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Opening Arguments

The 40 percent club

Looks like conservatism is still dominant and the liberal camp is still shrinking:

Political ideology in the U.S. held steady in 2011, with 40% of Americans continuing to describe their views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This marks the third straight year that conservatives have outnumbered moderates, after more than a decade in which moderates mainly tied or outnumbered conservatives.

That's almost a 2-to-1 edge, people. I probably shouldn't gloat, since my self-description as "a moderate conservative with strong libertarian instincts and a few liberal skeletons in the closet" wouldn't put me in with the 40 percent. I don't feel "moderate" either, though. The "very conservative" and "very liberal" numbers are interesting -- just 10 percent and 6 percent. Sure make a lot of noise for such small groups, huh?

Comments

littlejohn
Sat, 01/14/2012 - 4:12pm

Even during my own lifetime, I've seen the popular definitions of both "liberal" and "conservative" change so thoroughly that I hardly know what to make of self-reported surveys. I call my self a "liberal," but I'm a deficit hawk and I oppose unnecessary involvement in foreign wars - both of which used to be conservative virtues. I also think the Second Amendment means what it says, and I am well-armed. As a Libertarian, you would be even harder to pigeonhole.

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