The Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College (in Clinton, New York) did a very interesting survey, which showed that racial attitudes (i.e., racial resentment) played a big part in the 2012 election (even bigger than in the 2008 election). The post-election part of the survey was done between November 7th and December 9th of 2012, and the results were released on May 21, 2013. They questioned 837 voters, and the poll had a margin of error of 3.4 points.
After studying the results of their survey, they have concluded that racial resentment played a big part in the last election. Before questioning the voters on how they voted, the respondents were first asked several questions -- questions which gauged their level of racial resentment (racism). The chart on top shows the results. Voters in the approximately one/third that had the least racial resentment voted overwhelmingly (nearly 100%), while voters with moderate racial resentment voted for Obama at a much lower level (slightly over 40%), and voters with the most racial resentment voted for the president at a very low level (slightly above 10%).
Now this doesn't mean that everyone who voted for Mitt Romney is a racist, but it does show that a large number of them are racist. Republicans are quick to deny that they are a racist party, and undoubtably there are many who are not racist in that party. But I submit that the racists have taken over the party in many states, and now compose the bulk of the party's base. That is why the party's policies are anti-minority and anti-immigrant -- and why immigration reform is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled House.
This shouldn't surprise anyone. When President Johnson passed the civil rights laws in the 1960's, it angered the racists in this country. They fled to the Republican Party in droves, and Republican leaders (especially in the South where the GOP was very weak) accepted these racist voters with open arms. I don't think the Republican leaders at that time meant for the party to become one that trumpeted racist values. I believe they thought they could use those millions of racist voters to seize power, and then put them in the background between elections.
But it didn't work out that way. The millions of new racist voters were numerous enough to take over the party in the South, and through the teabagger movement have also taken over the party in many other states. Now the party is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they disavow their anti-minority and anti-immigrant positions, they could lose a huge chunk of their base voters, probably to a third party. That third party wouldn't be big enough to gain much power, but it would be plenty big enough to devastate the Republican Party.
Frankly, I can't bring myself to feel sorry for the Republicans. As the old saying goes -- If you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas. They happily lay down with the racist dogs, and now they have been infested with the racist policies that come with that. And there is no easy cure for that infestation.
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The same survey also examined "birtherism" -- the idea that President Obama was not born in the United States (even though all evidence shows clearly that he was born in Hawaii). Sadly the survey showed that the belief in "birtherism" has not subsided. It is just as strong as it was before the president released the "long form" of his birth certificate years ago. The poll also showed (not surprisingly) that the same racial resentment that reared its ugly head in the 2012 election, is also a primary factor in whether a person is a birther. This is clearly shown in the chart below. Note that the more racial resentment a person has, the more likely it is that they will be a birther.