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Actually its around 40%. Another 20% are somewhat conservative. 38% are liberal and 2% are moderate. That's Question D3 of the Battleground Poll.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

Just look who is leading the polls now. that is the result of only appealing to 35%. What, were you born yesterday? McCain has been R-New York Times for the last 10 15 years.

He has done everything he can to appeal to the swing voter, including spending most of his campaign saying "me too" every time Obama proposes a new give away.

And while only 35% are real, self-identified conservatives, a good chunk of even Obama's diehard supporters (blacks) don't support abortion, homosexuality or gun control.

But the bottom line is that what they have to say is far less important than 1) how they say it 2) what percentage of the female population would prefer to date each one.

bilhosty wrote: “About 35% of the people in this country classify themselves as Conservatives.”

Wrong. It’s been consistently 59% to 60% for a number of years now.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/08/the_biggest_missing_story_in_p.html

About 35% of the people in this country classify themselves as Conservatives. If you drive everyone else out you just hang it up. You cannot win an election with 35%. The unreality on this board is amazing. Just look who is leading the polls now. that is the result of only appealing to 35%.

That number more likely represents the number of hardcore conservatives - people like those on FR (mostly). However, it is the hardcore conservatives that lead, and the moderates who follow. For example, you may have your average Joe who doesn't really think of himself as a conservative, but if he sees a candidate who promotes traditionally conservative principles, Joe says to himself, "Hey, that sounds good. I'm going to vote for that guy." It is when the candidate takes a squishy middle position that Joe looks at him and says, "I can't tell the difference between him and the Democrat, so I'll just vote for whomever seems like the nicest guy." or some such thing.

If hardcore conservatives put the right candidates out there, the moderates would vote for them every time. Of course, I consider true American conservatism to be of a libertarian bent, i.e. get the government off my back, out of my wallet, out of my house, away from my kids, etc. Anyone who would grow the power or size of the federal or state government for any reason other than the military is not a conservative, in my opinion.

About 35% of the people in this country classify themselves as Conservatives. If you drive everyone else out you just hang it up. You cannot win an election with 35%.

Good point.

I don't know about Rush's logic here. With things as they are now, could another -- could any -- Republican nominee win this year? Romney certainly couldn't, with his money fund background and all that. Huckabee or Giuliani or Thompson probably couldn't either. And I doubt many Republicans are fleeing McCain, though there are some who are really fed up with Bush. So it's not that McCain's strategy failed as much as the bottom fell out of the party as a whole.

Weld isn't much of a moderate. Just call him sui generis: "of its own kind, or unique in its characteristics." "Fiscal conservatism and social liberalism" doesn't always translate into "moderate Republicanism." Some liberals would go along with that self-designation. Weld was in the Republican Party because of the specific nature of Massachusetts politics. In another part of the country, if Weld thought as he did about the issues, he would have been a Democrat.