Monday, May 18, 2009

A Striking Juxtaposition: Steele vs. Gallup

Maybe it's just bad timing or more Michael Steele lunacy, but Steele writes at Politico that Republicans have "turned the corner" on the exact day that Gallup releases a poll showing Republican losses in every demographic, over an eight year span, but frequent church-goers. Saith Steele:
That is why I believe America needs the Republican Party now more than ever before. We may be America’s minority party at the moment, but Republicans represent the views and concerns of a majority of Americans.
Republicans have turned the corner because they are forward-thinking, are not shy from voicing opposition, and will seize upon the momentum currently underway in states and local levels. To which he concludes:
The Republican Party has turned a corner, and as we move forward Republicans should take a lesson from Ronald Reagan. Again, we’re not looking back – if President Reagan were here today he would have no patience for Americans who looked backward. Ronald Reagan always believed Republicans should apply our conservative principles to current and future challenges facing America. For Reagan’s conservatism to take root in the next generation we must offer genuine solutions that are relevant to this age.
Gallup, however, offers a less rosy outlook, born of a long-term trend:
The Republican Party clearly has lost a lot of support since 2001, the first year of George W. Bush's administration. Most of the loss in support actually occurred beginning in 2005, after Hurricane Katrina and Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court -- both of which created major public relations problems for the administration -- and amid declining support for the Iraq war. By the end of 2008, the party had its worst positioning against the Democrats in nearly two decades.

The GOP may have stemmed those losses for now, as it does not appear to have lost any more support since Obama took office. But as the analysis presented here shows, the losses the GOP has suffered have come among nearly all demographic groups apart from some of the most ardent Republican subgroups.

Of course, these losses aren't Steele's fault, but his ineffective spokesmanship for his party seemingly exacerbates the problem.

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