Are Democrats raising more money online than Republicans because they are more popular or Web-savvy?

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by Sharon Yeates

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A Gallup poll, released in May of 2009, supports the theory that Democratic Party fund raising success is a reflection of the party's standing among voters, weakening the argument that the party's success at fund raising is merely a reflection of superior Internet skills rather than an actual increase in the party's popularity. Gallup compared voter affiliations in 2001 to voter affiliation in 2009 and discovered a decline in the percentage of voters who identify themselves as Republicans, as well an increase in the percentage of voters who identified themselves as Democrats. The data revealed that 53% of those who identified with a party, identified with the Democratic party, while 39% identified themselves as Republican. This is a marked change from 2001.

Possible factors contributing to this change in popularity are loss of voter confidence in Republican leadership, the recession, the on-going unpopular war in Iraq, and the increase of voter participation among groups that historically have been under represented such as Hispanics and young adults.

Generally known as a conservative, family value party, the Republican party was rocked by scandals among top party leadership, which reached beyond the initial individuals, and lead to many voters questioning the commitment of party leadership to family values. Mark Foley's suggestive emails and sexually explicit emails to young males triggered investigations of many House Republican Leaders, and caused voters to question the wisdom of party leadership appointing Foley as chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. The RBI raid on the home of John Doolittle in 2007, lead to questions about campaign contributions received from Jack Abramoff, the man convicted of defrauding the American Indian tribes and corrupting of public officials. Randy Duke Cunningham was forced to resign his congressional seat after pleading guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. The Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, Lester Crawford, was fined $90,000 when it was discovered that he owned stock drug companies that were overseen by his office.

If voters were not upset enough at the Bush Administration's bailout of banks and major financial institutions, the institutions increased voter wrath when they used the money to pay large bonuses and throw lavish parties. Thrown into this was the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scandal. Though Madoff made contributions to both political parties, the wrath of the nation turned to the administration in charge at the time the scandal was revealed, leaving Republicans to deal with the backlash of rage over Wall Street in turmoil.

Economic turmoil is never easy on the administration in office during the worst part of the turmoil, unless they manage to fix the situation before handing over the reigns. During the Republican golden years, Americans saw gas rise to almost $5 a gallon in most cities. They saw massive unemployment, and massive foreclosures. Retirement accounts were wiped out as Wall Street fell through the floor. Whether these things would have happened on a Democratic watch or not, and whether they were actually caused by Republican policies or not, was irrelevant in the end. The American public blamed the Bush Administration, and Republican funding took the hit.

Failure of Republicans to discuss an end to unpopular wars lead to a comparison of the Iraq war to the Vietnam war, turning younger voters and older voters who considered Vietnam a black mark on America's record against them. In addition to loss of voters and funding from voters who actually supported the war in Iraq, the administration was once more rocked by accusations that returning soldiers were not receiving the benefits and care they had been promised. This cost the Republicans even more public support.

Voter demographics in general were damaging to the Republican party. As more and more young people participated in the process, the desire for change was reflected more and more in the polls, votes and fund raising contributions. Racial demographics revealed that many groups that were significantly under represented in prior elections were turning out to participate in the current election. Lobby groups split over issues such as same-sex marriage, and the environment. By addressing these hot topics directly, Democrats were able to pull money in from groups that otherwise avoided making campaign contributions on a national scale. So while the Republicans may not have lost funding or voters over these issues, they did not show the significant gains that the Democrats showed.

Overall, the American Public seems to be in a state of worry and distrust, and they have turned their anger towards the political party that they believe held the most power during the time period events were revealed.

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