Americans Are Far Less Conservative Than the Right Wing Claims

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Miller-McCune.com / By Lee Drutman

Among the many memes floating around in the wake of the 2010 election is that America has taken a rightward turn, and conservative pundits seem re-energized in calling America a center-right nation. After all, a plurality of American voters (42 percent) now call themselves "conservative" — as compared to just 35 percent who say they are "moderate" and 20 percent who say they are "liberal." Two years ago, moderates and conservatives both were at 37 percent.But new research suggests that pundits ought to be cautious of overinterpreting the conservative label: It doesn't always mean what they think it means: Only a quarter of self-identified "conservatives" may actually be true conservatives on the issues — less than the 30 percent of whom are not conservative at all, but simply like the label.

The reason why so few "conservatives" turn out to be solid right-wingers is that the word "conservative" has different meanings for different people, according to political scientists Christopher Ellis of Bucknell and James A. Stimson of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, who describe their findings in a new working paper, "Pathways to Ideology in American Politics: The Operational-Symbolic 'Paradox' Revisited"

According to their research, some people genuinely know what it means to be a conservative in the current political debate and indeed express matching preferences across all issues. But these "constrained conservatives" (as Ellis and Stimson call them) account for only 26 percent of all self-identified conservatives.

More common are the "moral conservatives" (34 percent), who think of themselves as conservative in terms of their own personal values, be they social or religious. And they are indeed right-leaning on social, cultural and religious issues. But they also like government spending on a variety of programs and generally approve of government interventions in the marketplace, hardly making them true conservatives.

And still others, "conflicted conservatives" (30 percent), are not conservative at all on the issues. But they like identifying themselves as conservatives. To them, it somehow sounds better. "They like the word," explained Ellis. Or at least, they like it better then their other choices in the traditional self-identification questionnaire: moderate and liberal.

Finally, a smaller group of self-identified "conservatives" (10 percent) could be classified as libertarian — conservative on economic issues, liberal on social issues.

Self-identified liberals, on the other hand, are consistently liberal on all the issues, according to Ellis and Stimson. Two-thirds of liberals fit into the category of "constrained liberals," who pick the label because it actually describes their worldview.

A good part of the reason why moral conservatives keep calling themselves conservative (despite dubiously conservative issue positions) is that these are voters who don't follow politics closely enough to fully understand what it means to be a political conservative. Conflicted conservatives, meanwhile, identify as conservatives because they hear liberals defend programs and Republicans defend principles and agree with both without confronting the contradictions.

"People don't hear conflicting arguments, but rather two sets of arguments," explained Ellis. "Conservatives talk about a commitment to conservative values, and liberals talk about what we can do for you on education or the environment. Elite conservatives never say cut education spending, and elite liberals never say we're proud to be liberals. The two groups of people talk past each other."

This is a longstanding phenomenon. In another paper, Ellis and Stimson have shown going back to at least 1937 — the heart of the New Deal — that the American public, on average, has been operationally liberal and symbolically conservative. That is, that when asked about specific "liberal" government programs — be they spending on education, environmental protections, regulation of business — the majority of voters consistently say they approve.

But when asked to self-identify as liberals, moderates or conservatives, many of the same voters say they are "conservative." The gap widened in the 1960s, when Republicans started making a concerted effort to turn "liberal" into a four-letter word. Since then, there has been an enduring 20-25 percent gap between the percentage of Americans who identify as liberals and who actually support liberal policies.

For both true liberals and true conservatives, however, the contradictions between self-identification and actual policy preferences can be maddening.

"Liberals would say, these people like all these things but call themselves conservative, so it just must be an artifact or a label," said Ellis. "Conservatives would say these people call themselves conservative, they share our values and principles, but they don't understand these policies are not reflective of our values."

As for the supposed conservative shift this election, Ellis believes that voters were thinking more about symbols and values than about specifics: "The tenor of the discussion was about smaller government, lower taxes and traditional social values," said Ellis. No wonder, then, that a few more people identified themselves as conservatives. (Other research has suggested that ideology can shift depending on the situation and that conservatism tends to rise in response to anxiety and uncertainty.)

