Our Mirror Image Parties
Republicans and Democrats sat together during the State of the Union. "Certainly the tone was terrific, and although most people mocked it, I think that to sit together rather than apart did improve the decorum on the floor," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. (Chet Susslin)
Call it the homogeneity gap.
New data out today from Gallup show that Democrats remain much more of a coalition party than the GOP - with all the opportunities and challenges that implies.
Gallup released figures today analyzing the demographic characteristics of adults who identified as Democrats or leaned toward the party in nightly tracking interviews conducted from June to August 2011. This new release represents the bookend to a study Gallup conducted with National Journal on the demographic characteristics of the Republican coalition over that same period.
Comparing the profile of each party's coalition points toward two interrelated conclusions. One is that on many dimensions the parties now represent inverse visions of America. The other is that, on key variables, Democrats are more closely divided and diverse than the GOP.
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