partisanship & the demographics of Speakers Corner

[TrophyHusband 0]

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Every once in a while someone makes an assertion of which political/ideological view/perspective is in the minority.

What do you think?

/Marg

I think your survey may prove that certain people don't read and comprehend very well!

I'm currently seeing 64% of all respondents Republican, yet 72% of all respondents think the Republicans are the minority party in the forum.

Uh . . .

one possible explaination is that there are more right leaning people who don't post much while fewer left leaning people post more. or you could just use it as "proof" republicans can't comprehend well.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[ryoder 1,407]

OK, which am I?

I'm a conservative:
- I belong to the NRA
- I take the 2nd Amendment literally when it says "shall not be infringed"
- I think government should not spend money it does not have
- In the last election, I was hoping to have the opportunity to vote for Ron Paul

I'm a liberal:
- I belong to the ACLU
- I favor socialized medicine
- I think victimless crimes should be abolished, (sex, gambling, drugs)
- In the last election, I was hoping to have the opportunity to vote for Dennis Kucinich


Then there is a problem with the label "conservative".
I don't even like to use it anymore, because we must ask *which* definition?
a) The Goldwater conservatism of the '60's?
b) The Dubya conservatism of the past 8 years?

Hell, if Goldwater had been in the Senate during the Dubya administration, I'm sure he would have been calling for Dubya to resign or be impeached.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[rehmwa 2]

I suspect the hard core members of each team will accuse you of being on the other team.

And then proceed to call you childish names to make themselves feel superior.

You really shouldn't be expressing political individuality, it's not the "in" thing.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[wmw999 2,167]

My father (who was way more liberal than I am) used to say that he was a real conservative, because he was in favor of conserving resources (even if it cost him some personal convenience), of paying our bills (i.e. reduce deficit spending), and of not having the government interfere in our personal lives (victimless crimes, Patriot Act, etc).

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Channman 2]

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Every once in a while someone makes an assertion of which political/ideological view/perspective is in the minority.

What do you think?

/Marg

I think your survey may prove that certain people don't read and comprehend very well!

I'm currently seeing 64% of all respondents Republican, yet 72% of all respondents think the Republicans are the minority party in the forum.

Uh . . .

one possible explaination is that there are more right leaning people who don't post much while fewer left leaning people post more. or you could just use it as "proof" republicans can't comprehend well.

OK I voted...now I shall return to my self imposed banning.

[Butters 0]

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/05/the-destructive-emotion-du-jour-bitterness.html

Did you look in the mirror because many of your posts come across as negative, pessimistic ... and bitter.

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[quade 3]

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/05/the-destructive-emotion-du-jour-bitterness.html

Did you look in the mirror because many of your posts come across as negative, pessimistic ... and bitter.

I never claimed they didn't!

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[billvon 2,466]

Interesting poll, Marg. Breakdowns:

Of the people who answered, 35% identify as liberal, 65% as conservative.

Conservatives think that the actual ratio (based on the ratio of their perceptions) is closer to 72% liberal, 28% conservative.

Liberals think it's closer to 41% liberal, 59% conservative.

[quade 3]

Bill, did you also read the theory that the conservatives are really the "quiet" ones?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[diverborg 0]

Although I'm a registered Republican, I find myself straying further from either party daily. I'm a die-hard free market capitalist, small govt, responsible spending advocate, that feels neither party knows what that means anymore. Also to add, I tend to actually take the liberal's side when it comes to environmental issues as well. As a somewhat naturalist, I think there needs to be some guidelines that the free market is allowed to operate within to ensure we don't rape, pillage, and plunder every natural resource on the planet. I'm a pretty big advocate of the green energy movement. There's very few places that man has managed not to screw up yet, and although my views often lean closer to the Republican side on economic issues, I am lost at why most Republicans would like to destroy these few remaining untouched sanctuaries if it meant ten cents a gallon cheaper at the pumps. I'm also disconnected from most Republicans on big defense spending, and of course what most would view as an unjust war.

So I really cannot align with either party so I didn't vote on your poll. I'm the guy that likes to waste his votes on the 3rd party, hoping someday they will get their turn. Unless we see a candidate in the main parties that come close to my ideals, which I don't see happening anytime soon. McCain, for real, what was the GOP thinking? There's a few others I would've voted for, but even though I didn't like the guy, Bob Barr got one vote closer to not being invisible.

[billvon 2,466]

>did you also read the theory that the conservatives are really the "quiet" ones?

A most interesting theory, but not one that seems validated in practice!

[lawrocket 3]

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who want to invoke an "I'm a moderate" position:

Okay. I'll recall that political compass test where I was right there with Milton Friedman (I don't see how anybody who's read and understood the guy wouldn't be.) I ranked way out to the right in terms of economic libertarianism.

http://www.tihlde.org/~helgedt/dz-compass/dz.png

So I'm free market leaning toward anarchy. So I guess I'd be conservative. Just a look at that graph makes it pretty apparent that I'm in the majority with regard to antii-authoritarian, but I am way into the minority with regard to economic policy beliefs.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[nerdgirl 0]

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one possible explaination is that there are more right leaning people who don't post much while fewer left leaning people post more. or you could just use it as "proof" republicans can't comprehend well.

