10 February 2012

Where I (we) fit in the political sphere

From the time I started this blog, I've tried to give full disclosure regarding my own politics and biases, so that readers can understand how my viewpoints might inform the content of the blog or my commentary on posts.

In January of 2009, I posted graphs from three different assessment vehicles, showing where I fit in the political spectrum.  (All three graded me as a "centrist.")

Now the Pew Research Center has a "political typology" assessment -
The Pew Research Center’s new Political Typology finds that the public is more doctrinaire at each end of the ideological spectrum, yet more diverse in the middle than it has been in the past. The typology, the fifth since 1987, sorts Americans into cohesive groups based on their values, political beliefs and party affiliation. It provides a roadmap to the nation’s changing political landscape.
- which includes a self-assessment tool that is only 20 questions long.  According to their criteria, I am in the "Post-Modern" group, which apparently -

- is in the midrange from red to blue.

Where do you fit in?  I'm always curious about the readership of this blog (most of whom are silent lurkers).  If I were to guess, I would think the politics of readers here covers a fairly wide range - with probably a slight tilt to the blue left.

 If you have five minutes to spare, please take the Pew quiz - HERE - and enter your result in the poll at the top of the right sidebar of this blog. (The poll closed after a week - but you can still take the quiz at the Pew site and find out how you fit in the spectrum).

Let's see who we are.  (p.s. - please don't just "guess" and say "oh, I'm a ...."  Take a couple minutes to try the quiz itself and post what it says about you, not what you think about yourself.)

I'll warn you ahead of time that on some of the questions, neither of the two choices will match your opinion.  The instructions say to pick the answer that is closest to your viewpoint, not that it necessarily matches.  This makes the quiz something of a blunt instrument, but it has the major advantage of taking only a couple of minutes to complete.

I particularly want the regular readers and commenters to participate, but lurkers are welcome to do so as well.  And it's o.k. if you're not in the U.S. - I'm surveying what the readership of this blog is like, not what the U.S. is like.

When you're done, if you'd like to leave a comment on this post identifying yourself and giving your result ("Hi, this is Casey.  I turned out to be a hard-pressed democrat, but..."), that's fine, although I think most will prefer to retain a modicum of anonymity, or let their political leanings be inferred from their comments on other posts.

Once again - take the quiz, then go to the right sidebar at the top, and check the button that corresponds to how the poll categorizes your views.  When you've done that, you can read about the demographics of the country (and others in your group) at other links within the Pew site.

(Note - I originally posted a year or more ago, but that happened to be the week when Blogspot "went down" unexpectedly, and all the data were lost.  I'm reposting it now because we're heading more deeply into the political season, and I think it's good to know where we all stand.)

Addendum:  In case anyone is wondering, this was the distribution when the poll was first administered to the American public (I'm not sure of the date):
9%   = Staunch Conservatives
11% = Main St. Republicans
9%   = Libertarians
11% = Disaffected
13% = Post-modern
10% = New Coalition Democrat
13% = Hard-Pressed Democrat
14% = Solid Liberal
10% = Bystander
Final update: The poll generated 554 responses during the first day, then 132, 93, 74, 67, and 66 on the next 5 (which gives some insight into how often readers visit the blog). 
The distribution of the results did not change significantly after the first day, so I terminated it after one week and 1135 responses:


I was frankly a little bit surprised that "solid liberals" comprised over half of the responses; when I first posted the poll a year or two ago, it seemed to be more balanced.   The numbers, of course, are not necessarily representative of the readership as a whole; it could be that liberals are more likely to take the quiz, or to record their response.  The data are not going to change what I choose to blog, but it may help readers understand or anticipate how the comments on posts may trend, and I think a number of readers found that taking the poll helped them understand not what they think, but how demographers define their set of beliefs.

102 comments:

  1. I scored as a Post Modern. I'm an independent as far as political parties go, but currently I despise the Republicans more than the Democrats.

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  2. Solid liberal, no surprise to me. That doesn't make me a solid Democrat – I think the red-to-blue color coding is misleading in suggesting political affiliation.

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    1. Likewise. The current incarnation of the Democratic Party isn't really all that liberal..

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  3. Libertarian

    Along with 9% of the public

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  4. PM here... I thought I would have libertarian!

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  5. Solid liberal, but on some of those choices, I would have chosen an option in the middle if it had been available.

