Well, the premise here is all wrong in the first place. The country is not divided at all, and I don't just mean the nearly solid-red county maps that look so lovely right now. To the extent that Kerry got more than 20% of the vote, it was because 1) traditional trade-union support of Democrats; 2) traditional support of inner-city blacks; 3) average Americans who are conservative but were afraid Osama would strike if Bush won; and 4) average Americans in regions hit hard by job loss. The leftist element of Kerry's win was no more than 20% of his entire election.
Traditional unions will always support the Dems, particularly at the local level, because big manufacturing companies that are heavily unionized have become entirely dependent upon government intervention in the marketplace (witness Bush's caving on the steel tariff issue). Local governments also set local code regulations which are more likely written to benefit trade unions (such as carpenters, plumbers, roofers) than to set safety standards. I suspect that many of the union guys may have held up signs and driven Dems to the polls, then voted Bush when the curtains were drawn. No real hope for more votes here until moral issues become unbearable for the membership (e.g., gay marriage, abortion, etc.). Immigration issues will loom larger and larger for these guys too.
Black voters vote Dem as a result of incessant media propaganda, and more particularly because their "leaders" depend upon demonizing Republicans as a means of retaining their own power base. Working class blacks are just as conservative as working class whites, but when these ideas are associated with Republican candidates, they cast a reactionary vote the other way. Probably the most intractable problem Republicans face, given the state of the educational system where more blacks are going farther in school and college, but receiving incredible amounts of liberal propaganda on the way. More conservative blacks in the media would help, and the demise of the MSM should help in that.
Those in the third and fourth categories (scaredy-cats and numbskulls) are non-factors in future elections as the demographics in these categories are impossible to predict.
In other words, the country is overwhelmingly center-right and there really is no reason for us to compromise with the radical left. What we need to do to get another 30-35% of the country in our column is to expose the lies of the radical left and emphasize the overwhelming agreement that already exists on social (Judeo-Christian values) and economic (Libertarian/conservative) issues.
Sorry, in the last sentence I didn't mean that people who lost jobs were numbskulls but that blaming Bush was stupid.