Public Shares Right-moving GOP Values, View Of Government, According To Gallup Data

At the same time the public perceives the Republican Party becoming more conservative, more Americans are saying the party reflects their values and their attitude about the role of government, according to newly released Gallup polling data.

Democrats, meanwhile, have lost ground on these measures.

In a USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,021 American adults conducted Aug. 27-30, respondents were asked whether they believed the Republican Party had “become more conservative, or not” since Barack Obama took office as president. In the same poll, respondents were also asked how well each of the two major parties “represent your values” and “represent your attitude about the role of government.”

Fifty-four percent of Americans told Gallup they believed the GOP had indeed become more conservative since Obama took office, while only 40 percent said they did not believe the Republicans had become more conservative.

At the same time, the Republicans did better than the Democrats on the percentage of Americans who said the party represents their attitude about the role of government and their values.

Fifty-two percent told Gallup the Republican Party represented their attitude about the role of government either “very well” or “moderately well,” while only 44 percent said the Democratic Party represented their attitude about the role of government either “very well” or “moderately well.”

Fifty-six percent, meanwhile, told Gallup the Republican Party represented their values either “very well” or “moderately well,” while only 49 percent said the Democratic Party represented their values either “very well” or “moderately well.”

These results indicate a shift in public perception of the major political parties from four years ago, when the Republicans lost the congressional majority to the Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections. These results also resemble the results Gallup got when it asked the same questions in 1994, the year the Republicans won the congressional majority away from the Democrats.
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