Fun with polls I
: Today’s Wall Street Journal poll (free link) reveals splits among Republicans. Yes, I know, we’ll hear from the GOP how this demonstrates their big tent. But I think it shows that the party’s leadership is out of touch with its membership and though support for Bush remains strong, the theo-moralistic-meddling fringe has jumped the shark:
The Schiavo case has opened another rift. Though Mr. Bush and Republican congressional leaders acted to maximize the opportunity for reinserting Ms. Schiavo’s feeding tube, 39% of Republicans said removing the tube was “the right thing to do,” while 48% said it was wrong. …
“It’s a story that splits our party,” says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducts the Journal/NBC survey with his Democratic counterpart Peter Hart. A similar split on Social Security, he adds, will make it “hard, but not impossible” for Mr. Bush to accomplish the centerpiece of his second-term agenda….
Nearly two-thirds of Republicans say Congress shouldn’t pass legislation affecting families in cases such as Ms. Schiavo’s, though some Republicans on Capitol Hill aim to do just that. By 50%-37%, Republicans say the federal government should be “less active” on social and moral issues; on gay marriage Republicans split evenly, with 48% saying Congress should pass legislation and 47% saying it shouldn’t.
Let’s put that in bold and italics: “By 50%-37%, Republicans say the federal government should be less active’ on social and moral issues.” Among all voters, that’s 54-35%.
So butt out, bozos. Build roads. Fight wars. Print money. But stay out of our lives. Got the message?
