A new Gallup poll shows that American attitudes about the Republicans and Democrats are similar to attitudes in 1994, when the Democrats lost Congress. More Americans, Gallup claims, say they share Republican values and a Republican view of government. Americans feel that neither party, however, really understands their problems.
While the Republicans may have an edge on these two policy-oriented image perceptions, the parties are about tied in perceptions of how well each understands the problems Americans face in their daily lives. In answer to this party image item, first asked this year, the slight majority of Americans believe the Republicans and Democrats understand Americans’ day-to-day problems either “not too well” or “not well at all.”
[...] Americans’ views on how well the two major parties reflect their views on the role of government and their values more broadly make clear that the Democrats’ image has suffered since they won back control of Congress in 2006. Republicans have not made comparable perceptual gains in these areas, but largely as a result of the Democrats’ losses, Republicans are now leading on both dimensions, similar to their standing in 1994.
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