Public allegiance to the Republican Party has plunged during George W. Bush’s presidency, as attitudes have edged away from some of the conservative values that fueled GOP political victories, a major survey has found.
The survey, by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, found a "dramatic shift" in political party identification since 2002, when Republicans and Democrats were at rough parity. Now, 50% of those surveyed identified with or leaned toward Democrats, whereas 35% aligned with Republicans.
What’s more, the survey found, public attitudes are drifting toward Democrats’ values: Support for government aid to the disadvantaged has grown since the mid-1990s, skepticism about the use of military force has increased and support for traditional family values has decreased.
The findings suggest that the challenges for the GOP reach beyond the unpopularity of the war in Iraq and Bush.
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"There are cycles in history where one party or one movement ascends for a while and then it sows the seeds of its own self-destruction," said Bruce Bartlett, a conservative analyst and author of the 2006 book "Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy."
Bartlett added, "It’s clear we have come to an end of a Republican conservative era."
It should be noted that this is more than just a shift in party affiliation. The Pew Survey shows a shift in voter values. The Republican’s hot button social issues ("old fashioned-values about family and marriage") are not as hot as they used to be and a majority simply disagree with Republicans on safety nets for those in need.