Republicans have a branding problem
Since the presidential election, Republicans have gradually slipped from defeat, to disappointment, to denial, to despair. Could decay be far behind? To continue the alliteration — don’t know, don’t care.
What I do know is Republicans who persist in blaming other people for their presidential defeat should take a long look in their mirrors.
Some new research seems to indicate the Republican Party and its inept messaging were more responsible for their second-in-a-row failed attempt to take over the White House than any other factor. People just aren’t that into Republicans and their presidential candidates these days, as reflected in an in-depth survey conducted by a global company that specializes in market research and branding.
That company, Edelman Berland, helps companies link their products to the public by making us feel comfortable buying those products.
For instance, when you walk into a supermarket and you see pastry items sold by Sara Lee, you might feel comfortable about buying them, because you really do believe “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.” Some advertising genius, who may have used something similar to Edelman Berland’s survey, found that a simple five-word slogan boosted consumer comfort levels.
Similarly, Republicans seem to have real problems maintaining voter comfort levels. The result of that Edelman Berland survey apparently indicates, “Nobody wants to like the Republican Party.” They contacted 1,200 voters and asked them to respond to 14 words and phrases with positive attributes. They were asked which political party is better linked to those positive attributes.
According to Edelman Berland, the findings are “stunning.” Democrats came out on top as being stronger in 13 or 14 of the positive attributes overall — and even 12 of 14 among Independents.
Who “offers a hopeful vision for the future?” — Democrats. Who “cares about people like me?” — Democrats. Who “understands people like me?” — Democrats. Who “is honest and ethical?” — Democrats.
Republicans, it seems, are widely perceived among the nation’s voters as not being “able to solve the [nation’s] long term debt,” or to “offer helpful solutions.”
There’s no way of knowing if Republicans will heed the survey’s findings. Self-reflection isn’t their strong suit.
But somebody should be paying attention. Especially since those 1,200 voters were asked to rate those 14 positive attributes in order of importance. “Honest and ethical” was rated the most important by a wide margin (by 22 percent of the voters).
There’s more. The only positive attribute in which Republicans came out on top compared to Democrats was “protects our national interests.” Unfortunately, “protects our national interests” ranked the lowest in importance among the 14 positive attributes. Only 3 percent of the voters who were asked consider “protects our national interests” as being the most important. It’s almost like telling somebody “The only thing you’re good at is something most people really don’t care that much about.”
That Edelman Berland survey isn’t the only bad news for Republicans. President Obama’s job approval numbers are as high as they’ve been in three years. Last week, Gallup’s daily tracking poll had Obama’s job approval at 54 percent. They haven’t been that high since November of 2009.
Another poll, an ABC/Washington Post survey, reveals that Obama is the clear recipient of public approval in dealing with the so-called fiscal cliff. People support him over House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) by a whopping 49 percent to 25 percent.
Yet another survey, the Bloomberg National Poll, indicates the president is winning the “tax the rich” argument — and by a wide margin.
Sixty-five percent of the adults polled believe Obama’s re-election means he has a “mandate” to raise tax rates on income exceeding $250,000 a year. And worse, 45 percent of Republicans agree.
Things have gotten so bad for the perceptions Americans have of Republicans that I conducted my own, unofficial and unscientific survey, just so that they can be seen as being better than Democrats at something.
“Thinks Obama’s 65.4 million votes is less than Romney’s 60.7 million?” — Republicans. “Hates puppies?” — Republicans. “Sees little old ladies in the crosswalk and steps on the gas pedal?” — Republicans.
Edward A. Owens is a three-time Emmy Award winner and 20-year veteran of television news. Email him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net