News Analysis: As U.S. shifts left, Republican Party will have to re-brand itself

The United States has taken a dramatic shift to the left on a number of issues in recent years, and that could create major hurdles for Republicans in the lead up to the 2016 race for the White House - and beyond.

According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans are more likely now than in the early 2000s to find a variety of behaviors morally acceptable, including same-sex relations, having a baby out of wedlock or sex between unmarried man and woman. Moral acceptability of many of these issues is now at a record-high level, Gallop found.

More Americans now rate themselves as socially liberal than at any point in the 16-year Gallup trend, and for the first time, just as many say they are liberal on social issues as say they are conservative.

Moreover, the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision last month to allow gay marriages in all 50 states, observers argue, is reflective of the country's leftward shift.

That means the Republican Party (GOP), many members of which are conservative on social issues, could have more difficulties getting voters going forward. While the party has spoken over the last few years about the need to re-brand itself, critics say Republicans still have not made a concerted effort to reach out to those outside its base, which tend to be older white males.

"Republicans face challenges arising from shifting demographics and a move toward left among the general population," Brookings Institution's senior fellow Darrell West told Xinhua. "The GOP runs well among older white males, but has difficulty appealing to women, minorities, and young people."

"It needs to reconsider its stance on social issues and figure out how to tailor its small government message to parts of the electorate that see the government as playing a helpful role."

Still, Republicans do have one advantage, which is a diverse spectrum of political and social ideologies within the party. The party also has a libertarian wing that at times seems to have much in common with Democrats.

"We may not look as diverse as the Democrats but in terms of ideology, but we're far more diverse than the Democrats are," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua.

"So that could create an advantage with independent voters, who may not see eye to eye with some wings of the party but may identify with others," O'Connell said.

"While independents are leaning slightly toward Democrats on social issues, they are in total disagreement with (Democrats) on economic issues."

"The party is not likely to dump its own conservative values, but the more socially conservative side of the party is going to have to realize that they can't be divided in the elections against what they consider the establishment portion of the party, because they're going to need each other to win," O'Connell said. "They're going to have to be more unified when it comes to winning elections for the rest of the Republicans."

O'Connell added that the U.S. leftward shift comes amid a decline in religious fervor in the country, together with a decline in marriage and the millennial generation's obsession with social media, which trends toward liberal ideology and political correctness. Endi