Operation Gringo 1.5

I referred to a Gallup poll in yesterday’s post, the conclusion of which was that 89% of self-identified republicans were Caucasian non-Hispanic. Our guys at 538.com came right back with a post that said, yes, 89% of their base is white, but that’s less than it was back in 1980 (where 98% of Reagan’s votes came from whites), or even in 2000 when G.W. Bush received 91% of his votes from white voters.

Meanwhile, the Dems have gone from an 85% white base in 1980 down to its current 60% number. But, since white voters are dwindling in proportion to the overall electorate (non-Caucasian non-Hispanics made up about 25% of the 2008 electorate, as opposed to 9% in 1980), the Democrats have been able to build their party by focusing on growing segments of the population.

Buried at the end of the post, however, is this gem:

I wonder if the GOP isn't paying a price for a strategy adopted years ago -- namely, the Southern Strategy. The Southern Strategy undoubtedly won the GOP many elections over the years, but it was adopted at a time when probably less than 10 percent of the electorate was nonwhite (if minorities were allowed to vote at all), whereas now about a quarter of the electorate is. The steady drumbeat of demographic change, coupled with an inability or unwillingness to adapt to it, has steadily made the Republicans' job harder and harder.

In the words of a former boss of mine, ya think?