GOP Candidates Hurting Themselves

The above picture by DonkeyHotey is a pretty good representation of how more and more people are starting to view the Republican field of presidential candidates -- as a bunch of clowns unworthy to be the leader of this country. That is the position of a significant and growing portion of the general population.

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 1,008 nationwide adults between December 1st and 4th. They asked the poll respondents whether their impression of the Republican field of candidates was getting better, worse, or had no effect due to the primary campaigns. It should come as no surprise that 53% of the Democrats said their impression had gotten worse (and 38% said it was unchanged), while 30% of Republicans said their impression had gotten better (and 58% said it was unchanged). That was to be expected of party regulars.

Much more interesting are the impressions of Independents after watching the Republican fiasco. They have been given a more negative impression of the Republican field by a 3-1 ration. Here are the numbers:

INDEPENDENTS
Has The Primary Campaign Given You A Better Or worse Impression Of The Republican Field?
Better...............10%
Worse...............29%
No change...............55%
Don't know...............6%

The poll didn't ask those who said the primary had not changed their opinion whether their initial (and current) opinion was positive or negative. But it can't be good that Republicans have given 29% of Independents a more negative view of them. They have been given numerous opportunities to reach out to voters through all the debates, but they are turning off more Independents than they are winning over -- and that is the group a candidate must win over to get elected. It looks like once the Republicans have their nominee in place, they are going to have a lot of convincing to do among Independents.