But that doesn't mean that the recent uptick in conservative self-identification provides a ringing endorsement of conservative policies for a simple reason: Most so-called conservatives just aren't that conservative.

"I hope what this does is provide a grain of salt in reading public opinion," said Ellis. "We're more conservative now than we were two years ago, but the raw numbers are misleading. They give a picture that's just not there when you dig deeper."

http://www.alternet...._claims/?page=2

[mawilson 2,133]

I think the Left Wing is terrified of the Tea Party and its sympathizers and that

the American people are organizing and pushing back. They are trying everything

in their power to make them look like kooks and extremists and convince us that

"most Americans" are not conservative. All I can say is, good luck! Your days

are numbered.

[DEDixon 39]

I think the Left Wing is terrified of the Tea Party and its sympathizers and that

the American people are organizing and pushing back. They are trying everything

in their power to make them look like kooks and extremists and convince us that

"most Americans" are not conservative. All I can say is, good luck! Your days

are numbered.

i can not agree more. the left are scared silly of the tea party. to me, tea party is

about less spending and this actually scares a lot of mainstream repubs juar as much as

all dems.

go tea party!!! i hope they tell palin to get lost. And I hope they do not

allow any one from any far right religious organization share any tea party stage.

[james&olya 1,121]

i can not agree more. the left are scared silly of the tea party. to me, tea party is

about less spending and this actually scares a lot of mainstream repubs juar as much as

all dems.

go tea party!!! i hope they tell palin to get lost. And I hope they do not

allow any one from any far right religious organization share any tea party stage.

This liberal is not at all 'scared' of the 'tea party'. I think that 'tea party' is an even more nebulous concept in the minds of the electorate. What strikes me the most by the tea partiers at the rallies is the phenomenal level of ignorance they display! One of my favorites was the person carrying the sign 'KEEP YOUR GOVERNMENT HANDS OFF MY MEDICARE'!! They are the low-hanging fruit when liberals want to demonstrate fallacious thinking on the right. While the tea party does not scare me, this level of ignorance on the part of, not only the voters, but even candidates and elected officials (Palin, Angle, Bachmann, etc) causes me concern for the future of this great nation. Plutocrats are cynically manipulating these weak-minded people to achieve their own objectives. They must be laughing all the way to the bank as they get these morons to vote so diametrically against their own economic self-interest!

[mawilson 2,133]

While the tea party does not scare me, this level of ignorance on the part of, not only the voters, but even candidates and elected officials (Palin, Angle, Bachmann, etc) causes me concern for the future of this great nation.

What about the deficit? Does the deficit cause you concern? Currently at

100 percent of GDP and rising...

It's impossible to "grow our way out" of this one even if we stop borrowing

*and* have double-digit growth for the next 30 years. Think about that.

If the fiscal crisis is not addressed soon, we will lose our AAA rating and

the yield on Treasury debt will exceed the growth rate of the economy

(anemic as it is), which means we will sink deeper and deeper into debt

just to meet the interest coupon payments on the existing debt.

Now that's a real cause for concern, not the antics of Palin and Angle.

[lostinblue 1,989]

This liberal is not at all 'scared' of the 'tea party'. I think that 'tea party' is an even more nebulous concept in the minds of the electorate. What strikes me the most by the tea partiers at the rallies is the phenomenal level of ignorance they display! One of my favorites was the person carrying the sign 'KEEP YOUR GOVERNMENT HANDS OFF MY MEDICARE'!! They are the low-hanging fruit when liberals want to demonstrate fallacious thinking on the right. While the tea party does not scare me, this level of ignorance on the part of, not only the voters, but even candidates and elected officials (Palin, Angle, Bachmann, etc) causes me concern for the future of this great nation. Plutocrats are cynically manipulating these weak-minded people to achieve their own objectives. They must be laughing all the way to the bank as they get these morons to vote so diametrically against their own economic self-interest!

"Tea Party members are those same people who now conclude that their representatives ARE NOT REPRESENTING THEM"。

This is about the best response you can find. People fed up with government out of control. As far as you seeing signs of ignorant people blame the liberal media. Have you attended any tea party rally or just watch cnn to get your opinions?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Based on the comments made here, I think some people didn't bother to read the OP or they don't understand it.

