Democratic Party Identification At 22-Year Low

[girl gone mad]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/06/democratic-party-id-at-22-year-low_n_805242.html

Only two years after the proportion of U.S. adults who identified themselves as Democrats matched its highest level in 22 years, a new annual survey has found it plunging by 5 percentage points to match record lows over that same period.

The survey, a compilation of 21 individual Gallup polls that included more than 25,000 total interviews, found that only 31 percent of the surveyed adults identified as Democrats over the course of 2010. Two years earlier, 36 percent of respondents in the annual Gallup compilation said they were Democrats.

The percentage of respondents who identify as Republicans did not significantly increase over the same two-year period, however. Twenty-nine percent of adult respondents identified as with the GOP over the course of 2010, versus 28 percent two years prior. Those figures mark a significant drop from 2004, during which 34 percent of the Gallup survey's respondents identified as Republicans.

The downturn in Democratic identification was paired with an increase in independent identification, which had dropped in 2008. Thirty-eight percent of adults identified as independents in 2010.

When those who lean toward one party or another are included in Gallup's tabulations, Democrats hold a 45-44 lead over Republicans, down from a 52-40 advantage in 2008.

Snarky comment withheld.

[villager]

1. A lot of people are waiting for a party that actually represents them

Of course, eventually we'll all have to stop "waiting" and do something about it...

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[villager]

19. well, the Tea Party was a cynical corporate exploitation of that sentiment

If we could get a party that wasn't a fake-out, with non-shills in office, that would be a great first step.

I didn't detect much anti-Patriot Act "fervor" among the 'baggers, however...

[The Wielding Truth]

27. I see Progressive Democrats as a strong force for restoration of integrity.

[WillyT]

2. K & R !!!

:kick:

:hi:

[PBS Poll-435]

3. Bandwagon effect

If the President's approval continues to gradually climb back, I am sure that Party ID will recover.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Wow, imagine that.

Who could have guessed that moving right would give such a result.

Lots of pleased Rockefeller Republicans have a nice, new home, though.

[texshelters]

11. What amazes me is that Obama, Gibbs, Biden and their cronies are shocked

that people are dropping the Democratic label.

Really, after being insulted and dismissed by the leaders of the party, they want us to stay in their two-party monopoly? Really?

Even former chair Howard Dean thinks that the resignations of Gibbs and other beltway members of Obama's team will help Obama get back on message. http://news.firedoglake.com/2009/12/21/dean-agrees-with-feingold-obama-responsible-for-loss-of-public-option/

From the start, Obama chose insiders and lost the confidence of his base. What was he thinking? There were certainly educated and talented choices left of center. Did he think choosing moderates and rightist would get support from Republicans? Ha!

I still vote Democratic and will NEVER vote Republican unless the made up hot place below freezes, but I am not a member of the Democratic party. Until they support real campaign finance reform, what's the point?

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[T Wolf]

5. Who other than blue dogs and outright traitors wants to be associated with the rethug-lite obscenity

that the Democratic Party has been turned into by the DLC and its toxic offspring?

[FiveGoodMen]

21. "blue dogs and outright traitors"

Can we be sure those are two separate groups?

[marmar]

I'm definitely out of that Party mindset now......

...... I'm just happy being Far Left.

[mmonk]

6. No need to comment. It speaks for itself.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. No surprise why.

[emilyg]

8. k/r

[somone]

9. A steep drop from 'its highest level in 22 years'

[Robb]

10. Someone will have to remind me if we're trusting Gallup this week or not.

;)

[hfojvt]

13. Don't be silly

we trust every poll that tells us what we already believe or want to hear and dispute any poll that tells us something different.

[superduperfarleft]

24. Haha, I know, right? DUers are such idiots!

:sarcasm:

[ProfessionalLeftist]

12. That's because the Democratic Party has become Republican and....

the Republicans have become the Psychopath Party.

We progressives have no party.

[emulatorloo]

16. And you are getting all this from a 5% drop (MOE 1%)

[upi402]

14. There's no party where I'm at

It's no fun being disenfranchised. I get to vote for batshit crazy corporatists, or less-crazy appearing corporatists.

[emulatorloo]

15. So a drop from 36% to 31% and DU is "celebrating?" with a 1% MOE? Looks like simple pendulum effect

This does not surprise me it is basically pendulum effect. Plus a successful campaign on the part of Republicans the last two years of:

FUCK UP AND OBSTRUCT EVERTHING, then blame Obama and the Dems that nothing got done. That was a real winner

[mmonk]

22. Celebrating?

[slay]

17. Some of us pay attention and are fed up with the corporate sell out

Dems. I don't identify myself as a Dem anymore. I am a progressive.

I didn't abandon the Dems, they abandoned me with all their republican-lite blue dog non war crime investigating white collar criminal behavior. The Dems had a great chance but for some reason refused to stay true to progressive goals so now people don't like them - and I don't blame um.

I would NEVER identify myself as a republican though. I chalk that up to foxnews lies and general fear, hatred, and stupidity among republican voters.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. That's what happens when you pare the "dime's worth of diference" down to a wooden nickel.

[Cherchez la Femme]

23. There's no wonder,

when a Democratic president acts exactly like a Republican, it simply devalues the Democratic brand.

To slightly paraphrase a relatively recent saying: "If we wanted a Republican president we would have elected one."

[superduperfarleft]

25. Much ado about nothing.

I'd be curious to see what the percentage of people identifying as independents (instead of Democrats) looked like during other mid-terms. I'd suspect the results be similar.

edited for clarity

[ProSense]

26. One slight problem, it's a 7-year low, not 22

Dem ID down five points

(CNN) – The number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats is at its lowest point in seven years, according to a new survey by Gallup - a warning sign for the president and his party as the next race for the White House gets set to begin.

According to the annual Gallup survey of party identification, 31 percent of Americans say they are Democrats – a number that is down five percentage points from 2008 and is the same as it was in 2003 – the year following impressive Republican gains in the House and Senate.

<...>

Here's the chart



It was a 31 percent in 2003, and before that at about 31 percent in 1995.

Republicans were at 31 percent in 1998.

[girl gone mad]

29. Thanks for adding the chart.

That decline over the last couple of years looks fairly dramatic. Not only are we at 22 year lows, but it's also the sharpest drop over that time period. Centrism is a failed political strategy.

[Odin2005]

28. This is what happens when you are Fascist-lite.