Americans believe the Republican Party is "inflexible" and "unwilling to compromise," according to a Gallup Poll released Monday.
This was the No. 1 criticism of the GOP in the survey of 1,020 adults and a view held not only by Democrats and independents, but also rank-and-file Republicans.
The Gallup survey conducted March 20-21 asked people to list their top likes and dislikes of both major political parties.
Republicans were the most critical of their own party, with 26 percent saying the party leadership was inflexible, compared to 22 percent of Democrats, and 21 percent of adults generally. Republicans are also seen as the party of the rich by 20 percent of Democrats, though only 12 percent of all respondents agreed.
Overall, Democrats were less critical of their own party. While 51 percent of Democrats could not say anything negative about their party, only 33 percent of Republicans could say the same. Meanwhile, 23 percent of Republicans leveled the complaint that Democrats spend too much, but only 10 percent of Democrats agreed.
The most common attributes the Gallup respondents cited for why they like the Republican Party were its "better fiscal management" or budget cuts and, broadly, its conservative views.
"This may indicate that a key to Republicans' regaining favor with Americans is not necessarily to change their positions, but to be perceived as less dogmatic about them and willing to compromise to pass legislation," Gallup said.
Caring about the middle or working class was the top thing all survey respondents liked about the Democrats, and relatively large segments of Democrats also mentioned the party's inclusiveness.
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