Thursday, February 28, 2013

NBC/WSJ Poll: GOP Makeover Not Going Well

Greg Sargent goes over the figures in his Plum Line blog in The Washington Post.

How’s that GOP “makeover” going? Not too well, according to the internals of the new NBC/WSJ poll. If these findings aren’t enough to persuade Republican strategists that the party needs a rethink on the issues — and not just a change in tone and packaging — then it’s hard to imagine what will.

The poll finds that Democrats hold a double digit lead over Republicans on many major issues facing the country — and finds solid majority support for key initiatives on Obama’s second term agenda. Dems hold a 22 point advantage on looking out for the middle class; an 18 point advantage on dealing with Medicare; a 16 point advantage on health care; a 15 point advantage on reducing gun violence; a 14 point advantage on Social Security; a 10 point advantage on energy policy; a seven point advantage on immigration; and a three point advantage on the GOP signature issue of taxes.

Ryan Lizza has an interesting take on packaging vs. policy in the GOP in his profile of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in The New Yorker.

Since the 2012 elections, the Republicans have been divided between those who believe their policies are the problem and those who believe they just need better marketing—between those who believe they need to make better pizza and those who think they just need a more attractive box. Cantor, who is known among his colleagues as someone with strategic intelligence and a knack for political positioning, argues that it’s the box.

Given these poll numbers and the big edge they give Democrats on issue after issue, the GOP needs one hell of a sexy box to change their political fortunes.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree that the issue is not merely tone and presentation. However, those things do go a long way. But this group has a lot of work to do. I'm not sure they're interested in doing it though.

Ballard Burgher said...

Thanks for commenting, Joseph. I suspect the GOP will need to address both issues (tone and policy). Each impacts the other. The rub for the GOP seems to be the entrenched interests aligned against compromise and more moderate issue stances: their base and right wing media.

Unknown said...

Well, if it doesn't work, they can always put lipstick on their collective pig.