Nonideological swing voters flipped the '06 election

A Moderate Failure: It wasn't for want of conservatives that the GOP lost in 2006. by Fred Barnes (Weekly Standard) ...Conservative voters had plenty to be unhappy about, particularly excessive spending by the then-Republican Congress and the growth of the federal government. Many conservatives detest President Bush's education and immigration policies. But it wasn't conservatives who flipped in the election. They showed up and voted for Republicans. It was independents who jumped to the Democrats. They tend to be nonideological swing voters, not the type who would ditch Republicans because they weren't conservative enough....