The Political World: Voting, Tolerance, and Civility - You Ultra-conservative Liberal!

The terms are frequently thrown around: liberals, moderates, ultra-conservatives. How do we see ourselves? The panel shows the results of a survey conducted by the National Election Studies at the University of Michigan. People were asked: "Here is a 7-point scale on which the political views that people might hold are arranged from extremely liberal to extremely conservative. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?" (Roughly a quarter of respondents every year claimed not to have thought about it.)

Roughly a quarter of the people polled identified themselves as moderates in the 1972 to 2000 period. There is a steady segment of the population that is open to compromise, willing to "live and let live." Over recent years, people seem to be embracing slightly more conservative views. There was a strong rebound in those seeing themselves as conservatives in 1992, with percentages jumping from 13% to 19% in 1994. However, a balance will always be struck: those seeing themselves as moderates increased from 23% to 26% from 1992 to 1994 and from 24% in 1996 to 28% in 1998. The liberal category increased from 1998 to 2000.

What accounts for some of these recent changes? In part, it was the Clinton presidency. Some criticized the man. Some criticized the policies. Conservatives feasted on scandals such as Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky. Some were turned off by Newt Gingrich or Pat Buchanan and shifted their views slightly to the left.

The survey also points at a consistent base of people with extreme views. Roughly 2 to 3% of the respondents consistently labeled themselves as extremely liberal or conservative, suggesting there is a segment of the population that will not change its thinking for any reason. (Has anyone listened to talk radio lately?)

Of course, people's views are affected by such things as their upbringing and current events. The survey raises some interesting questions. What characteristics defined liberals and conservatives in 1972 compared with today? What are we still fighting about? People are still polarized by issues such as abortion and the death penalty. In some matters, there has been great change. Gays have attained increased visibility and acceptance in our culture. Few people raise an eyebrow at mixed-race couples. As some social changes become more mainstream, however, there will always be a subset of the population that resists the change.

The next panels are going to look at our attitudes more closely. How do we feel about certain issues? Are we more tolerant? Do we still hold on to certain perceptions about each other?

Source: "The NES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior." Online. Available: http://www.umich.edu. April 4, 2002.