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Partisan Trends: Democrats Down Two Points in July
Rasmussen Reports ^ | 08/01/09

Posted on 08/02/2009 9:28:15 AM PDT by freespirited

The number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell by two percentage points in July with Republicans and the number of unaffiliateds each gaining a point.

In July, 36.8% of American adults considered themselves Democrats. That’s down two points from last month and down five points since December. This is the lowest percentage of Democrats measured since December 2007 (See History of Party Trends from January 2004 to the present).

Still, there are more Democrats than Republicans. A total of 33.3% now claim an affiliation with the GOP. While that’s up a point over a month ago, it’s right in the middle of the range for Republican affiliation over the past year. During the past 12 months, the number of Republicans nationwide has stayed between 32.2% and 33.8% every month.

The number of unaffiliated adults grew from 28.9% to 29.9%. That’s up two points in two months the largest number of adults not affiliated with either major party since November 2007. It is not unusual for the number of unaffiliateds to grow during off years and shrink as elections approach.

Rasmussen Reports tracks this information based upon telephone interviews with approximately 15,000 adults per month and has been doing so since November 2002. The margin of error for the full sample is less than one percentage point, with a 95% level of confidence.

The Democrats now enjoy a 3.5 percentage-point edge over Republicans, the smallest advantage since the end of 2007.

Keep in mind that figures reported in this article are for all adults, not Likely Voters. Republicans are a bit more likely to participate in elections than Democrats.

Data from our monthly partisan identification survey is used to set weighting targets for other Rasmussen Reports surveys. The targets are based upon results from the previous three months.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index shows that President Obama continues to earn decent reviews, but his numbers are down from earlier in the year. During July, the President’s overall approval rating fell below 50% for the first time.

In recent months, Republicans have gained ground on 10 key issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports and on the Generic Congressional Ballot.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 111th; 2009polls; bho44; democrats; gop; partyaffiliation; rasmussen
Sounds like the GOP is Not Dead Yet. But these numbers will do nothing to end MSM polls with 50% more RATS than Republicans.
1 posted on 08/02/2009 9:28:19 AM PDT by freespirited
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To: freespirited
I don't really consider myself a Republican. I have yet to register as one in my current state (once we have a permanent address we'll do so.) Still, I'm more interested in what Sarah is doing and who supports her in order to determine where I place my allegience.

The GOP is an empty bag of gas that has failed me once too many times as a vehicle to represent conservative interests. They can go pound sand.

2 posted on 08/02/2009 9:36:38 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Caipirabob
The GOP is an empty bag of gas that has failed me once too many times as a vehicle to represent conservative interests.

What, exactly, has Sarah accomplished?

DeMint/Bachmann '12

3 posted on 08/02/2009 9:59:12 AM PDT by Nephi ( Support Fascism: Buy GE, GM and Chrysler products! You already buy gasoline.)
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To: Nephi
DeMint/Bachmann '12

We can dream, can't we?

4 posted on 08/02/2009 10:00:11 AM PDT by Clemenza (Remember our Korean War Veterans)
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To: Nephi
What, exactly, has Sarah accomplished?

An obvious draw as a beacon of conservatism, a unity and ferver for conservative hope moreso than any public figure we've seen since Reagan.

She's the ideal candidate upon which to revitalize the conservative movement. She is far more popular than the leftist media would have you believe.

I don't even know who your talking about, they are so obscure compared to Sarah's name and draw.

5 posted on 08/02/2009 10:23:14 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Caipirabob

“The GOP is an empty bag of gas that has failed me once too many times as a vehicle to represent conservative interests. They can go pound sand. “

You have a problem then, as there is no realistic alternative to represent conservative interests.

A prime conservative tenet - going back to Aristotle, Burke, and etc., and given conservatisms fundamentally jaded view of human nature, is that politics is the business of choosing the lesser evil. The alternative, choosing through a positive affirmation instead of the negative, is the erroneous philosophy of the other side.

Genuine conservatives should be personally strong enough to be able to deal with disappointment and hold our noses while doing the necessary.


6 posted on 08/02/2009 10:39:52 AM PDT by buwaya
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To: buwaya
Genuine conservatives should be personally strong enough to be able to deal with disappointment and hold our noses while doing the necessary.

I wonder how the founding fathers, who sacrificed everything to creat this free nation, would respond to that thought.

I just don't think it's good enough. Our kids deserve better that "settling"...

7 posted on 08/02/2009 10:46:00 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Caipirabob
The GOP is an empty bag of gas that has failed me once too many times as a vehicle to represent conservative interests. They can go pound sand.

Much like the USA, which has its faults but is the best country, the republican party, which has its faults, is the best. And if you want to go third party, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

8 posted on 08/02/2009 10:48:16 AM PDT by staytrue
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To: Caipirabob

Interesting question.

If you go by Russell Kirk, for instance, it would be very hard to justify the Revolution.

Burke did back it, because he saw it as a fundamentally conservative movement, unlike the French revolution.


9 posted on 08/02/2009 10:53:05 AM PDT by buwaya
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To: Caipirabob

Sarah has accomplishments in her role as governor of Alaska.

What she does not have is any accomplishment of note in the lower 48 which I believe she will remedy by the end of 2010.


10 posted on 08/02/2009 11:32:38 AM PDT by techno
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To: Caipirabob

See, you couldn’t answer my question. I won’t dispute that she can dish the red meat, but I was responding to a poster who doesn’t seemt to learn from HIS mistakes.

If you don’t know DeMint/Bachmann, that tells everyone about the depth of your conservatism.


11 posted on 08/02/2009 2:21:32 PM PDT by Nephi ( Support Fascism: Buy GE, GM and Chrysler products! You already buy gasoline.)
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To: freespirited

Rasmussen was right on the money in the national eelction total and partisan advantage total. On Obama day, Dems had a partisan advantage of +7.

Good to see the partisan advantage shrinking. Of course this analysis will never be reported by the MSM. cBS calls Rasmussen biased toward conservatives.


12 posted on 08/02/2009 4:27:56 PM PDT by yongin
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To: yongin

After all the Rats have done, I don’t consider ONLY being down by 3.5% any reason to get excited. The Democrats should be way behind. We’re going to have to ahead big time in 2010 in the generic ballot or we can kiss it all goodbye.


13 posted on 08/02/2009 4:33:17 PM PDT by paul544 (3D-Joy OH Boy!!!)
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To: Nephi
If you don’t know DeMint/Bachmann, that tells everyone about the depth of your conservatism.

Your loss.

14 posted on 08/02/2009 4:33:35 PM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Nephi
Allow me to augment my comment. You seem willing to ignore the obvious attraction, rhetorical skill and open conservatism of a potential candidate who can draw, literally, tens of thousands of supporters to a single speech. Rather, you'd embrace a candidate who is at best a local or regional favorite, who cannot transcend the media block-out of any conservative effort.

Sarah can get around that and speek to the people, much like Ronald Reagan did. She has the gift. Your proposed candidates? No. Just, no.

As far as people talking down on Palin's achievements, I think they're buying into the "rural, know-nothing" argument promoted by the media. She has more than enough support to get around that with her base.

I happily support your effort to get your guys more recognition. They're not off to a very good start for 2012.

Sarah's well ahead of any namable candidate in the arena. Just a fact.

15 posted on 08/02/2009 4:42:44 PM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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