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  6. Solid liberal, and pretty proud of it.

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  7. Post Modern despite very few questions actually matching my opinion.

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  8. Libertarian. I just can't vote that way because it ends up being a vote for the opposition.

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  9. I scored as a Solid Liberal, but I don't identify as such and the profile doesn't fit me at all. The statements are silly.

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  10. Since the poll didn't have a slot for a raving lunatic left-wing communist, I came in as a solid liberal.

    I am shocked, SHOCKED, I say, that no "bystanders" have voted in your poll yet.

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    1. Seriously, proud "lefty" here!

      I have to say that my opinions are way more nuanced than that, but I've seen much worse versions of these polls. Polls where the questions are such stark, black and white, false choices that I just refuse to answer.

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    2. Also, though I got "solid liberal" I vote independent: Green.

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    3. "Solid liberal" is that they're calling raving lunatic left-wing communists these days. ;-)

      --Swift Loris, Solid Liberal too

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  11. I'm shocked. Truly shocked. I guessed I would be a Main Street Republican, because I am more conservative than many, but it rated me as a Staunch Conservative. Didn't see that extreme coming.

    However, I didn't think there was a lot of middle ground in the answer choices. For instance - were they talking legal immigrants or illegal. I have no problem with people coming to America legally and bringing their diversity with them. I think that's awesome. I'm not for illegal immigrants though. So my answers there were based on interpretation.

    Oh well...that was fun!

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    1. I don't intend to start an argument or anything, but do you know how incredibly difficult it is to be a legal immigrant? This chart has the basic facts. It's not like Ellis Island any longer.

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    2. I agree with Kaye & with you. I ranked as a Libertarian, which was a bit of a surprise. I wonder if I answered opposite of Kaye on the immigration questions. I WANT legal immigration to be made simple and the number of legal immigrants increased dramatically. But I also staunchly oppose illegal immigration. I'd much rather see the system fixed than just say it is OK to break our laws.

      -Chip

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    3. LOL, if you read "immigrant" and immediately think "illegal immigrant" you might be a staunch conservative. Most of us liberals think of those as two very different issues.

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  12. I will NOT be shocked if "solid liberal" wins out here. I was classified as such even though I would never consider myself that

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    1. I was shocked by my result...solid liberal. I do not consider myself a liberal at all, yet, I knew as I answered the questions that that's how it was going to turn out.

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  13. Staunch Liberal - I was much more conservative when I was younger. They needed another gradient for "angry enough that I'm willing to march/donate time or money" on either end of the spectrum.

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  14. Solid liberal- I, like Miss Cellania, was left looking for the "pinko commie" page to come up as my score, but alas. Solid liberal is accurate enough.

    -Meg

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  15. Libertarian, but only because they don't have a category for anarcho-capitalist.

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  16. Solid Liberal
    Along with 14% of the public

    That is understandable as I am a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S. living in Canada. Our conservatives look like democratic party.

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  17. Post-Modern here. I'm not surprised, as I've never been in financial wants but also see that my former employer (Koch Industries) has waaaaaaaaaay too much power in the world.

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  18. Solid Liberals take the early lead. But if I remember correctly from last year, the numbers evened up more as the days went by and some of the less-frequent visitors logged in, suggesting (perhaps) that Solid Liberals waste more time wandering the blogosphere...

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    1. No, we're just better educated (per PEW, the best educated) and we're generally quicker. ;-)

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  19. Solid liberal. Of course, here in Europe, that makes me a centrist.

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  20. I think the results skew to the extremes because of the bogus binary nature of the questions. For example, if you're slightly liberal on all issues, you will likely choose the liberal answers as MORE CLOSELY representing your views, and the system will identify you as very liberal. The only way to achieve an option between Post-Modern and Solid Liberal, it seems, is to be liberal on a majority of issues, but actually conservative on some.

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    1. Well, I happen to be "liberal" on some issues and "conservative" on others, which is why they label me post-modern.

      Notice for the American population as a whole (I've just put the data on as an addendum), the groups DON'T skew - they are almost evenly populated. That distribution may have been created by the pollsters.

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  21. Solid Liberal, but that comes as no surprise to me.

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  22. Post-Modern here and I actually expected it to rate me as left-leaning. However, the Pew Post-Modern description fits me almost perfectly.

