As part of the rebuilding of the Republican Party following a terrible election this November, Arlen Spector defecting, and about a dozen other signs that the party is in decay, conservative leaders have been searching for the best route to take in their changes. Some activists, like Chris Chocola of the Club for Growth, think the party needs to move to the right, saying, "We have to adhere to those principles to rebuild the Party. Those are the brand of the Republican Party, and people feel that we betrayed the brand."
However, if you look at the votes of the current members of the House, Republicans are more conservative than Democrats are liberal. In this diary, I'll examine some perennially debated issues, and compare each party's stand with the current opinion polling.
Abortion (Rep: -43.1, Dem: 35.5, Blue Dog: 12.5)
For abortion, I averaged the ratings of Planned Parenthood and the National Right-to-Life Committee, for a scale of 0-100, where 100 was completely pro-choice, and 0 was completely pro-life. Since the ratings came out for the 110th Congress, I filled in the gaps for freshmen members of the House by giving 100 to anyone who said they were pro-choice during the campaign season, and 0 to anyone who was pro-life.
The breakdown ends up being:
Republicans: 8.4
Democrats: 87.0
-Blue Dogs: 64.0
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 92.6
I used the most recent CNN poll (April 23-26) to gauge America's support for abortion. Those who answered pro-choice were rated 100, pro-life as 0, and other as 50, which puts America at 51.5.
So, the differences are:
Republicans: -43.1
Democrats: 35.5
-Blue Dogs: 12.5
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 41.1
Guns (Rep: -39.3, Dem: 19.5, Blue Dog: 26.8)
For gun rights, I used NRA's ratings. I was able to find every member of the 110th Congress, as well as a handful of freshmen if they were rated at the state level from a previous office. However, I did not get ratings for every member, so 12 Democrats and 13 Republicans were excluded from this.
NRA uses an A+ through F scale, where A+ means being opposed to all gun restrictions, while F is in favor of gun restrictions. which made it difficult to compare to polling numbers. I ended up spreading the grades equally along a scale of 0 to 100 (A+ = 100, A = 91.67, A- = 81.33, etc.).
The breakdown using this method:
Republicans: 87.8
Democrats: 29.0
-Blue Dogs: 75.3
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 17.6
For comparison, I used an ABC News/Washington Post Poll (April 21-24) with the question "Do you favor or oppose stricter gun control laws in this country?" Those who answered oppose were rated 100, favor as 0, and unsure as 50, which puts America at 48.5.
So, the differences are:
Republicans: -39.3
Democrats: 19.5
-Blue Dogs: 26.8
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 30.9
The Environment (Rep: -61.9, Dem: 10.6, Blue Dog: 1.0)
For the environment, I used the League of Conservation Voters' ratings. The ratings are from the 110th Congress, so I had to exclude 36 Democrats and 22 Republicans. On this scale, 100 is in favor of environmental protections, 0 is against them.
The breakdown:
Republicans: 15.1
Democrats: 87.6
-Blue Dogs: 78.0
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 90.1
Making a direct comparison using poll numbers isn't easy, because of the breadth of votes factored into the LCV's ratings. However, the release of greenhouse gases is the major environmental issue of our time, so I used a ABC News/Washington Post Poll (April 21-24) with the question "Do you think the federal government should or should not regulate the release of greenhouse gases from sources like power plants, cars and factories in an effort to reduce global warming?" Those who answered "should" were rated 100, "should not" as 0, and "unsure" as 50, which puts America at 77.
The differences:
Republicans: -61.9
Democrats: 10.6
-Blue Dogs: 1.0
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 13.1
Gay Rights (Rep: -46.6, Dem: 29.7, Blue Dog: 2.3)
For gay marriage, I used the ratings of the Human Rights Campaign, with 100 being in favor of gay rights, 0 against. To fill in the blanks for the freshmen congressmen, I took a statement in support of gay marriage as a rating of 100, in opposition as 0, and of civil unions but not marriage as 50.
The breakdown:
Republicans: 5.2
Democrats: 81.5
-Blue Dogs: 49.5
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 89.2
For polling, I averaged together three questions asked by a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll (April 23-26), about gay marriage, civil unions, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell, rating 100 as in favor of gay rights, and 0 as against, and 50 as unsure (45, 61, 49.5, respectively). America's average, then, is 51.8.
The differences:
Republicans: -46.6
Democrats: 29.7
-Blue Dogs: 2.3
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 37.4
Labor Unions (Rep: -39.2, Dem: 36.5, Blue Dog: 32.0)
For union support, I used AFL-CIO's rating of the 110th Congress from 2007. As a result, I didn't include 40 Democrats and 25 Republicans of the current Congress. 100 is pro-labor, 0 is anti-labor.
The breakdown:
Republicans: 20.2
Democrats: 95.5
-Blue Dogs: 91.0
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 96.6
Gallup runs a poll every August asking America its support of labor unions. For the past decade, it's hovered around 60%, with the most recent being 59.
The differences:
Republicans: -39.2
Democrats: 36.5
-Blue Dogs: 32.0
-Democrats minus Blue Dogs: 37.6
Medical Marijuana (Rep: -74.0, Dem: 15.3, Blue Dog: 55.3)
It's hard to get a rating for marijuana legalization, as votes in Congress on the issue are so rare. However, every Congress, an amendment to a bill goes up for medical marijuana, with the most recent being 2007. Using 100 for a yes vote, 0 for a no vote, we can get an idea of party support by averaging the ratings. Being a 110th Congress vote, this doesn't include any freshmen.
The breakdown:
Republicans: 7.5
Democrats: 66.2
-Blue Dog: 26.2
-Democrats minus Blue Dog: 76.4
General legalization of marijuana has been polling in the mid-40's. Although there have been a number of statewide polls for medical marijuana, virtually all in favor, there hasn't been a good recent one that I can find on a national level. The most recent is from 2002, a CNN/Time Poll (Oct. 23-24). Rating support as 100, opposition as 0, and not sure as 50, America is 81.5.
The differences:
Republicans: -74.0
Democrats: -15.3
-Blue Dog: 55.3
-Democrats minus Blue Dog: 5.1
Summary
On all six issues, Democrats are closer to the center than Republicans. Moving farther to the right will only make Republicans more out of the mainstream than they already are. Additionally, Blue Dogs almost make up a third party in American politics. Unfortunately for Republicans, two of the parties are Democratic.