Latest Pew Research Poll: Republicans Chant, "Yes, We Can!"

David Paul Kuhn at Politico reports today that the GOP brand is making a comeback. Personally, I hate the application of the term “brand” to either individuals or political parties. I’d prefer we restrict our talk about brands to inanimate objects: products we find on the supermarket shelf or at Wal-Mart.

Reading Kuhn’s article, however, caused me to shake my head at the perpetual folly of the Democrats who blew their opportunity during the primary to win this presidential election and possibly sweep Congress. And it was all for what? The DNC and the superdelegates smelled power and money when they caught a glimpse of the cold cash the evangelical Barack Obama was raising and the crowds the “lanky” junior senator was drawing. Greed was sufficient motivation for Howard Dean, et al, to trash Hillary Clinton, the better-qualified candidate, and jump on the pied piper’s bandwagon – look at all those kids/students Obama managed to import from other states to vote in the Iowa caucus!!! You could almost hear the party bigwigs chant, “Let’s get some of that for ourselves – yes, we can!”

Yes, we can, indeed. So say the Republicans this morning in response to the latest Pew Research poll.

Mr. Kuhn reports:

“New polling suggests that the Republican Party is beginning to regain some of its luster and, perhaps as important, is experiencing a surge in excitement among its political base.

“A new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reports that independent voters have an equally favorable opinion of both parties, 50 to 49 percent, a one-point edge for the GOP. That compares to an 18-point Democratic advantage as recently as August, a wide gap that had generally held for more than a year.

“And half of registered voters overall now have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, the highest GOP ranking in three years. Slightly more voters, 55 percent, continue to have a favorable view of the Democratic Party.

“The GOP convention and the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate have also generated considerable enthusiasm among the party rank-and-file. Pew found that three in four Republicans express satisfaction with their presidential choice. In June, only half said the same.

“The findings come as the Gallup Poll recently found that the Democratic generic lead among voters, when asked which party they prefer to control Congress, has withered to only 3 points, 48 to 45 percent. Democrats had a double-digit generic congressional advantage on the eve of the midterm elections.


‘“The portion of the public that strongly supports the Republican ticket has grown from 17 percent in August to 25 percent today. Over the same period, Republicans expressing “strong support” for McCain jumped 16 points. Independents expressing ‘strong support’ for McCain rose 9 points. Meanwhile, Democratic ‘strong support’ for Obama rose 7 points, while his backing from independents dropped one point.

“Today, Pew finds relative parity in party enthusiasm. Fully 62 percent of Democrats strongly back their candidate compared to 59 percent of Republicans. Democrats had a double digit enthusiasm advantage last month. Other polling has also showed the narrowing of the enthusiasm gap, a measure that can gauge prospective voter turnout.”

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