    "What They Believe
    Generally supportive of government, though more conservative on race policies and the safety net
    Strongly supportive of regulation and environmental protection
    Most (56%) say Wall Street helps the economy more than it hurts
    Very liberal on social issues, including same-sex marriage
    One of the least religious groups: nearly a third are unaffiliated with any religious tradition
    Favor the use of diplomacy rather than force"

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  23. Based on your responses, YOU are a… Libertarian. I consider myself an independent who once leaned republican, who now leans democratic.

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  24. Solid liberal. IRL I call myself a progressive who votes Democrat as the lesser of two evils.

    I don't like the quiz much- for one thing, the Democratic and Republican parties are political parties, not concrete political philosophies. For instance, it's undeniable that the GOP has moved to the right in recent years (red-shifting the political "center".) And Democrats do not seem to have any firm principles anymore.

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  25. Solid Liberal. I'd have guessed Disaffected or Bystander; go figure.

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  26. Post-Modern...Dem-leaning Independent.

    Actually, I'm surprised Post-Moderns are only about 13%.

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  27. In spite of Minnesotastan's attempt to turn me into a "hard-pressed democrat," I always figured I was in the middle of the road and it turns out, according to the Pew survey anyway, that I am - Post-Modern. Not that surprised.

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  28. Scored as Post Modern. I don't consider myself a democrat, but I think I lean more in that direction than the other.

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  29. Solid liberal, though I don't like how most of the questions about government are phrased, and like others ended up there for lack of the commie-pinko-socialist option.

    I did this quiz a year or so ago, with what must have been their previous version, and was intensely annoyed that what is now the "solid liberal" category was called "solid Democrat." I was very depressed that a major research organization wasn't allowing for a category to the left of the Democratic party, which I consider centrist at best. I'm glad they've at least gotten over that, even if I still don't really like the categories.

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  30. Postmodern here, too, with a few Democratic tendencies :)

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  31. I was a 'solid liberal' although on several questions I would have voted for a more neutral option. It was often a case of, 'Well, if I have to choose...'. I hate those polls, the ones that make you feel like you're making false choices.

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  32. I agree with Stella, and I also scored Solid Liberal even though a number of the questions were problematic and I had to pick the one I disagreed with the least -- there were 3 or 4 close calls like that.

    For instance, is the government inefficient or does it not get enough credit? It's way inefficient and wasteful. But it also is blamed for everything by so many people who think they are rugged individualists, but in fact are dependent on government services in innumerable ways they never think about.
    And I don't like to consider myself a Democrat, even though I am. It's also for lack of a better option.

    I'm not surprised most of the people who've voted so far are Liberals. I've been hearing about a number of real, legitimate studies that show that people who are more Liberal are a good deal smarter on average than conservatives -- have you posted anything about those? I'm sure that rings all sort of alarm bells for many people, it sounds so biased and elitist, but it's just common sense to me. The Republican party today is dominated by reactionaries, who are almost by definition un-curious people (more susceptible to fear and misinformation) and are not therefore the ones that would likely be repeat visitors to your (amazing, wonderful) blog.

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    1. For instance, is the government inefficient or does it not get enough credit?

      It's a bad question because you can believe that having a strong government is the best system, while at the same time believing that *our* government and system of democracy has serious problems.

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    2. Quite a bit of research has been done showing that conservatives and liberals are hard-wired to believe as they do. Conservatives are more afraid--hence the reliance on military. Liberals are more open-minded to new ideas. I can't name you a study off the top of my head, but quite a few have been done.

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    3. Barbwire, I've seen some of those studies too, but they don't show that political views are "hard-wired." Correlations with open-mindedness or fearfulness do exist, but those qualities are extremely influenced by environment and upbringing. Just because there are real differences in the personalities and outlooks of liberals and conservatives doesn't mean that those differences are due to biology.

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  33. Solid liberal. I have noticed I have become more polarized because of the Occupy movement and the Republican presidential debates.

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  34. Post Modern. I wonder if this is because I believe that it is possible to achieve dreams without help? It is the only noticeable difference I could see between Post-Modern and Solid Liberal.

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    1. the only people who can achieve their dreams without help are people who dream of moving to alaska and building a hut in the wilderness and hunting/gathering their own food.

      The rest of us have something called "society", or "civilization", and it does quite a bit of "helping".

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  35. Solid Liberal. I: don't follow politics much, am both East- and West-coaster, am post-grad, eat organic, and am generation 1.5.