Interesting counter-hypothesis. I think I can think of way to get some data on that easily.

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[nerdgirl 0]

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who want to invoke an "I'm a moderate" position:

Okay. I'll recall that political compass test ...

We can take up the Friedman & Chicago Boys issue in another thread.

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http://www.tihlde.org/~helgedt/dz-compass/dz.png

Took the test.

Question: Why is the website hosting select SC results located in Norway?

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[ryoder 1,407]

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Question: Why is the website hosting select SC results located in Norway?

/Marg

Because that is where the user known as "alge" lives.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[livendive 8]

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Regarding D/liberals and R/conservatives, I haven't noticed either one being in the minority here. Seems fairly even to me.

And I don't really consider myself in either group, though the last political quiz I took said that I was a Libertarian-leaning liberal, so maybe I do lean more in that direction.

Basically what she said. It seems pretty even in here to me, and I consider myself a Libertarian. When picking the lesser of two evils, I find the (D) alternative preferable to the (R) alternative maybe 60-65% of the time.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[livendive 8]

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Andy, Jerry, and others (cuz I'm confident you're out there ) who want to invoke an "I'm a moderate" position:

Per the chart Jerry posted, I fall in between him and Andy.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[nerdgirl 0]

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>did you also read the theory that the conservatives are really the "quiet" ones?

A most interesting theory, but not one that seems validated in practice!

Hypothesis … not theory.

(And I know you know better. )



/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[nerdgirl 0]

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Andy, Jerry, and others (cuz I'm confident you're out there ) who want to invoke an "I'm a moderate" position:

Per the chart Jerry posted, I fall in between him and Andy.

I’m between you and [TrophyHusband] and between [Amazon] and [BillVon]. That’s an interesting 5-way to be in the middle of.

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[nerdgirl 0]

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Every once in a while someone makes an assertion of which political/ideological view/perspective is in the minority.

What do you think?

When the notional question of is there a minority political/ideological view/perspective went through my squishy gray matter, I wondered if there was some available data.

While none of these are scientifically conducted/controlled and error bars are likely to be large, by surveying polls on Speakers Corner (i.e., conducting a meta-analysis of sorts) one can observe a pattern:

In this poll (January 2009) 43 respondents indicated they were Republican/conservative/right-leaning and 37 respondents indicated they were Democrat/liberal/progressive/left-leaning.

In this poll, (also from January 2009), 45 respondents indicated they were Republican/conservative and 23 respondents indicated they were Democrat/liberal.

In this poll (from February 2009) 20 respondents indicated they were Republican or conservative (or tend to vote that way) and 17 respondents indicated they were Democrat or liberal/progressive (or tend to vote that way).

And the poll in this thread, in which 35 (as I type) identify as or closer to Republican/conservative and 19 identify as or closer to Democrat/liberal.

Four data sets. All show the same trend.

Those are the only 4 polls that I found that explicitly requested partisan identification. Please let me know of any I missed.

~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~

The underlying question of how one comes to one's conclusion is the more intellectually provocative one, imo. I might speculate ... but that's all it is at the moment. (And one answer may be in the link [JackC] provided, which I've printed but have yet to read.)

Why do those who are conservative-leaning perceive themselves to be in the minority by a substantive amount whereas the liberal-leaning folks are mixed in their perceptions?

Then, the operational question is what one does with the information. Just another excuse/rationalization to be an iconoclast for some, perhaps.

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[BikerBabe 0]

SC is funny...because honestly, the vast majority of skydivers i know IN REAL LIFE (i.e. that i jump with, or work at dropzones i frequent, etc) tend to be more liberal than conservative.

this then begs the question: Are bored, working-stiff type skydivers with too much time on their hands and easy internet acces more conservative than your average non-DZ.com-trolling skydiver?

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[kelpdiver 2]

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SC is funny...because honestly, the vast majority of skydivers i know IN REAL LIFE (i.e. that i jump with, or work at dropzones i frequent, etc) tend to be more liberal than conservative.

duh - you live on the west coast. It's hardly suitable to treat that as representative of all skydivers.

[Shotgun 1]

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Four data sets. All show the same trend.

FWIW, I didn't vote in any of those polls you listed (or this one). I'd probably be considered a liberal, but since the poll didn't simply ask which party we identify closest with, I probably didn't vote because of "the rest of the question" and not seeing a choice that worked for me.

Just thought I'd mention that, since there are probably others who didn't vote for that same reason.

[happythoughts 0]

Let me get this clear...

- a bill was signed that allows licensed concealed-carry in parks...
by the DEM president O.

- leaders are stating that Gtmo should not be closed because...
it really isn't that bad. "humane" even. (a nice revision of
last weeks WB discussions.)
- nobody wants Gtmo detainees released into the US, even if
they are innocent (the ACLU is pooping their undies).
- they admit they are parroting the opposing party.
- they are trying to convince their party of all these things
(successfully)

The leader? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
...another DEM toeing the REP party line.

So... if a person starts using common sense... are they still a REP or a Neo-DEM ?

The demographics of the party line is getting pretty blurred
when the DEMs are all stepping over it.

[billvon 2,466]

>So... if a person starts using common sense... are they still a REP or a
>Neo-DEM ?

Using common sense would sort of make them a non-politician.