From today’s NY Times, on Pew Research Center opinion poll findings released Thursday:

The real import of these splits within the parties – and the problems they pose for Democrats – becomes apparent only when one seeks out the weight of the differing groups within each party.
Moderate and liberal Republicans constitute only 36 percent of the Republicans, according to Pew’s findings, compared with the 62 percent considered conservative. The ideologically dominant group, in other words, is also numerically dominant.
For Democrats, it is quite different: 67 percent fall in the moderate-conservative category, while 31 percent qualify as liberals. The ideologically dominant group – certainly on abortion, less so on same-sex marriage – is the numerical minority.

The poll also found that only 31% of Americans want abortion “generally available,” while 66% don’t, prefering increasing degrees of stricter limits, up to and including a ban. The problems for Demcrats regarding abortion appear even worse when considering that even 33% of liberal Democrats fall into the latter camp.