State-By-State Review of How Tight the GOP is Wearing Their Blinders

Salon.com has compiled a review of the health and well-being of the Republican Party, state by state:

The following list examines the trends in each of the 50 states over the past three election cycles, assessing demographic shifts, voting patterns, rising and falling political stars and organizational strengths and weaknesses. The picture it paints is not pretty, but it is not hopeless either. We have (roughly) ordered the list by the relative love that each state has for its Grand Old Party. While there are some places where love is not for sale, there are others where love is all around, and even some spots where hearts are growing fonder. Each entry also includes the cold, hard numeric facts about the electoral strength of the party in 2005 versus its strength today. (Most data on state legislatures is from the National Conference of State Legislatures. State legislature numbers list majority party first, minority party second and independents third; figures below may not account for all special election results, party switches and vacancies.)

You can see all the listings on one page here. The states appear to be colored red or blue depending on whether they went to President Obama or U.S. Senator John McCain, the GOP candidate for president in 2008.

Using Ohio as an example, that “cold, hard numeric facts” thing really does show the trend, state by state, where there is a discernable trend.  The narrative provided helps you understand whether that trend will hold.  Ohio:

Ohio remains the key to victory for presidential candidates of both parties, and its Republican cast has historically proven a structural advantage for GOP contenders. But everything has been downhill for the GOP since 2004, when evangelical voters turned out in force to help George Bush win the state and a second term. Ken Blackwell is no longer secretary of state, and didn’t get close to becoming governor, losing by more than 20 points to Democrat Ted Strickland in 2006. (Republicans may also regret that Blackwell lost his latest election, for RNC chairman). Democrats have also picked up four U.S. House seats, one U.S. Senate seat and control of the state House. The remaining Republican senator, George Voinovich, will not seek a third term in 2010. The most prominent Ohio Republican, at least for now, is U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, whose “Party of No” strategy seems to be pushing GOP poll numbers even lower.

Memorable quote: “Rather than discarding our platform, we need to embrace it. Rather than purging our ranks, we need to multiply them. Rather than simply rejecting the ideas of our opposition, we need to offer bold, visionary solutions of our own.” — Kevin DeWine, recently elected chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.

I can tell ya, so far? The Ohio GOP is only offering not only more of the same, but they’re dredging up the past just to give Ohioans more of their same. You can see exactly what I mean just by looking at them here.

Do you agree or disagree with Salon’s analysis of your state?