Voter Alignment Quotes

Because, Bill, I think we’ve given the South away to the Republican party for as long as anyone can foresee.

I'm not a Democrat, I'm an Independent, but I caucus with the Democrats.

Federalists, Whigs, Democratic-Republicans; parties are born, parties die, and parties realign themselves to adapt to shifting demographics and attitudes.

Education level has become the great divider in contemporary American politics, eclipsing race and sex. Those with four-year college degrees tend to vote differently than those without.

To bring about a genuine political realignment, Republicans must kill the Government Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs - the very Goose they have fought so hard and long to possess.

We tend in this country to talk about Democrats and Republicans, and think there's little group over there called Independents that's maybe 2%. That is not the case, and it has not been the case for most of modern American history.

The actual gap between Labor, Likud and the new central party is microscopic.

Can old dogs learn new tricks? …. Issue positions among partisans tend to be relatively stable… Party position changes tend to come not from learning new tricks but from electing new dogs.

I think the Democratic Party has picked a lot of the wrong candidates, the kind that Middle America, or people who are more down the middle and more rational, can't side with. I think that's been the problem.

Well, the tough thing for them is that the Republican primary is pretty far over to the right, just as the Democratic primary is further over to the left than the average voter in each party.

The key to controlling your own political party, so that it does not eat you alive, is to realize that while Democratic and Republican leaders differ sharply, their voters do not.

You want somebody in Congress representing you that on some level you feel has the same values you do and has the same priorities you do.

There was a near-universal set of editorial endorsements of Clinton. Trump used this disparity to his advantage, to claim media bias and unify his base of supporters.

The Doppler Effect: When running in a primary, candidate appears farther to the left or right than he or she in fact is, but as candidate nears the general election, candidate's views appear to approach the center.

Candidates and their consultants keep making the same mistake. They assume that all independents are bundled neatly together ideologically between Republicans and Democrats.

Major realigning events can reshape coalitions and change how large groups of people view politics, policy, and the parties.

I think among different members there had been concerns that the RSC had grown so large, and it had many members who really didn't have that conservative voting records, which really is a testimony to what a positive brand conservatism is.