[james&olya 1,121]

What about the deficit? Does the deficit cause you concern? Currently at

100 percent of GDP and rising...

It's impossible to "grow our way out" of this one even if we stop borrowing

*and* have double-digit growth for the next 30 years. Think about that.

If the fiscal crisis is not addressed soon, we will lose our AAA rating and

the yield on Treasury debt will exceed the growth rate of the economy

(anemic as it is), which means we will sink deeper and deeper into debt

just to meet the interest coupon payments on the existing debt.

Now that's a real cause for concern, not the antics of Palin and Angle.

Yes, the deficit is a huge concern. Remember when we had a balanced budget and were poised to begin paying down the deficit? Who was president? Which party? Yes, the antics and dishonesty of Palin, Angle, Rush, Beck, etc divert attention from the honest debate we need to be having. Revenues must increase or benefits must be cut. Defense needs to be trimmed. But where is the honesty from these people on these issues?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The left in this country is in self-denial. They seem to think that if they could only just explain things slowly enough, and not use any of those big college words, then all those stupid people will finally get it. Yet, as their numbers continue to dwindle, here comes another essay to help them whistle their way into oblivion.

[mawilson 2,133]

Based on the comments made here, I think some people didn't bother to read the OP or they don't understand it.

The OP is a silly argument over semantics of what "conservative" means - a desperate attempt

to portray conservatives as something else.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Based on the comments made here, I think some people didn't bother to read the OP or they don't understand it.

Too many of them "college" words.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The left in this country is in self-denial. They seem to think that if they could only just explain things slowly enough, and not use any of those big college words, then all those stupid people will finally get it. Yet, as their numbers continue to dwindle, here comes another essay to help them whistle their way into oblivion.

Draw circles around the populace that you would define as being Left and Right, and you'd have overlaps, as indicated in the article that apparently nobody here bothered to read. Labels are overrated as most voting Americans are multidimensional when it comes what kinds of specific public policies they support. It's like that slogan, "Government keep your hands off my Medicare!" That sums up voters' sense of political ideology nicely.

The OP is a silly argument over semantics of what "conservative" means - a desperate attempt

to portray conservatives as something else.

Or perhaps such labels don't translate so neatly when it comes to specific public policies that American voters support.

[mawilson 2,133]

Yes, the deficit is a huge concern. Remember when we had a balanced budget and were poised to begin paying down the deficit? Who was president? Which party?

The same Republican-Democrat Regime party. If you want to talk about honesty,

then be honest about the dot-com bubble which brought in hundreds of billions

in unanticipated tax revenue from taxes on capital gains and rising salaries.

Be honest about the crash and recession that followed and something called 9/11

that Clinton's successor had to deal with.

[james&olya 1,121]

The same Republican-Democrat Regime party. If you want to talk about honesty,

then be honest about the dot-com bubble which brought in hundreds of billions

in unanticipated tax revenue from taxes on capital gains and rising salaries.

Be honest about the crash and recession that followed and something called 9/11

that Clinton's successor had to deal with.

Republicans have been a one-trick-pony when it comes to solving problems.

Budget deficit? Tax cut!

Budget surplus? Tax cut!

Economy booming? Tax cut!

Economy in recession? Tax cut!!

Their agenda to get rid of socialism in the form of medicaid, medicare, and social security is on track via their 'starve the beast' strategy!

[james&olya 1,121]

Draw circles around the populace that you would define as being Left and Right, and you'd have overlaps, as indicated in the article that apparently nobody here bothered to read. Labels are overrated as most voting Americans are multidimensional when it comes what kinds of specific public policies they support. It's like that slogan, "Government keep your hands off my Medicare!" That sums up voters' sense of political ideology nicely.

Or perhaps such labels don't translate so neatly when it comes to specific public policies that American voters support.

I get what you are saying. Sorry for my part in not staying on-topic here. I think the term 'socialism' is even far less accurate in its application or lack of application. When I actually get down in the weeds with self-identified 'conservatives' I have found on multiple occasions their true ideology had significant socialism in it. As of course did that misinformed demonstrator with the 'Government....Medicare' sign!