Brian A. Howey calls the Republicans the 21th Century Whig party — if they aren’t careful about being able to reach out to immigrant groups and voters in general.

Now here’s where the 21st Century Whig thing comes into play. The Pew Hispanic Center notes that 57 percent of registered voters now call themselves Democrats, while just 23 percent call themselves Republicans. There is now a 34 percent gap in partisan affiliation among Latinos. In July 2006, a month before Hostettler’s 18-city immigrant bash tour, the gap was just 21 percent. In essence, the Republicans of today are condemning themselves to being at an 80/20 or 90/10 disadvantage with the fastest growing demographic group in America. In the Howey-Gauge Poll, just 1 percent identified themselves as Latino. But that number will only grow.

It doesn’t help that there are reports of Republicans exhibiting apathy.

So I went to the Munster Town Republican Commiteeman meeting last Thursday to feel them out about a run for the 12th. During the meeting, we did a mini-caucus for the Republican presidential candidate.

There was no enthusiasm whatsoever for ANY of the candidates. It was frightening to behold. After all, these are the guys that need to GET OUT THE VOTE come election day.

There could be tough times ahead if the GOP doesn’t figure out a way to attract a plurality — if not a majority — of voters to the party in these days when people are increasingly self-identifying as Independents and Democrats.

Technorati Tags: Independents, Republican Party

The Economist predicts that independent voters will make all the difference in the 2008 presidential election.

This could mean good news for John McCain since he is a Republican who is attractive to independents.

Over the past decade or so, independents have been forced to act like either “soft” Republicans or “soft” Democrats—reluctant conscripts into one or other of America’s armies. But in this election the opposite is happening—more and more partisans are thinking and acting like independents. Polls show that at least two-thirds of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. A Washington Post poll last year showed that 77% of voters would consider voting for an independent.

By a chapter of accidents the Republicans have ended up with their one presidential candidate ideally suited to attracting independents. The party’s thumping in the 2006 mid-term election was almost entirely due to its waning fortunes among independent voters. Conservatives pulled the Republican lever in the usual numbers. But independents voted for Democrats by 57% to 39%. John McCain is thus a gift from heaven.

The very qualities of Mr McCain that infuriate Republican loyalists endear him to independents. He has frequently clashed with Mr Bush, a man whom independents loathe. He has wrestled with special interests in Washington, and repeatedly gone into battle with his own party, particularly over immigration reform. Mr McCain has demonstrated his strength among independents: he led the field among them by ten points in New York, 23 points in California and 31 points in Illinois.

This gives him a chance of pulling off a surprise upset in the general election.

Technorati Tags: Election 2008, Independents, John McCain, Republican Party

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