May 21 2009
Far Right Repulsed Center In Purity Wars – Self Destructed GOP
I noted many times that the  purity wars which erupted after 2004 election when the far right ‘true conservatives’ went insane (and decided insulting moderates at high volume would win their lousy arguments) that the only result of the purity war would be a smaller, impotent GOP.
Pew Research has the graph which proves I was right all those years ago and since
Note how the Democrats really have not budged much since 2004. But look at what all the insults from the far right did to the GOP – just shoved people out of the party and into the center where they voted Democrat more (not all, just enough to toss the GOP and far right hot heads out of power). And as the Dems start to lose ground more recently because of their lurching shift to the liberal left, note how the GOP is not gaining anyone back  – just us independents.
Who, I must note, are 50-90% larger than those still in the GOP. We now know who is the silent majority and who is the loud (mouth?) minority.
I hate it when I am right sometimes. It did not have to come to this if the right could show some self control and respect.
Way to go true conservatives. You did for conservatism what Clinton did to liberal Democrat control of the Congress. Pat yourselves on the back! Between destroying the conservative coalition and leaving the nation with the same old immigration mess we have had for the last 3 decades you folks are turning out to be quite impressive.
Addendum: And let’s be clear, this has nothing to do with Bush. By the end of his second term the far right hated the man as much as the far left. The only group holding his poll ratings up (30%) were us in the center. So don’t go off blaming Bush – that is just denial which contradicts reality.
The center, the fence sitter, the fair weather soldier, has never been a favorate of mind. I check out to see which way the wind is blowing when I deer hunt not when I vote.
Recent defeats of the republicans were due to an economic downturn, an unpopular war and a moderate, stand-for-nothing candidate in the last election.
I guess we will just ignore how the extreme left is cashing in their chips.
We have many examples in our history of the public saying a pox on both houses.
To focus only on the right side of the issue is blinder country.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/Party-Affiliation.aspx
Funny but Gallup shows that party identification is even right now.
A bit different from the graph in the post above.
44 Million unregistered voting age population in this country and 60% being the conservative leaning of them by multiple polls.
Don’t misjudge the power that is there to be awakened by this administrations doings.
That would be a grave mistake.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/Party-Affiliation.aspx
Party Affiliation (May 7-10 poll)
Rep 32%
Dem 32%
Ind 34%
Rep w/leaners 47%
Dem w/leaners 47%
Gallup shows both Dems and Ind dropping and Repubs gaining
Russell, if the GOP lost because it ran a moderate, then how did a liberal pretending to be a moderate win? The only way your theory is feasible is if the far right wing were whining and decided to sit it out and hand the election to Obama.
Death of the GOP greatly exaggerated (with video)
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/death-of-gop-greatly-exaggerated-video.html
excerpt:
Compared to last month, from April 20 — 21, Republican Party identification has risen five percentage points while Democrats have fallen four. With “leaners” included, the GOP gained six and Democrats lost five.
Rasmussen agrees with Gallup:
Over the past year, Democratic support has ranged from a low of 38% to a high of 50%. In that same time period, Republicans have been preferred by 34% to 41% of voters nationwide.
During calendar 2009, Democratic support has ranged from 38% to 42%, while the Republican range has been from 35% to 41%.
Democrats began the year holding a six- or seven-point lead over the GOP for the first several weeks of 2009. That began to slip in early February, and the Republicans actually took a two-point lead for a single week in the middle of March. Since then, the results have ranged from dead even to a four-point lead for the Democrats until the GOP regained the lead.
Reviewing the April Fundraising Numbers
http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/05/20/reviewing-the-april-fundraising-numbers/
excerpt:
Short version: the DNC kept quiet about its fundraising for a reason; the NRSC & DSCC remain tied in their ability to bring in cash; the DCCC is underperforming; and that debt problem is still looming for the Democrats.
excerpt:
Bottom line? For a organization that’s supposedly simultaneously dead, hated, at war with itself, and shrinking, the Republican Party seems to be oddly functional.
