Some unwelcome confirmation for Republicans worried that their party
needs an image overhaul: A majority of Americans views the Republican
party as out of touch, too extreme and resistant to change, according to
a Pew poll released Tuesday.
Sixty-two percent of adults said that Republicans were out of touch
with the American people, and 52 percent that the party was too extreme.
In comparison, 46 percent said that Democrats were out of touch, and 39
percent that they were too extreme.
Democrats were also viewed as slightly more likely to be looking out
for the country's future -- and, by a 19-point margin, as the party more
open to change.
In a lone bright spot for the GOP, while a majority viewed both
parties as having strong principles, Republicans had a 6-point edge over
Democrats on that measure.
Although Republicans and Democrats each got dismal marks from their
opponents, the GOP owes its struggling ratings in part to discontent
among its own members, about a third of whom said their party was out of
touch and resistant to change. Republicans weren't, however, much more
likely than
Democrats to say their own party was too extreme.
Republican favorability is at a low ebb, but ratings for both parties
have fallen considerably in the past decade, according to Pew.
HuffPost Pollster currently gives the Republican Party an average 31 percent favorability rating, and the Democratic party an average 46 percent rating.
Other recent polling has found that half of Republicans disapprove of their representatives in Congress, and that a slight majority of Americans say the party has moved out of the mainstream.
The Pew poll surveyed 1,504 adults, including 366 Republicans and 470 Democrats, by phone between Feb. 13 and Feb. 18.
