GOP Dominated By White Conservatives: Gallup Poll

As the GOP struggles to define itself in the face of its own considerable image problems, a new poll indicates that the Republican party's base fundamentally lacks diversity.

The poll, released today by Gallup, shows that a staggering 89% of the GOP is white, and that 63% identify as conservatives. It is, in the words of the poll's author, "first and foremost a political entity dominated by white Americans."

In contrast, the poll found that around 36% of Democrats are non-white. Of the 64% of Democrats who are white, the poll found that about half lean toward a moderate or liberal ideological position.

The poll also suggests that Republicans are more religious than either Democrats or Independents, with about half of those polled identifying as "strongly religious."

The poll is particularly significant given the increasingly weak position of the GOP itself. As the author writes:

A great deal of attention has been paid to the plight of Republicans who at this juncture in history find themselves not controlling the presidency, the House, or the Senate....

The data reviewed here highlight an essential dilemma the Republicans face as they ponder their future. The Republican Party's constituency is overwhelmingly white -- and the significant majority of those whites are ideologically conservative, while a majority are highly religious, as defined by church attendance...

Does the Republican Party in essence "stick to the knitting" and cling to its core conservative principles? Or should the Republicans make an effort to expand their base -- among whites who are moderate or less religious, and/or the various nonwhite groups who to this point are largely ignoring the Republican Party in favor of the Democrats? The decision the party makes in response to this question could be pivotal in helping determine its future.

Republican Pat Buchanan acknowledged recently that there is a "real demographic problem with the Republican Party. It is a heavily white party."

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Comments

[Travis Oz]

DUH...Pat Buchanan....you finally figured out the GOP is an ALL WHITE party....DUH

[SnapShots]

What they still fail to realize is that the independent and undeclared voter segment is larger than it ever has been before. America is not divided into Repubs or Dems.

[Shavano]

Not true according to Gallup 21% identify as Republican; 53% identify as Democrats; leaving 26% as not identifying with either party. It is true that more folks claim to be Independent, but when asked what party they identify with, this is how it breaks down. Whether an Independent actually bothers to register with a party, is not important. What is important is what party do they most closely identify as fulfilling their political ideals. In the latter case the Dems win hands down.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/parsing-the-polls/gallup-poll-gop-boat-springs-l.html

[Patricia84]

Someone definitely has too much on his hands...

[DevRock]

Did we really need a poll to say the obvious? Watch video from the GOP convention. Watch McCain's concession speech. All the evidence you need there.

[tqjones44]

They had people of color at the GOP convention...they were in the kitchen and cleaning up after everyone...lol

[brabra]

However, many of the Whites that make up the Republican party are on the average middle or lower middle class. It almost proves a point that many of them are not there for "political reasons" because the Republicans do not care about the middle class. There is a hidden agenda. It makes no sense for the people in the Republican middle class and lower middle class to fight against the non White's who they think make up the majority of the Welfare system. NEWSFLASH the majority of people on Welfare are White". Do the research. What happens to the poor non-White's will trickle upward and it is blind to color. Racism is alive and well disquised as Conservatism.

[rosepierre]

The Republicans will bounce back just as the Democrats did. What the story didn't mention is that both parties are bought and sold but the same corporate interests. DON'T WASTE YOUR VOTE ---- VOTE WRITE-IN!

[Shavano]

Robespierre would be disappointed.

[darkelflass]

Have you all heard the vicious, hateful comments Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck (to name a few) have been spewing lately? What do these people want? Blood running in the streets? What is wrong with them?

[Tom Joad]

...in related news, scientists predict the Sun will rise in the east tomorrow...

[PiscesPrincess]

lol loved it.

[Tom Joad]

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Global warming skeptics still skeptical of sunrise tomorrow...

[Longbaugh]

89%!!!!

They're doomed.

[bluerednot]

Come on - take the poll againg in a couple of weeks - I'm sure they can push that 89% to well over 95% !

[PiscesPrincess]

Then where on earth do they find all these people of color to go on TV as pundits and talk up the Republicans causes.? hmm.

[probo]

all it takes is money.

[Ohioan730]

"Or should the Republicans make an effort to expand their base -- among whites who are moderate or less religious, and/or the various nonwhite groups who to this point are largely ignoring the Republican Party in favor of the Democrats?"

I ignore them because I'm black and they seem to not like me. They insult me over and over as a woman and as a non religious person and a free thinker. They insult me by alienating latinos and gays. They will NEVER get my vote because they will NEVER stop throwing me under the bus to appeal to other people who do not like me. They will not even acknowledge that the base of people who do not like me and don't know me personally, is shrinking. They are just plain stoopid.

[AprilPA]

I would consider myself to be multiracial - 75% Caucasian, 25% Hispanic (my grandfather's ancestors came from Spain) - and I look it. Just yesterday, someone said to me, "You look Hispanic. Are you American? Do you speak English?" I was born in the USA and I should never have to answer questions like that. By smearing Hispanics and Mexicans as illegal immigrants that are not real Americans, this group of Republicans will never get my vote.

[PiscesPrincess]

What a terrible thoughtless thing to Say to someone. The insensitivity is appalling. gag

[Glenn Brown]

its all true and any person of color who is republican has alot of money and will not look in the mirrior

[PiscesPrincess]

and when they Do look in the mirror they do not see themselves. They project what they see onto others not of like minds. sad

[pakaal]

I think if the story had read "GOP Dominated by Minority Progressives", it would have actually been a story. The majority of the GOP is Conservative? Who could have possibly expected that one?!

As for the "white" part, anyone who watched the primaries or the general last year probably already figured that out too.

[BryantG]

Minorities vote democratic because in their view the party's platform and issues best addresses their needs. A repeal of the inheritance tax does little to address the immediate needs of poor and working class people, who are disproportionately minority. The same can be said, though to a lesser extent, regarding capital gains tax cuts. The republicans profess a distain for the federal government and celebrate states rights, but in African-American living memory it was state governments that fought against racial equality, and federal troops that were marshaled to escort little black girls to school. In that regard I believe in the mind of most African-Americans, the Federal government, with all its inefficiencies, is still perceived as the champion of last resort. While socially conservative on the whole, economic needs tend to be more critical for minorities. So issues like abortion and same-sex marriage take a back seat to healthcare and effective public education (an institution which many died just to be able to attend). Republicans proclaim that policies enacted to redress inequities resulting from historic discriminatory practices are themselves discriminatory. A position, I submit, that is much more palatable to those not living the negative results of historic discrimination. The list goes on but suffice it to say that like all Americans, minorities select the party or candidate that is most likely to address their needs..

[huffporocks]

Thank you.

[wmary82]

Amen

[robXdion]

Very well stated.

[LeaderofMen]

Based on this poll, I 'should be' a Republican. I own my own business, am white, was raised in the South, and have a solid Protestant family history.

Except for a few issues.

I'm gay, the GOP hates that I'm *married* to my husband, and I have no interest in their invisible sky-god-who-killed-his-own-son.

So, the GOP can eat me.

[HowSoonIsNow]

So the GOP can eat me! hahahah!

I haven't heard that expression in so long!

Congratulations on your marriage! :)