Still the Biggest Missing Story
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/still_the_biggest_missing_stor.html%5DStill the Biggest Missing Story in Politics
excerpt:
In every single Battleground Poll, conservatives vastly outnumbered not only liberals, but moderates and undecided respondents combined. The Battleground Poll itself is a bipartisan poll, combining the resources of the Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners. Unlike many polls driven by newspapers, networks, or other agenda driven organizations, this poll is one of the few which has no ideological agenda or partisan bias.
Flashback: Who supported Bush?
December 11, 2008
Conservative Republicans Still Widely Support Bush
Averaging just 29% job approval overall thus far in December
PRINCETON, NJ — George W. Bush remains popular among conservative Republicans (72% approve of him) despite his low overall approval rating. Meanwhile, moderate and liberal Republicans are as likely to disapprove as to approve of the job he is doing, and Democrats of all political orientations hold Bush in low regard.
(44% moderate Republicans approved of Bush; 46% disapproved)
Link to above post:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/113083/Conservative-Republicans-Still-Widely-Support-Bush.aspx
Florida Republican Chair has backed off Crist endorsement….is now neutral
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/05/greer-says-rpof-is-now-neutral-in-us-senate-primary.html
Sry Aj… your logic is faulty… Even [if ?] your graph is accurate… it [may or may not] be the result of what you label the purity wars…
Off subject but I cannot restrain myself as I have had an instantaneous brilliancy…
. ie….
We can solve the Gitmo controversy with a single stroke of Pres O’s pen….
.
Simply RENAME it as “Camp Paradise.” Presto… No more Guantanamo Bay prison camp…
Get over it.
There isn’t any “Republican Inquisition” purging folks from the party. People in this country change parties when they want to. Party affiliation is more mutable than Nancy Pelosi’s grasp of the truth. Nobody pushed Arlen Specter out of the Republican Party, he left. Voters and politicians move when they think it fits their purposes.
“Events” will determine where both of our major parties go in the next 2 or 4 years and all this screaming, yelling and gnashing of teeth does nobody any good.
Colorado’s government went from red to purple to blue with all the Dem California refugees coming here. However, you can hardly tell the difference in the state government because the voters have shot down nearly every Dem attempt to raise taxes and spending under TABOR. Dems without other people’s money to spend are simply “empathetic†Republicans.
An there is the opening for Republicans … who can operate in an environment where there is no “extra” money.
I’d say that Republicans historically have the edge there.
AJ, I love your site and 99% your posts, but whenever I see a headline like this one, I read it and pass on be. Why is that? Because I always wonder just who are the horrible “Far Right” people. Is that perhaps me? I’m a conservative. I believe in following the “Rule of Law” but I was not one who opposed the Bush/McCain immigration bill and I didn’t oppose Harriet Miers. At the moment I’m happy that Dick Cheney is fighting back and not allowing lies to become the accepted truth.
John McCain certainly isn’t a far right person, he’s nearly as liberal as Obama. He wasn’t my choice, I preferred Guiliani or Fred Thompson who sadly never really put his heart into the race. Still I had to vote for McCain because at least I didn’t think he would place far left radicals on the Supreme Court.
I just don’t know.. it seems to me that there should be room for all opinions in the Republican Party. It is vital that we come together to push back against the socialism that I see coming and coming faster than I ever believed possible.
I grew up with a father who was a union man and a lifelong Democrat. However the party that calls themselves Democrats is far removed from the one my dad believed in. He would be appalled.
May I respectfully ask again, just who are these people who are hurting the Republican Party?
AJ, I don’t get you some times. Most of your blogs are conservative as can be, so I would like to know who kicked you out of the Republican party? Did you get an eviction letter? What I do with the republicans when I am unhappy with them is not answer their stupid survey calls because all of the surveys end with the following question, “Given the terrible situation we find our country in are you willing to give $5, $10, $25, or more to fight ….”
If you in fact got the letter kicking you out, just ignore it and come back in. There will never be a centralist party because we haven’t mastered cat herding yet and the first question that centralist can never answer is the most important one, “Who’s bringing the donuts?”
“Camp Paradise”. Love it already.