As Public Sees GOP Moving Right, More Say It Shares Their Values, View of Government, According to Gallup Data

At the same time the public perceives the Republican Party becoming more conservative, more Americans are saying the party reflects their values and their attitude about the role of government, according to newly released Gallup polling data.

Thursday, September 23, 2010
By Terence P. Jeffrey


(CNSNews.com) - At the same time the public perceives the Republican Party becoming more conservative, more Americans are saying the party reflects their values and their attitude about the role of government, according to newly released Gallup polling data.

Democrats, meanwhile, have lost ground on these measures.

In a USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,021 American adults conducted Aug. 27-30, respondents were asked whether they believed the Republican Party had "become more conservative, or not" since Barack Obama took office as president. In the same poll, respondents were also asked how well each of the two major parties "represent your values" and "represent your attitude about the role of government."

Fifty-four percent of Americans told Gallup they believed the GOP had indeed become more conservative since Obama took office, while only 40 percent said they did not believe the Republicans had become more conservative.

At the same time, the Republicans did better than the Democrats on the percentage of Americans who said the party represents their attitude about the role of government and their values.

Fifty-two percent told Gallup the Republican Party represented their attitude about the role of government either "very well" or "moderately well," while only 44 percent said the Democratic Party represented their attitude about the role of government either "very well" or "moderately well."

Fifty-six percent, meanwhile, told Gallup the Republican Party represented their values either "very well" or "moderately well," while only 49 percent said the Democratic Party represented their values either "very well" or "moderately well."

These results indicate a shift in public perception of the major political parties from four years ago, when the Republicans lost the congressional majority to the Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections. These results also resemble the results Gallup got when it asked the same questions in 1994, the year the Republicans won the congressional majority away from the Democrats.

In a poll conducted Oct. 20-22, 2006, just before the Democrats won a majority in Congress, 56 percent of Americans said the Democrats represented their values either "very well" or "moderately well" and 57 percent said the Democrats represented their attitude about the role of government either "very well" or "moderately well."

In that same 2006 poll, only 48 percent said the GOP represented their attitude about the role of government either "very well" or "moderately well," while 51 percent said the GOP represented their values either "very well" or "moderately well."

Since 2006, the Republicans have gained 4 points in the percentage of Americans who believe the party represents their attitude about the role of government, and 5 points in the percentage who believe the party represents their values.

However, the Democrats have lost more in public perception than the Republicans have gained over the past four years, losing 13 points from the percentage who believe the party represents their attitude about the role of government, and 7 from the percentage who believe the party represents their values.

"Americans' views on how well the two major parties reflect their views on the role of government and their values more broadly make clear that the Democrats' image has suffered since they won back control of Congress in 2006," said Gallup's analysis of these poll results. "Republicans have not made comparable perceptual gains in these areas, but largely as a result of the Democrats' losses, Republicans are now leading on both dimensions, similar to their standing in 1994."

In a poll conducted Oct. 22-25, 1994, just before the Democrats lost control of Congress to the Republicans, only 48 percent said the Democrats represented their values either "very well" or 'moderately well" and only 46 percent said the Democrats represented their attitude about the role of government either "very well" or "moderately well."

By contrast, 54 percent of Americans in October 1994 said the Republicans represented their values either "very well" or "moderately well" while 52 percent said the Republicans represented their attitude about the role of government either "very well" or "moderately well."

In periodic Gallup polls conducted on these questions from 1994 onward, the highest the Republicans ever scored on the question of how well they represent the attitude of Americans on the role of government was in a survey conducted Nov. 28-29, 1994, just after the GOP won a majority of Congress—but before it actually took power.

In that poll, 64 percent said the Republicans represented their attitude about the role of government.