Legal Scholar Richard Pildes Discusses Recent Wall Street Journal Poll on Public Attitude Toward Democratic Party

Posted on by July 26, 2025

Legal scholar Richard Pildes, at the Electionlawblog, here discusses a recent Wall Street Journal poll showing public opinion toward the Democratic Party us at its lowest point since 1990.

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Legal Scholar Richard Pildes Discusses Recent Wall Street Journal Poll on Public Attitude Toward Democratic Party — 52 Comments

  1. The demon rats are actually at their worst popularity level ever, not just since 1990. It’s the two major parties combined which are at their lowest level since 1990.

  2. “Now, more voters identify as Republicans than as Democrats, a significant change in the structure of the electorate—and a rarity in politics. Republicans last year built their first durable lead in more than three decades in party identification, and they have maintained that lead today.”

  3. This might seem like an opening for minor parties, but it’s not. Once you get past generics to actual minor parties with policies and candidates, they’re facing a more hostile public and legal climate than in a long time in some respects, or ever in others.

    Only negative partisanship against each other sustains the major parties to the extent they are still popular at all.

    Minor parties are tarred with the brush that all parties are increasingly tarred with regardless of size, ideology, or anything else, without that saving factor.

    Plus they face increasingly bad ballot access hurdles that are becoming worse and worse, difficulties stemming from people who are already predisposed to factionaliism, quitting, not getting along etc falling out with each other, difficulties stemming from fundraising issues under BCRA / McCain Feingold etc, difficulties stemming from having a hard time sustaining activity, the fact that many of their “activists” are busy arguing with each other online and hate dealing with real people in person in the real world and or are unusually bad at it, difficulties stemming from total lack of knowledge base – much less sustained – on what actually works in the real world, difficulty in recruitment of candidates, staff, and volunteers, difficulties in utilizing them effectively when they get them, difficulties stemming from legacy identification with major parties, difficulties stemming from short attention span among younger generations, difficulties stemming from being seen as spoilers, rightly or wrongly, in a climate of increasing negative partisanship…most of all, difficulties stemming from the fact that things which were in the past handled primarily by things called political parties are now increasingly handled better and more easily in a wide assortment of other ways, and increasingly so.

    None of this is going to get better for them. It will only get worse and worse, and ever faster.

  4. It’s extremely difficult to organize any kind of sustained third party effort, regardless of ideology. And it’s only going to get harder, not easier.

    For one thing, more and more people, and younger people especially, are sick of all political parties period, and won’t give you the time to try to explain that yours is somehow not like the others. For another, the bipartisan split is getting nastier all the time, and while that creates a false sense that there’s an opening for a new party or parties, what it really means is that while people are embarrassed of the party they hate least, they are terrified of the party they hate most. Like it or not, and true or not, spoiler logic is hard to counteract, much less consistently long after you get sick of doing so.

    One side effect of that is that ballot access laws are getting harder, and the trend is accelerating. This reverses an overall liberalization trend from 1975-2020. Bipartisan warfare is increasingly a blood sport; in a more sportsmanlike contest spoilers may be booed, but in a war they get shot from all directions. We’re verging ever closer to the shooting side of that spectrum.

    There are other consequences, like making it increasingly more dangerous and less rewarding to run as “spoiler” candidates, work on their campaigns, represent a “spoiler” party in public venues, be publicly identified as being involved with one, and so on. Add that to the difficulty of gaining traction and sustaining momentum.

  5. “This is consistent with the general, precipitous decline in support for the traditionally dominant center-right and center-left parties throughout Europe.”

    That’s because it’s only a “center” in a dishonest and constantly manipulated public discourse where gatekeepers declare what the acceptable mainstream opinions are and cut others off from media channels, funding mechanisms, etc.

    Since their gatekeeping over news, history, conversations, financial connections etc is increasingly failing due to changes in technology, especially communication technology, their control of politics is increasingly slipping as well.

    The same trends can be observed in business, recreation, music, and so on. Gatekeeping by large institutions and self or mutually declared experts is ever less appealing, trusted, or effective. Especially, but not only, by the younger generations.

  6. The decline of political authority which was always illegitimate is a good thing.

    ““The Democratic brand is so bad that they don’t have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,” said John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster who worked on the Journal survey with Republican Tony Fabrizio. “Until they reconnect with real voters and working people on who they’re for and what their economic message is, they’re going to have problems.””

    They won’t reconnect. Woke BS tarnished it permanently.

  7. Redistricting and changes in media and legal landscapes since 2018 are favorable towards Republicans vis a vis Democrats as well.

  9. The problem with the musk party is that it’s almost exclusively Indian. Not American Indian, subcontinental Indian Indian. Dot dot not whoop whoop. Not Indian subcontinental immigrant to America Indian, either. Indian in india Indian. Their interest is financial, not ideological.

