Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top Ideological Group

Conservatives continue to outnumber moderates and liberals in the American populace in 2009, confirming a finding that Gallup first noted in June. Forty percent of Americans describe their political views as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 20% as liberal. This marks a shift from 2005 through 2008, when moderates were tied with conservatives as the most prevalent group. Full Story »

Posted by Derek Hawkins - via Drudge Report, Memeorandum

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Review

Walter Cox
4.1
by Walter Cox - Oct. 27, 2009

This report from Gallup is useful as a statistically-based snapshot of the current American ideological scene. Since the report comes directly from Gallup, its main weakness is that it lacks the perspective that multiple sourcing could provide. A big plus is that this poll analyzes the "Liberal," Moderate," and "Conservative" labels according to specific issues.

As always with such polls, I find it difficult to self-identify with any of the three groups. My conservative friends see me as suspiciously "liberal" because of my stand on various issues (reproductive rights, gay rights, civil liberties), while my liberal friends see me as suspiciously "conservative" because I support curbs on illegal immigration, oppose infringements on the right to bear arms, oppose social engineering efforts on the part of the state, and generally favor limited government.

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Walter's Rating

Overall
4.1

Good
from 12 answers
Quality
4.0
Facts
5.0
Fairness
4.0
Sourcing
2.0
Style
4.0
Context
4.0
Depth
4.0
Enterprise
4.0
Relevance
4.0
Popularity
4.5
Recommendation
4.0
Credibility
5.0
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