There's been endless rhetoric from Republicans over the last year about how far to the left the Democrats have gone and how that's turning centrist voters away from the party.
Not true. In our April 2009 national poll Democrats had a 27 point identification advantage among moderates over the Republicans, 45/18. In our national poll this week that's actually widened slightly to +28, at 50/22.
What has happened over the last year is an erosion in support for Democrats from conservatives. Last April we found 58% of conservatives identifying as Republicans and 21% as Democrats. Now 64% say they're Republicans and 15% Democrats.
As President Obama has aggressively pursued his agenda some folks have exited the Democrats' big tent. But you have to ask yourself the question: if the only way to keep everyone in the party is to not do anything, what's the point of being in charge? The Democratic Party is ideologically diverse, and that means there's going to be some division in the party about most anything. Is the solution to that to do nothing, or do you just forge ahead and accept that the price of progress is losing some voters? Clearly the President has his answer to that question- we'll see about the Democrats in Congress this weekend.
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My oh my oh my! Do you, Mr. Jensen, actually believe that the addition of some moderates to the Democratic Party (as you claim)really means a whole hell of a lot? Those are exactly the kind of people we, as conservative - Republicans, want purged from our ranks. They only serve to contaminate the waters anyway. Besides, we already have all the numbers and momentum that we need. Trust me. All one has to do is to look at the polls of late (including your own), to realize the ever growing number of those that will, generically, vote Repulican, as opposed to those who will vote Democrat. While PPP shows a differential of only 3%, Rasmussen has it at 10%, amongst LIKELY voters. In taking into consideration the current polling numbers associated with the many races for the seats now up for grabs; in the Senate, Congress and at the Gubenatorial level, to see more clearly whats a-comin in November - and then, I strongly suspect, again in 2012. Frankly, that edge is looking an awful lot closer to 1o% than the 3% that PPP has come up with. But, than again too, what do I know? Any retorts out there?
I guess this is obvious to everyone but me. None of these questions -- those that are designed to ferret out if people support the substance of the bill while paradoxically not supporting the bill itself -- ask about whether people are willing to accept a huge amount in subsidies and spending, taxes, medicare cuts (for everyone not in Florida), and potentially a foot in the door for the public option or single payer.
Cherrypicking the best parts of the bill to say that the Democrats should sell the bill differently ignores the fact that the bill actually, truthfully is, in the aggregate, disadavantageous for the American people, and genuinely unpopular for that reason.
Democrats have done everything they could to INSULT conservatives. When 40% of Americans are conservatives and only 21% of Americans are liberal, the Democrats' intolerance towards conservatives is a foolish and arrogant act of self-destruction.
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