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  36. Libertarian ... But after studying the questions, I think with only a few word changes, most would move to the conservative side of where they scored. The questions are very intentional in their wording to push the answers down the list.

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  37. Solid Liberal. Not surprising at all, but I'd like to say I'm an independent because the damn democrats annoy me just as much as the republicans, just in different ways (usually). They're all swine. Meh.

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  38. Solid Liberal, same as last year.

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  39. Solid Liberal. Luckily I live in Europe :-)

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  40. Solid Liberal and have been so since I was about 12 in 1969.

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  41. Libertarian -- which is good, as when people ask me my political affiliation I say "knee-jerk libertarian". =)

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  42. I took the poll but disagreed with the assessment it gives afterwards: it did not fit me, so, I took it again, and scored just a bit differently.

    But what's intriguing to me is how evenly the various typologies are distributed across the spectrum: roughly 10% for each, with minor variations up and down. America is truly a melting pot, in some ways, still. We have ALL kinds of people. Even people who don't want to be around all kinds of people. LOLOL.

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  43. Solid liberal according to this thing, but I'm quite sick of the Democrats.

    The only difference between them and the Republicans that I can see is that some Democrats occasionally pretend to support abortion rights and gay marriage, when voting season comes around, and they'll vote that way if it doesn't happen to conflict with what their corporate donors want them to vote for.

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  44. I came out as "disaffected" - though I strongly identify as liberal. I think my responses to the financial questions skewed my results, apparently real liberals don't experience financial hardships! ;-) And I an NOT anti-immigration.

    BTW, speaking as someone who used to design surveys for a living, this survey is very, very poorly designed. Shame on the Pew Center!

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  45. It suggests I'm post-modern, which is good, being that I am from the UK.

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  46. Libertarian, with the smart 9%. :~)

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  47. I scored as "Solid Liberal"... Mind you, being Australian, I had to think about the nomenclature and American political party labels... In Australia, you see, the "Liberal Party" is decidedly right wing, and typically pitches against its political opponent, the centre-left "Labor Party", currently in power. So, I wouldn't want to say in Australia I was a "solid liberal": it'd be quite the opposite of where I stand!

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    1. Yes, also a lefty here in Australia... the liberal tag caused a sharp intake of breath at first!

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  48. I got staunch Conservative. I thought the questions were very easy. Thank you for all your hard work on this blog. I love it.

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  49. Libertarian, as I expected.

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  50. I'm a Canadian. I was classified a "Solid Liberal" on this. The binary nature of this survey probably isn't helping the discussion down there, and this ever-growing trend in American political discourse to categorize everything in black or white terms is most disconcerting.

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  51. I feel like someone just collected a bunch of data from me that will be used to feed me pro-gay-marriage ads fairly soon...

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  52. Post Modern here. I thought I skewed decidedly liberal, though I don't identify with either party. In general, I end up on the Democrat side substantially more often than the Republican side, so I'm surprised by the result.

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  53. Solid liberal. Agreed with the description except the 'highly politically active' part- though I do feel some guilt for not doing more.

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  54. Solid liberal here, though I am not "strongly pro-government" or "highly politically engaged". And I'm from Slovenia.

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  55. Solid liberal Australian!

    But the questions are odd, how do the personal finance questions impact your political views? If I had done this a few years ago where I struggled then I would have answered the opposite way but with the same political views. But then a few years before that I would have answered as I have now, again my political views would have been unchanged also.

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  56. Took it twice, first time solid Liberal, changed two answers and became post modern

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  57. Solid Liberal. But I'm from germany and I think we are in general way more left wing/socialist than the typical American ...

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  58. I came out a Solid Liberal, but that is not surprising, considering I'm Canadian. The descriptions "Who They Are" and "What They Believe" describe me and my fellow Canadians perfectly (in spite of our current Conservative government). Although, we don't listen to NPR --- we listen to CBC Radio 1.

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    1. If you were listening to CBC about 20 years ago, you might have heard me interviewed by Michael Enright on "As It Happens" (a very pleasant memory from my years in academia).

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  59. This Canadian is a solid liberal, which is no surprise. I'm pretty sure most of the western world is pinko compared to most Americans.

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  60. This Brit is also a solid liberal. I wonder if a lifetime spent observing the overwhelming good that socialised medicine does has anything to do with that.

