We already know that the GOP is extremely weak in most states as a result of the 2008 Presidential election, with only four states strongly Republican compared to 30 that are strongly Democratic, and the rest leaning toward the Democrats with a few exceptions.
And yet the latest poll evidence shows that many more people see themselves as conservatives than liberals, with moderates holding the balance as usual, and generally leaning toward support of the Democrats, at least in the presidential campaign itself.
The most conservative states are in the South–Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina; the Plains States–Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota; and the Mountain States–Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
The most liberal states are in New England–Massachusetts, Vermont; the Northeast–District of Columbia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut; and the Far West–Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii. But the percentage who say they are liberal is considerably lower than the conservative numbers in the more conservative states.
Those who are moderates by definition range from 43 percent in Hawaii and Rhode Island to a low of 32 percent in Alabama.
So we have the oddity that the Democrats may be strong, but yet ideologically the country is nowhere near as liberal as the Democratic congressional leadership and senior membership, and even President Obama, based on his four years in the US Senate.
Therefore, the GOP is able to have great influence despite their small numbers in Congress, because so many Americans still find the word “liberal” abhorrent, and therefore, moderates rule the day in the battle with conservatives for the future agenda of the Obama Presidency.