Republicans Winning the Shouting Match

Republican identification inches up to 29%

(NEWSER) - The number of people who consider themselves Democrats has plunged to its lowest level in more than two decades, to just 31%, according to a Gallup analysis of several polls. That ties the lowest score the donkeys have ever received since Gallup began polling in 1988—and a big drop from two years ago, when 36% called themselves Democrats amidst Barack Obama’s presidential run. More»

Movement currently accounts for 17% of voters

(NEWSER) - A pair of new polls poke holes in the conventional image of the tea party as a fringe group of loud Republicans. In a Sunday poll of 1,000 registered voters, 17% identified themselves as “part of the Tea Party movement,” the LA Times reports. Of those, 28% were independents and 17% were Democrats, leaving only 57% identified as GOP. More»

Polling inaccuracies might surprise us today

(NEWSER) - We keep hearing doom and gloom for the Democrats, and there’s a good chance that’s accurate, writes Nate Silver in the New York Times . But thanks to a few potential polling flaws, things could turn out differently; the Dems might even hang onto the House. Here’s why:

1. Polls often skip cell-phone-only voters—Some 25% of adults don’t use landlines at all, and their demographics lean Democratic.

Republicans will cut off cash to key Dem initiatives

(NEWSER) - If Republicans win the House in November, they’ll highlight their differences with Democrats by starving signature policies—like health care—of cash, the Wall Street Journal reports. Although the GOP hopes to repeal the health care bill in the House, such a measure would likely fail in the Senate, so leaders are devising other ways to undermine it. Other Democratic initiatives like financial and environmental reform would get similar treatment. More»

Polls also show old happier than young

(NEWSER) - If you believe the polls, Republicans are consistently happier than Democrats. In a recent Pew survey, 45% of Republicans said they were happy, compared to only 30% of Democrats—and they've been on top since 1972. So the Daily Beast decided to look at some other happiness polls, to find society’s most joyful. It found:

• Old people are much happier than young ones. According to Harris, 44% of people over 65 consider themselves happy, compared to 30% of people 25-39 and 26% of 18-to-24-year-olds.
• Hawaiians are happier than residents of any other state; West Virginians are the least happy, according to Gallup’s Well-Being Index.