OPINION: The G.O.P., Its Image

The greatest political contradiction of the 1950s lies in the continued top-drawer popularity of President Eisenhower and the sad-sag standing of his Republican Party. Last week the Gallup poll, just finished with a survey showing the G.O.P. at an alltime low of 41% (TIME, June 1), broke down the results into job groups. The answers were enough to furrow any Republican brow, including Dwight Eisenhower’s. They showed that the G.O.P. not only has failed to make significant inroads in groups where it was weakest, but has suffered disastrously in groups it must win strongly if it is to be a winning political party.

Among unskilled workers, where the Republican Party had no place to go but up, the G.O.P. has managed to go down since Eisenhower’s presidential-election year 1952:

Republican Democratic No Opinion 1952 12% 60% 28%

Today 11% 53% 36%

Among skilled workers, the G.O.P. has made its only gains—but not enough for Republicans to crow about:

Republican Democratic No Opinion 1952 13% 55% 32%

Today 18% 56% 26%

From the Republican viewpoint, fanners went from bad to worse:

Republican Democratic No Opinion 1952 28% 50% 22%

Today 20% 56% 24%

For the first time since Dwight Eisenhower became President, more white-collar workers favored Democrats than Republicans:

Republican Democratic No Opinion 1952 44% 28% 28%

Today 29% 40% 31%

And among business and professional people, traditional backbone of the Republican Party, the G.O.P. image was in perhaps the worst shape in its history:

Republican Democratic No Opinion 1952 59% 18% 23%

Today 40% 32% 28%