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Conservative or Liberal: Breakdown of States

Posted Mar 02, 2011 at 7:43 AM by Maurice Berger

Which states are most liberal and which are most conservative? Gallup examines how voters in each state identify their political views. Since "ideological self-identification tends to be stable over time, "the most and least conservative states have not changed much in recent years." Here is Gallup's chart:

Top 10 Conservative States, 2010Top 10 Liberal States, 2010

 

Tagged: 2011, conservative voters, liberal

Palin Divides American

Posted Apr 01, 2010 at 9:56 AM by Maurice Berger

Sarah Palin remains a polarizing figure in American politics, according to a new Washington Post poll. She's remains popular with those respondents who view the Tea Party movement favorably--with a 60% favorable rating--as well as conservative Republicans, garnering a whopping 71% positive rating. At the other end of the spectrum, 85% of liberal DEmocrats have an unfavorable view of the former Alaska Governor and 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate. Overall, 55% of Americans say they view Palin unfavorably.

Tagged: 2010, Democratic Party, Republican Party, conservative voters, liberal, Sarah Palin, Tea Party

Conservatives Outnumber Liberals In Every State, Except DC

Posted Feb 04, 2010 at 10:08 AM by Maurice Berger

A new Gallup survey reports that "three U.S. states in the Deep South -- Alabama (49%), Mississippi (48%), and Louisiana (48%) -- had the greatest percentage of residents self-identifying as conservatives in 2009. Aside from the District of Columbia, which has the greatest proportion of liberals, conservatives outnumbered liberals in every state." For more, click here. Here's Gallup's chart of the most "Liberal"/ "Conservative" states:

Top 10 Conservative States Top 10 Liberal States

Tagged: 2010, liberal, conservative voters

Conservativism Popular, But Moderates And Liberals Dominate

Posted Jan 15, 2010 at 8:53 AM by Maurice Berger

Despite the inroads made by Democrats in recent years--and the historic election of Barack Obama as president--more Americans consider themselves conservative relative to other political mindsets: "The increased conservatism . . . identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end political ideology figures confirm Gallup’s initial reporting: conservatives (40%) outnumbered both moderates (36%) and liberals (21%) across the nation in 2009." PollTrack points out that the combined total of moderates and liberals--now at 61%--far outnumbers conservatives. So it's hard to say if Gallup figure has broader meaning relative to changes in the electorate.

Tagged: 2010, conservative voters, liberal, moderate voters

Conservatives Are The Largest Ideological Group

Posted Jun 17, 2009 at 9:41 AM by Maurice Berger

How do Americans rate themselves on the ideological spectrum. According to a new Gallup poll, those calling themselves "conservative" have a slight edge. Gallup writes: "Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed . . . describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s."

Tagged: 2009, conservative voters, Independent Voters, liberal, public opinion polls

Significant Jump In National Support For Gays In The Military

Posted Jun 09, 2009 at 9:53 AM by Maurice Berger

The nation is becoming increasingly friendly to the idea of gay rights and equality, as a recent Galup poll that measures attitudes about homosexuals serving openly in the military suggests: "Americans are six percentage points more likely than they were four years ago to favor allowing openly gay men and lesbian women to serve in the military, 69% to 63%. While liberals and Democrats remain the most supportive, the biggest increase in support has been among conservatives and weekly churchgoers -- up 12 and 11 percentage points, respectively."

Gallup's analysis continues: "The finding that majorities of weekly churchgoers (60%), conservatives (58%), and Republicans (58%) now favor what essentially equates to repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy implemented under President Clinton in 1993 is noteworthy for several reasons. First, the data show that these traditionally conservative groups are shifting on this issue, supporting it to a far greater extent than they support legalized gay marriage. Second, it suggests the political playing field may be softer on this issue, and President Barack Obama will be well-positioned to forge ahead with his campaign promise to end the military ban on openly gay service members with some support from more conservative segments of the population. To date, it is estimated that more than 12,500 servicemen and servicewomen have been discharged under the policy, including more than 200 since Obama took office."

Tagged: 2009, homosexuality, gay rights, military, conservative voters, liberal

Conservative Republicans Pick Romney for 2012

Posted Mar 03, 2009 at 9:25 AM by Maurice Berger

For the third straight year, Mitt Romney has won the presidential preference straw poll of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with 20% of the vote. Bobby Jindal finished with 14%, just ahead of Ron Paul and Sarah Palin, who got 13% each. Newt Gingrich finished with 10%, Mike Huckabee 7%, Mark Sanford 4%, Rudy Giuliani 3%, Tim Pawlenty 2%, Charlie Crist 1%, and 9% said they were undecided. The organization, which supports right-wing Republican values and candidates, is exceptionally conservative:95% said they disapproved of the job President Obama is doing, 80% "strongly disapproving.” Probably not significant enough to be taken seriously at this point, the CPAC straw poll is a notoriously inaccurate at predicting the eventual Republican Party nominee. In 1999, it awarded the straw poll victory to Steve Forbes. In 2005 and 2006, it went to George Allen, and in 2007 and 2008, to Mitt Romney.

Tagged: Election 2012, conservative voters, President Barack Obama, Republican Party, president

Obama's America (Part 3): The State Of The Nation--A Sobered Opposition

Posted Jan 08, 2009 at 1:59 AM by Maurice Berger

Will president-elect Obama make good on his promise to end partisan bickering in Washington? The answer may well determine the relative success or failure of his new iniatives, especially his effort to pass a comprehensive economic stimulous package. With little less than two weeks to go until the new president takes office, recent opinion polls suggest that Obama has made remarkable inroads with self-described "conservative" Americans: "The extent to which Barack Obama is experiencing a post-election wave of good will from Americans is born out by his base of supprt among these espondents: "close to half of political conservatives -- 45% -- say they are confident in Obama's ability to be a good president. About the same percentage (46%) disagree." The 45% who say they are confident in Obama contrasts with the mere 23% of this group who supported him over John McCain in the election. In the end, "this relatively strong endorsement from conservatives boosts overall confidence in Obama well beyond the 53% of the national vote he received on Election Day." Overall, upawards of 65% to 70% of Americans now say they are confident Obama will be a good president, while only 27% are not confident and 8% are unsure. PollTrack suggests that the higher Obama's approval numbers with conservatives (and Republican voters of all stripes), the easier it may be for him to garner cross-over support in congress for a range of initiatives. This support may well tunr out to be the political cover right-of-center politicians will need to support Obama's programs.

Tagged: PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama, John McCain, economic crisis, economy, conservative voters