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  61. Interesting.. I am a 'post-modern', which is no surprise, yet I find myself disagreeing with many of the statements about them:

    Generally supportive of government, though more conservative on race policies and the safety net
    - GENERALLY OK

    Strongly supportive of regulation and environmental protection -
    - GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE

    Most (56%) say Wall Street helps the economy more than it hurts
    - OK

    Very liberal on social issues, including same-sex marriage
    - DISAGREE STRONGLY.

    One of the least religious groups: nearly a third are unaffiliated with any religious tradition
    - ACTUALLY, A COMMITTED CHRISTIAN

    Favor the use of diplomacy rather than force
    - YOU BET

    The youngest of the typology groups: 32% under age 30
    -NOPE

    A majority are non-Hispanic white and have at least some college experience
    -YES

    Half live in either the Northeast or the West
    -NOPE

    A majority (58%) live in the suburbs
    -NOPE

    63% use social networking
    -YEP

    One-in-five regularly listen to NPR; 14% regularly watch The Daily Show
    -NOPE

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  62. I scored in the "Disaffecteds", but like the previous commenter, the given description doesn't resonate with me very much at all! Here's how it panned out:


    Highly critical of both government and business
    - YES

    Sympathetic to the poor and supportive of social welfare programs
    - YES, but skeptical

    Concerned about immigration
    - NO

    Majority believes the country can't solve many of its important problems
    - OUTLOOK ADMITTEDLY GLOOMY, but I still *believe* it can!

    Religious and socially conservative
    - NOT AT ALL!! Totally not religious and socially very liberal.

    Most financially stressed of the groups: nearly half describe their household as "struggling"
    - TRUE, but I live out of the country & believe I'd be able to get more work in the US, in my native tongue.

    71% have experienced unemployment in their household in the past 12 months
    About two-thirds have only a high school education or less
    - WRONG. BA degree, plus years of additional concentrated training in my field.

    Compared with the national average of 33%, more are parents (44%)
    - NO

    26% have a U.S. passport — well below the national average
    - WRONG, I live in Europe and travel across borders frequently

    23% follow NASCAR racing
    - NOT A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE...

    Perhaps I'm out of alignment with other Disaffecteds because I'm a US citizen living in the Netherlands, but almost all my above statements would've been the same when I lived in the US/ if I still was living there.

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    1. I missed one! For "71% have experienced unemployment in their household in the past 12 months" I should've said YES. Currently unemployed, in fact.

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  63. I am a libertarian. I am an older (58), white, female, US citizen. I've worked in both the public and private fields. Most recently I worked as a teacher. I'm currently underemployed, working as both a substitute and in temp work. I've lived in the south for the last 20+ years.

    Looking back over my life, I see that I have always been a libertarian. I'm financially conservative, but socially liberal.

    The current crop of republican candidates puts me to sleep. I am not impressed by our current president. I will either vote for Ron Paul (who doesn't thrill me, either) or I won't vote. I am considering relocating to Central American, because I fear for the future of this country.

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  64. Wow, Anonymous @ 02/12/12 04:07 - I too am Libertarian. I always considered myself a Republican, but knew I split from the Republican party on many social issues. I am not religious, and in fact, identify as an agnostic, am a 44 year old female who has been a Medical Technologist for almost 25 years, and a lab manager for the last 2. I am financially conservative as well, and also feel "meh" about Ron Paul. I don't dislike the guy, but I think his time is over, and he should retire gracefully. My biggest concern is that he will split the vote come election time, the way H. Ross Perot did in 1992 (remember?) and that we will have 4 more years of Obama. I too am unimpressed with every single Republican candidate this year. *SIGH* What's a gal to do?

    I do split with you, though, in that I don't fear for the future of America, at least long-term. 4 more years of Obama, while unpalatable to me, will not make or break this country. We have far more going for us as a nation, and we have certainly seen bleaker times.

    Thanks for the link to this survey, Minnesotastan. Simply fascinating, and now I have so many of my questions answered.

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    1. I was thinking about Ross Perot the other day. Worries me, too. I'm glad you feel confident that the nation will survive. I hope you are right!

      I've enjoyed reading the answers others posted. A fantastic assortment of comments.

      Delete
  65. I took it twice, once last night and once this morning, to see if the scores matched. 50 year old American white female medical professional, here.
    I was determined to be post modern, twice.

