IF THIS IS TRUE, AS BOB BEASLEY POINTS OUT ON TWITTER, then it suggests that Americans must have dispensed with the notion that the Republican Party is conservative. Americans are more conservative than they have been in decades. “The latest update of Stimson’s policy mood series suggests that the American public in 2012 was more conservative than at any point since 1952. . . .While the slight increase in conservatism from 2011 to 2012 is too small to be significant, it continues a marked trend that began as soon as Barack Obama moved into the White House.” At the very least, the GOP hasn’t been very good at capitalizing.

Related take: Barack Obama Has Created More Conservatives Than He Has Jobs.