Elevated Voices: "Colorado has seen a drastic political shift in the last two years, moving from a field of elected officials dominated by Republicans to a slate that is now made up largely of Democrats. Colorado is often mentioned as an example of the so-called 'New West,' where Democrats have figured out a way to beat Republicans in races large and small.
"But a new poll released yesterday by the Pew Research Center [pdf] suggests that the change isn't isolated to a particular region - it's a nationwide shift."
More from Colorado Confidential. They write, "Republicans in Colorado are less likely to be moderate or liberal than in all but five other states, while Democrats in Colorado are more liberal than those in all but three other states, according to a new report based on a massive 2007 survey taken by the Pew Center on the People and the Press. In no other state in the nation do the two major parties present a more stark ideological divide."
Andrew Sullivan: "I spent part of last night absorbing the latest comprehensive Pew report on trends in public opinion over the last decade. It's a devastating indictment of the Bush-Rove strategy for conservatism and the Republican party. They may have created the most loyally Democratic generation since the New Deal with the under 25s. But check the other findings out. Party identification is now 50 percent Dem and 35 percent GOP. The country is now divided in two over the question of whether military strength is the key to ensuring peace; in 2002 62 percent were hawks and 34 percent were doves. Religious intensity is falling; acceptance of gay people is rising. The younger generation is the most secular of any. Support for the military has never been stronger - people don't blame the troops for the war. The country is divided down the middle on torture, but still in favor of preemptive war in some circumstances. Sorry, Dinesh, but women's equality and freedom are values now overwhelmingly popular among all groups, including Republicans, and strongest among the young. Since Bush has been president, there has been a sharp decline in the number of Americans favoring 'old fashioned values about family and marriage.' In the last ten years, opposition to gay marriage has dropped ten points and support has risen ten points. There has also been a striking twelve point increase in support for affirmative action over the past decade - all of it among whites."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
7:18:54 AM 
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