Poll Data: GOP Fast Becoming Rump Party

[Idealism]

Source: Talking Points Memo

If some new poll data is to be believed, the Republicans might be in for a long time in the wilderness. Let's take a look at the numbers.

The new Gallup poll shows that the Republican Party as an institution has a 61% unfavorable rating, with only 34% favorable. And the numbers have only gone downhill since the election -- in October they were at 40% favorable and 53% unfavorable.

But it actually gets worse for the GOP from there.

A separate question in the data set showed 59% of Republicans saying the party needs to be more conservative, compared to only 12% who say the party should be less conservative. So not only is the pool of Republican voters shrinking, but the ones who remain are really nuts.

We could be seeing the emergence of a pattern common in democracies, when a ruling party is turned out of power in a landslide: The folks who are left to pick up the pieces are often the most extreme elements, and are in fact the least fit to actually clean things up. The best examples of this are probably the UK Labour Party after they were beaten by Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the Conservative Party after Tony Blair finally ousted them in 1997, and over here the Democrats when they lost in 1980 and then nominated Walter Mondale in 1984.

Hmm, can anyone say Palin/Bachmann in 2012?



Read more: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/poll_data_gop_fast_becoming_ru.php

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Encouraging news, 59% of Republicans think the party needs to be more conservative. Alienate more potential voters!

[liberal N proud]

1. Since the religious fanatics control the party, may they spend 40 years in the desert

Throwing a little biblical punishment at them

[Demeter]

2. Not even a Rump--More like the tiny void within it.

[RedLetterRev]

22. Not even a Rump - More like a cyst on one n/t

[Alter Ego]

3. Lollin' at "rump" party.

[riqster]

4. "Rump" is also a slang term for "Backside"

...or "Ass". Just sayin'.

[Idealism]

6. ORLY?

:)

[KamaAina]

21. Does that make Rush the party's pilonidal cyst?

:shrug:

[SnowCritter]

5. Don't even mention a Palin/Bachmann ticket

Not even in jest!

That would be a dream ticket for the cons here in MN-6. :puke:

[HopeHoops]

11. The late night comedians would contribute BIG MONEY to that campaign!

[cobalt1999]

7. Don't be too quick to bury them

People said the same thing about the Democrats before too.

[Robb]

8. ...

Sorry. Couldn't help it. Pick the Young Republicans out of the gallery.

[HopeHoops]

10. They're the two in the white polkadot triagle thingies, right?

[sutz12]

9. IMO, it depends a lot on what is meant by "Conservative"

I think the religious extremist right is discredited among the middle of the political spectrum. If they go that route, which seems highly probable at this time, they will be a long time coming back. If they moderate a bit, and concentrate on fiscal conservatism, with some social tolerance on bedroom issues, they could maybe make a small comeback.

I think, though, that the vast majority of the American public has finally realized just how mean-spirited and bigoted many of the religious leaders that have been driving the agenda are. Sure, a lot of Americans are religious. Most religious Americans are Christians. But the moderates are getting tired, I think, of being lumped in with the extremists by people like me, who think they should maybe take their churches back from the idiots who have been making so much money off of them. While I sympathize with them to an extent, I can't change the church culture from outside. It has to be done by people who purport to love their churches, but stand by and watch crap like Prop 8 be force fed to Americans by so-called "Christian leaders."

[Idealism]

12. There is no such thing as fiscal conservatism

Every republican president in the past century has left us with more of a national debt than when he walked into office. Fiscal responsibility is just a catchphrase the GOP uses to illustrate why its ok to deny us universal health care or to delay upgrading our infrastructure.

[Gman]

13. There's the 30-35% again

that recurring 30-35%. Even though Bush's rating is actually closer to 20%, that reflects conservatives that don't think Bush is dong conservative things so in reality 1/3 of conservatives are unhappy with Bush (would that be mathematically correct?). The 30-35% reflects the entire universe of the batshit crazy republics.

The GOP's problem is that the inmates are in charge of the insane asylum. THey're never going to fix anything because they are incapable of understanding that anything is wrong. What is really wrong with the GOP is ideologically opposed to what they want the GOP to be, so instead of changing ideology, they go even more ideologically to the right thinking that will fix it. Classic example of doing the same thing over again and expecting different results, which is insane.

It's kinda like Hannibal Lector... he didn't understand how he got caught. He didn't understand because he was insane.

[codjh9]

14. '59% of Republicans saying the party needs to be more conservative'?!? Nuts, indeed! n/t

[codjh9]

15. We can hope for a Dem reign like some of the 12- or 16-year reigns I just found on Wiki

that the Repukes had in the past... man, would I love it if we were in charge for that long!

[calimary]

16. We need to be in charge for at least that long - because these cheap, greedy bastards

have made such a mess out of EVERYTHING, everywhere you turn, that it's going to take AT LEAST 12 to 16 years to clean it all up. At which point whoever's left of 'em will point and puff up their chests and say - "SEE? We TOLD you so. Look how well everything turned out?"

My prayer is that they remain wandering in the wilderness, preferably in a perpetual stage of not knowing what hit them, for at least a generation. Or TWO. To give the rest of us enough time to set our country back on the TRULY right course ("right" by OUR definition of the word, NOT theirs - since they've totally perverted it).

In the meantime, we have to become a mighty roar - to make sure we can keep and protect what we've worked so hard to win.

[codjh9]

17. Yep - agree on all points.

[PatSeg]

19. The problem with a very long reign of power

is the party becomes a magnet for the same "cheap, greedy bastards" and many of them will move to the other side. Greed knows no politics. Eventually the Democrats could be known as the party of corruption as the republican party reinvents itself yet again.

When I was a kid the Democrats were known as the party of crooks and machine politics. This was after the very long reign of FDR. For all the good that FDR brought about, there was a fair share of bad as well. Too much power for too long and the ethically challenged moved in. I'm quite sure they would have gone with the republicans if they had been in power.

I'm not saying the Democrats don't need a lot of control for a long period of time, but we do need to be vigilant, lest history repeats itself.

[calimary]

23. Well, that's certainly a good point. Vigilance Above ALL Else.

Because what you point out is quite valid. An entrenched party is vulnerable to corruption. So we DO have to be vigilant. And I think probably WE here in the netroots need to be almost the conscience of the Dems - reminding them where they came from and who was behind them from the start and who activated like gangbusters so they had a solid and winning ground game. That was US. On the LEFT. That's where the heart and soul of our party is. At least I think so. And it's up to us to keep them in line, and start screaming when they step off the path and toward the ditch.

And remember, the ditch is where george drove this country. The ditch is where we're wallowing now, having been marooned there by the reckless, cheap-ass, short-sighted, greedy republi-CONS.

[Joe Chi Minh]

18. "Hmm, can anyone say Palin/Bachmann in 2012?" In your dreams, nutjob...

[RedLetterRev]

20. 55% of Republicans apparently belong

to the Oogedy-Boogedy Wing.

I'm lovin' that. I hope it sticks :evilgrin:

[iamincali83]

24. More conservative?!!

What a bunch of nuts! Oh well better for us.