Alienated Business Voters Ditching GOP

Disappointed fiscal conservatives are less likely than ever to vote Republican, the Wall Street Journal reports, despite the GOP's designation as the pro-business party for more than a century. The Iraq war, ballooning debt, and right-wing social policy have all turned off business leaders—and as fiscal conservatives' support for Republicans wanes, the Democrats are moving in.

Three years ago 44% of white-collar professionals called themselves Republican; now the figure is 37%. With no less than Alan Greenspan blasting the GOP for its economic irresponsibility, Democrats are hoping to capitalize on eroding support. They still aren't winning over longtime Republicans as party converts, but they are winning their money—Democratic presidential candidates are out-raising GOP counterparts by some 70%. (More Republican Party stories.)