    Generally supportive of government, though more conservative on race policies and the safety net
    - yes

    Strongly supportive of regulation and environmental protection -
    - yes

    Most (56%) say Wall Street helps the economy more than it hurts
    - yes

    Very liberal on social issues, including same-sex marriage
    - yes

    One of the least religious groups: nearly a third are unaffiliated with any religious tradition
    - yes

    Favor the use of diplomacy rather than force
    - absolutely

    The youngest of the typology groups: 32% under age 30
    -no

    A majority are non-Hispanic white and have at least some college experience
    -yes

    Half live in either the Northeast or the West
    -yes

    A majority (58%) live in the suburbs
    -small town

    63% use social networking
    -yes

    One-in-five regularly listen to NPR; 14% regularly watch The Daily Show
    -not regularly, but enjoy both (and this blog....regularly)

    Interesting. Thanks!

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  66. It's interesting to note that the "Solid Liberals" thought the questions could have gone either way, while one commenter rated
    "Staunch Conservative" thought they were easy to answer. To get relatively balanced results on this poll, it must have been quite the exercise to choose the language that would produce that type of spread.

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  67. Apparently I'm a Solid Liberal, a label I've never given to myself. I've always considered myself to be a social libertarian. Interesting...

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  68. I, too, am a solid liberal.

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  69. According to that survey, I'm a Solid Liberal. In reality, Most of my beliefs fall somewhere in between most of those choices.

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  70. I thought I was independent but yeah, solid liberal....

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  71. Solid Liberal, no surprise for me, but I thought the questions were so "black and white" that a different result would have been difficult.

    I found this test (see link below) to be more satisfying, in that I had to think harder about the questions themselves and about what the different possibilities in the answers really meant.

    http://www.politicalcompass.org/index

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  72. I am a 40 year old British male who has lived and worked overseas for most of my life, currentlt in the UAE. I come out as Post Modern, the definition is the most accurate one of my views i have seen on a quiz like this.

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  73. i found it difficult that there was not a "neither" or "both" option on most of those questions though I was listed as a Post-Modern.

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  74. "Disaffected". I found the quiz unsatisfactory. I'm conservative and I know it, though I'm not hard right. With some of the questions, neither option was closer to my actual opinion, so choosing was pointless - I might as well have rolled a die. And the "What They Believe" is vague in spots.

    What They Believe:
    Highly critical of both government and business
    - Probably more critical of government, because I'm better informed on it. But I'm somewhat critical in general, though more of organizations than of individual people.

    Sympathetic to the poor and supportive of social welfare programs
    -Basically, but with reservations. I'm in my late 20s and live with my parents because I cannot afford to live elsewhere. Someone told me that I should apply for section 8 housing so that I can move out. Why on earth would I go live in an expensive apartment (this person's 1-bedroom Section 8 apartment is over $900/month) on the funds of an already over-burdened system, when my parents don't mind my presence, and I'm alright with living with them for now? I understand why some do live in Section 8 - they have no other option. That's fine. But I've heard of someone local who live in Section 8 - and is saving money to buy a house! Hence my reservations: people abuse the system and get away with it.

    Concerned about immigration
    -Well, yes. But concerned how, oh profile? (Basically: legal immigration is too difficult, and illegal immigration is unfair to everybody.)

    Majority believes the country can't solve many of its important problems
    -Then I'm not in the majority.

    Religious and socially conservative
    -Yes. But it should say "religiously and socially" or "religious and social". (This is the part where someone notices a grammatical mistake or inconsistency in my comment. I just know it is!)

    "Who They Are"
    Most financially stressed of the groups: nearly half describe their household as "struggling"
    -Like I said, I live with my parents, but I'm taking care of my bills, and paying down what debts I have.

    71% have experienced unemployment in their household in the past 12 months
    -Yes.

    About two-thirds have only a high school education or less
    -Some college; will finish.

    Compared with the national average of 33%, more are parents (44%)
    -Not a parent.

    26% have a U.S. passport — well below the national average
    -I have a U.S. passport.

    23% follow NASCAR racing
    -No.

    And I spent too much time on this!

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  75. I'm going to end the poll tomorrow rather than continue for the originally planned two weeks. The numbers continue to accumulate, but the percentages are not changing, so I think we have enough information (and besides I want to put up some different polls). So if you plan to record your status, do so my midday Friday, after which I'll post some final thoughts as an addendum.

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