Is it wise for republicans to alienate the 38% of Americans that identify themselves as Independents?

Shhh, let them hang themselves. Its good for america.

Exactly what have they done to alienate independents? What does 'my way or the highway' have to do with alienating independents? I am wondering where you got those statistics and if you know that less than 50% of potential votes actually vote in any election. It is more important how many people a party gets out to vote than how many members a party has.

I am an independent and I am a conservative. I usually vote republican but I do not agree with everything the republicans say. There are the lesser of two evils.

In the last presidential election they actually didn't care about the independent vote, as long as they got support in huge numbers from what they perceived to be their base, evangelicals and the guys who call in to Rush and Sean Hannity. This was a departure from any political party's tactics before. Even when Bush ran in 2000 he was a "uniter not a divider" as I recall. Although he then became the most partisan president I can remember, he at least gave lip service to middle of the road Americans during the election campaign.

Well the jig is up, and Bush can't possibly portray himself as one who seeks bipartisan compromise, or even compromise of any sort. Poor Republicans dealt with the backlash against Bush in 2006, and they'll have to deal with it again in 2008, because they have a president who won't listen to anyone who doesn't agree with him, including the American people.

Smart conservatives unhitched their boats from the SS. Bushtanic long ago, they are waiting for republicans to stop pandering to the radical right wing.

i'm an independent - and they've alienated me for sure