MSNBC - Poll: Democrats favored to control Congress

WASHINGTON - In an ominous election-year sign for Republicans, Americans are leaning sharply toward giving Democrats control of Congress, an AP-Ipsos poll finds. Democrats are favored 49 percent to 36 percent.
“I don’t think anyone is hitting the panic button,” said Rich Bond, a former Republican National Committee chairman. “But there is an acute recognition of the grim environment that both parties are operating in.”

The public’s unease with Republican leadership in the White House and Congress creates a favorable environment for Democrats, said Democratic consultant Dane Strother.

“The problem is you don’t vote for a party,” Strother said. “You’re voting for a member of Congress. And we’re a year away.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10740963/from/RSS/

starting in the 80s, and really taking hold with Newtie's Contract On America 104th Congress class.
They came up with a party image "phamblee valyuhs", a codified set of doctrines for their party deviation from which is strongly discouraged by control of party campaign $$$, and an overarching Party ideology (namely that unrestricted corporate warfare, rape and pillaging is what the Founding Fathers wanted for our country, and therefore that is what must eternally be). Voters who identify with the Republican Brand VOTE FOR THE REPONAZI. It's not a question of personalities for them. This guy was picked by the party hierarchy and you vote for him, end of discussion. Democrats and independants however tend to pick and choose individuals among the two major party offerings and the odd 3rd party entry. For the Democrats who're stuck in the 20th century as a party, politics is still a "horse race," for the Republicans, on the other hand, politics is nuclear war: 1) the enemy is to be annihilated, not beaten, since to prevent a future counterstrike you must destroy everything the enemy has. 2) ALL the enemy is to be annihilated, for the same reason as before. 3) Annihilate first; don't escalate step by step but use all the force you have, holding nothing in reserve: there's no point in half measures. Victory is the goal not coexistence, and any victory worth the name will be total, swift and permanent. This why you hear Reponazis talking amongst themselves about "going nuclear" and berating each other for "failure of will", presumably meaning the willpower to do what is necessary to surmount their political problems, which as the tide of GOP corruption rises higher and higher must be verging on plans of concentration camps and assassination for the political opposition.

It's really only the Democratic Party who don't have a brand identity, but who try to sell the public one candidate at a time. Well that's not strictly true--the Reponazis generously supplied the Democrats with a brand identity and it stuck, since the Democrats didn't want to come up with one of their own.