Ruy Teixeira’s new demographic study [pdf] is getting some attention. His main thesis is that Democrats are in pretty good shape, but Republicans need to move to the center on social issues, pay more attention to better-educated whites, and come up with solutions that “go beyond cutting taxes” and saying “no”.
I don’t know why Republicans would want to pay attention to a study funded by the Center for American Progress, and I doubt that they will. Leaving that question aside, it looks like there’s a real-life example of Teixeira’s advice in action: Charlie Crist. Crist has moved leftward on social issues, and he’s not afraid of appearing in public with Obama or of bucking the Republican position on the oil spill. He’s surging in the polls and raising money from Democrats.
If the national Republican party were more Crist-like — a little more socially liberal and a bit more pragmatic about which corporate battles were worth fighting — it’s hard to see how Democrats could retain their current majorities. It’s not going to happen, but he’s an interesting example.