  10. Meanwhile, the libertarians are burnt toast, the far leftist parties will only succeed in taking the extreme woke fringes from the Democrats and certainly won’t produce a major party themselves,the rhinos and fake middle will keep getting financial and dying gatekeeper media interest but very few votes regardless of party label (or none), the liberal party is a non starter, and the constitution party will just become a vehicle for pro-life ads during presidential campaigns unrelated to their (non)candidates and little else except for a few debates online that few people will see much less care about.

    Of all these things, only the constitution party ads will have a marginally useful purpose, other than far left parties splitting the demon rat vote.

  11. 1. ONE ELECTION DAY — NOOOO EXTREMIST PRIMARIES, CAUCUSES, CONVENTIONS FOR NOMINATIONS
    2. EQUAL BALLOT ACCESS LAWS FOR ALL INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES – NOM PETS/FEES
    3. PR- LEGIS – END MINORITY RULE GERRYMANDERS
    4. APPV – NONPARTISAN EXECS/JUDICS
    5. TOTSOP

  12. 6. YOUR WRONG

    7. NOBODY CARES

    8. SCREAMING JARGON ENDLESSLY IN OBSCURE NICHE WEBSITE COMMENTS

    9. FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION OF INSANITY – KEEP DOING IT AND EXPECT YOUR LACK OF RESULTS TO SOMEHOW MAGICALLY CHANGE

    10. REPETITIVE SCREAMING NUTCASES USING OBSCURE JARGON GET WHAT KIND OF RESULTS ???

  15. HOW MANY ANTI-BRIT COMMENTS IN N AMERICA COLONIES IN 1607-1776 ??? >>> AM REV WAR >>> 13 STATES — USA CONST

    AND LATER ANTI-SLAVERY COMMENTS IN 1776-1865 ??? >>> 13-14-15 AMDTS

    TOO MANY BAN TROLL MORONS TO COUNT ??? – LOVING STATIST CONTROL FREAK COMMIES/FASCISTS

    AND THEIR FOREIGN/DOMESTIC WARS / OPPRESSIONS.

  16. LOL U AIN’T THE FOUNDING FATHER’S OR ABOLITIONISTS U TROLL MORON. THEY KNEW HOW TO PERSUADE PPL AND GATHERED SUPPORTERS. DO U SEE URSELF GATHERING SUPPORTERS? WHERE ARE THEY? DUH !!!

    U DON’T EVEN NEED TO USE UR FINGERS TO COUNT THEM. THE NUMBER HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE THE FIRST COMMENT U POSTED HERE. IT’S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. REGARDLESS HOW MANY MORE THOUSANDS OF TIMES U DO IT.

    POINTING THIS OUT DOES NOT MAKE ANYONE A TROLL, A MORON, STATIST, CONTROL FREAK, COMMIE, FASCIST, OR PRO WARS ETC.

    FAILING TO NOTICE IT URSELF AFTER ALL THE YEARS AND DECADES DOES MAKE YOU A TROLL, A MORON, AND A CONTROL FREAK, IN ADDITION TO A BORING ANNOYING USELESS SCREAMING NUTCASE AND A TOTAL FAILURE.

    IF ANYONE WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO IMPLEMENT UR BAD IDEAS WE’D GET MORE STATISM, WARS, AND DOMESTIC OPPRESSION EVEN FASTER. EXPLAINING TO U YET AGAIN WHY WOULD BE A WASTE OF TIME. BUT WE DON’T NEED TO PROVE IT TO U BECAUSE U ARE NOT PERSUADING ANYONE REGARDLESS.

  17. Yes, I know it’s actually a spambot and will keep doing it anyway.

    Sorry.

    Ignore all bots is actually correct.

  18. And just in case anyone new is reading: lots of people have tried to decipher its jargon and have logically proven over and over in all sorts of ways why its proposals would make things worse and not better. It just keeps endlessly posting the same screaming gibberish on every post here, of course.

  23. @Maxim,

    Google translates the verb in the headline:

    As “liquidates”. In the Soviet Union that might have sinister connotations. Might Sergei Baburin want to avoid standing near windows above the second floor?

    OK, I did some more googling and see that the Russian All Peoples Union was dissolved.

  24. Lol Baburin is probably quite safe around windows, at least as far as any imagined government orchestrated conspiracy. His personal associates, maybe, maybe not.

    The Soviet union died before I was born but Max remembers it well and assures me rumors of its return are vastly exaggerated. He would know for sure.

    Look. ROS Party performance over time
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_All-People%27s_Union
    Under the electoral results.

    Seems to me Minyust reached correct decision. You disagree?

    Baburin ran himself because he could not longer get anyone better to run for him. Then didn’t even do that much after wasting considerable effort in qualifying. Quit contesting parliament some time ago. His earlier coalitions did not pan out. What would be purpose of to keep his party on the life support?

    It was mercy killing lol, and he himself is no threat to anyone in government. Another sideshow clown who could not cut the mustard, cheese, or bread crust for that matter, so very sad…

  28. STAN IS THE MAN STANDING FOR THE MAX PLAN AND UNCLE LARRY SAYS YES WE KLAN! AT BAN, WE’RE FANS OF TRUMPISTAN – UNTIL THE DAY WE KICK THE CAN !!!

