They also were more likely to characterize their decision to leave the GOP as the result of changes in the party's positions, rather than changes in their own political views -- 37 percent to 21 percent. By a wide margin, 67 percent, the respondents cited former President Bush as a "very important" catalyst for their decision to leave the party. Fifty-four percent cited the Iraq war. When asked to agree or disagree with a series of statements about the GOP, 53 percent said the party had "become too extreme in its positions."With Gov. Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh as the titular leaders of the Republican faithful, I expect many of those defectors will not return to the GOP in the foreseeable future.
The complete Muhlenberg College survey is available for download as a PDF or DOC.
