Crossposted at trueconservative.typepad.com
dopper0819 posts on the recent NPR poll (PDF) showing that 'Pubs actually prefer Democratic policies.
This is Very Good News.
But what that post doesn't point out is how brainwashed Pubs are by party affiliation, compared to Dems.
Proof below the fold.
They asked the same questions (do you prefer this position or that one), but in half the cases they identified the positions as being Democratic or Republican.
Here's the change in support for each party's position when the respondents were told that it was their party's position. (Sorry for the table formatting...it's lined up in the editor...)
Pubs Dems
Economy +20% -9%
Iraq +11 -4
Foreign Trade +20 -18
Taxes +28 -9
Example: Only 38% of Republicans support Republican tax policies.
Tell them it's the "Republican" policy position? All of a sudden 66% support it. Whodathunkit.
The Republicans don't have a branding problem. (Though it sure looks like the Dems do.) Quite the contrary. Their problem is that people don't like their policies. They prefer Democrats' policies—except when those people are Republicans, and they're told that the policies they approve of are Democratic policies.