Only 35% of Americans now identify as Republicans

[Pab Sungenis]

...and other indicators of "social conservatism" also on the decline.

http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=312

"Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality, and a diminished appetite for assertive national security policies have improved the political landscape for the Democrats as the 2008 presidential campaign gets underway.

"At the same time, many of the key trends that nurtured the Republican resurgence in the mid-1990s have moderated, according to Pew's longitudinal measures of the public's basic political, social and economic values. The proportion of Americans who support traditional social values has edged downward since 1994, while the proportion of Americans expressing strong personal religious commitment also has declined modestly."

[Dover]

1. I sat at a table the other night with six former Republicans

and two Democrats and every one of them said they were very unhappy with their Parties, the voting system, etc. and now consider themselves independents. I don't know how that will translate for elections, but I found that fascinating. And I identified with their anger and disappointment with a lack of true representation and major concerns about a number of things, not least of which was corporatism and it's takeover of our government.

BTW, only two of these people knew each other prior to this gathering (a married couple).