Republicans and Democrats Have Similar Social Values With One Exception

A recent poll of 50,000 Americans reveals the hold that a minority of Americans have on US politics.  White Evangelical Christians are 18% of the US population, but they comprise 36% of the Republican Party. The remaining Republicans have much more in common with Democrats than they do with Evangelical Christians.  Politics in America are heavily influenced by the role of White Evangelical Christians in the GOP.  This is particularly the case in the South where they are more heavily concentrated.  Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy has come home to roost in the GOP.  They can't win elections without the strong support of a minority group that forces them into positions that are inconsistent with the values of "Establishment Republicans", and those of the majority of Americans.  It also makes them, and the rest of America, look foolish to those who we hope to influence.  Evolutionary theory, for example, is not subject to doubt outside of the US.  No GOP candidate could win a primary election, especially in the South, and in many rural areas, if they admitted that they believed in the theory of evolution.