GOP and the Deepening Divide

[sufrommich]

What has happened to the "Grand Old Party" of George H.W. Bush and James Baker?

For one, the GOP has become captive of several groups that now dominate the party's base and have transformed its thinking. The "religious right" and its "end of days" preachers like Pat Robertson, William Hagee and Gary Bauer, presently constitute almost 40% of Republican voters. This group's emphasis on the divinely ordained battle between the forces of "good" (i.e. the Christian West and Israel) and the forces of "evil" (Islam and the Arabs) has logically given rise to anti-Muslim prejudice.

Then there are the Christian right's ideological cousins, the neo-conservatives, who share an identical Manichaean and apocalyptic world view, though with a secular twist. And into the mix must be thrown Islamophobic right-wing radio and TV commentators like O'Reilly, Beck, Limbaugh, Savage and company, who daily spew their poison across the airwaves.

The combination produces a lethal brew that is dangerous not only for the intolerance it has created, but the sense of certitude and self-righteousness it projects. This too comes through in our polling. When we ask Americans, in separate questions, whether they "know enough about Islam and Muslims (or Arab countries and people) or need to know more", among Democrats, 68% say they would "like to know more" about Islam, with 80% wanting "to know more" about the Arab World. In answer to the same questions, 71% and 58% of Republicans say they "know enough" and "don't want to learn more".

There have been policy implications to this intolerance. In the days following President Obama's historic speech in Cairo that was designed to rebuild tattered ties with the Arab and Muslim Worlds, I appeared on a number of television programs debating Republican operatives like Liz Cheney and former Senator George Allen. Speaking from the same talking points they criticized the President, accusing him of demonstrating weakness and selling America short in order to curry favor with Muslims.

Such stridency has only served to deepen the partisan divide. When asked whether they approve or disapprove of the White House's outreach efforts to Arabs and Muslims, 82% of Democrats approve while 73% of Republicans disapprove.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-zogby/gop-and-the-deepening-div_b_776431.html