Democrats widen gap in party affilliation

Like the first line of this article says, we have our work cut out for us.

Republicans have their work cut out for them.

Americans identifying themselves as Democrats outnumber those who say they are Republicans by 10 percentage points, the largest gap in party identification in 24 years.

The gap has widened significantly since President George W. Bush's re-election in 2004, when it was a mere three percentage points. But by the time Bush left office in January, less than a quarter of Americans approved of his performance.

These days, 38 percent of Americans say they are Democrats, 28 percent call themselves Republicans and another 29 percent identify as independents, according to an average of national polls conducted last year by The New York Times and CBS News

And what has changed over the last 8 years? The Republican Party took a sharp turn leftward instead of staying with our conservative roots. Conservatism wins every time it's tried. Reagan is a perfect example of that. And McCain is a perfect example of what happens when we run a liberal Republican as our nominee.

Ronald Reagan's presidency underscores the power of a popular incumbent to win over young voters. When he was elected in 1980, only 20 percent of young Americans identified as Republicans. By 1989, the number had grown to 37 percent, a significant factor in the expansion of the Republican Party during those years.