Where Have All the Republicans Gone?
By Gary Andres
Consider these headlines from recent polling reports. About a year ago (May, 2007), Rasmussen Reports found that “The number of people identifying themselves as Republican has fallen to a new low.” Around the same time, the Pew Research Center issued a study headlined, “Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007 — Political Landscape More Favorable to Democrats.” Gallup concurred in November 2007 with the banner “Democratic Party’s Image More Positive Than GOP’s.”
Is George Soros secretly manufacturing Democrats at an offshore tax haven? I’m not talking about what accounts for the Republicans’ slide. The Iraq war and the sputtering economy, combined with the fact that most Americans equate the GOP with “running the government,” together explain most of the party’s reputation tribulations. Instead, are independents becoming Democrats? Are Republicans switching parties? Or is the country producing more Democrats through some immaculate partisan conception?