  29. And UNCLE LARRY said … nothing, you idiot! Uncle Larry is dead and his body is in my basement!

  30. Kay K. Kaye,

    I’m alive.

    Now tell me…

    Who are you?

    Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
    I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
    Tell me who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
    Because I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

  31. Please allow me to introduce myself
    I’m a man of wealth and taste
    I’ve been around for a long, long year
    Stole many a man’s soul and faith
    And I was ’round when Jesus Christ
    Had his moment of doubt and pain
    Made damn sure that Pilate
    Washed his hands and sealed his fate

    Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name
    But what’s puzzlin’ you is the nature of my game

    Stuck around St. Petersburg
    When I saw it was a time for a change
    Killed the Tsar and his ministers
    Anastasia screamed in vain
    I rode a tank, held a general’s rank
    When the Blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank

    I watched with glee while your kings and queens
    Fought for ten decades for the gods they made
    I shouted out, “Who killed the Kennedys?”
    When, after all, it was you and me
    Let me please introduce myself
    I’m a man of wealth and taste
    And I laid traps for troubadours
    Who get killed before they reach Bombay

    Just as every cop is a criminal
    And all the sinners saints
    As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer
    ‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint
    So if you meet me, have some courtesy
    Have some sympathy and some taste
    Use all your well-learned politesse
    Or I’ll lay your soul to waste
    Mmm, yeah

  33. Nick, you are KKK and a fan of white rappers? You don’t consider them “race traitors” or whatever term you toothless swamp scum use? Wtf?

    Oh yeah I forgot you are the “vanilla ISIS Posse” lolol

  35. BAN TROLL MORONS with their 0.666 IQS LOVE —-

    1. extremist party hack minority rule caucuses / primaries / conventions

    2. minority rule gerrymanders – esp for Prez

    3. unequal ballot access laws for partisan offices

    4. appointed party hack so-called judges

    5. ALL THE TYRANT VIOLATIONS OF SEPARATION OF POWERS – ESP BY TYRANT PREZS / GUVS / MAYORS / ETC

    and 666. ALL the resulting statist commie/fascist ROT – esp UN-declared wars and domestic oppressions – such as KILLER cop raids with no 4th amdt warrants.

  37. SINCE AZ WOULD BE THE ONLY BAN TROLL MORON IF IT WASN’T A BOT IT MUST LOVE THOSE , BUT IT’S IQ IS NEGATIVE.

  40. Min is Isis’ baby. He is both her son and her husband, and father of several of his half brothers.

  41. “Only negative partisanship against each other sustains the major parties to the extent they are still popular at all.”

    So true. No one really loves either the Democrats or the Republicans. Both of them are deeply despised. We don’t have real political parties anymore. In truth, we have anti-parties. There are no true Democrats, just Anti-Republicans. Likewise, there are no true Republicans, just Anti-Democrats.

  45. John, this is very concerning news.

    I Think My Dog’s A Democrat
    Bryan Lewis

    [Verse 1]
    Well, I think my dog’s a democrat
    And it breaks my heart
    To have to say
    An ugly thing like that
    But there’s a big old pile of evidence
    That all points toward the facts
    My dog might be a democrat

    [Chorus 1]
    I pay for all his health care
    And I buy everything he eats
    I provide him with a place to live
    Just to keep him off the streets
    But he just acts like he’s entitled
    Even tried to unionize the cat
    Yeah, I think my dog’s a democrat

    [Verse 2]
    He chewed up the Constitution
    That I keep on display
    And every time Benghazi’s on TV
    He looks the other way
    (“What difference, at this point, does it make”)
    I know he’s a liberal
    Even if he won’t admit it
    He pooped on my living room rug
    And tried to tell me George Bush did it

    [Verse 3]
    He ain’t got no papers
    And what really gets my goat
    Is if he could find a ride to town
    Well, I know they’d let him vote
    Sure we’ve had some good times
    He’s been fun to have around
    But if he ever barks
    About my right to bear arms
    I’m gonna have to have him put down

    [Interlude]
    (Who’s a good boy?)
    (Who’s a good boy?)

    [Chorus 2]
    I pay for all his health care
    And I buy everything he eats
    I provide him with a place to live
    Just to keep him off the streets
    You’d have to be a Socialist
    To ever act like that
    So my dog must be a democrat

    [Verse 4]
    His behavior has been hinting
    His mom might be Mrs. Clinton
    (“Oof-oof-oof-off, oof-oof-oof-oof”)
    Yeah, I thing my dog’s a
    Spread-the-wealth
    Government-health
    Flea-bitten democrat
    Dangit

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H3VLqLLWxbQ

  49. He considers this to be on topic, however:

    “There is no such thing as a “race”. There is no such thing as a “class”. There is really no such thing as a “gender”. There are only individuals and you can’t judge one by another. That is the only reality that Libertarians recognize.”

  50. But not any simple, polite refutation of every part of that counterfactual statement.

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