http://action.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147490909Elijah Friedeman, the Millennial Perspective
At the end of 2009 Conservatives solidly held the lead as the largest ideological group in America, beating moderates by four points and Liberals by a whopping nineteen points. Granted, many people could consider themselves Conservatives while holding more moderate views, but the very fact that forty percent of Americans identify with the Conservative movement should send some sort of message to Washington. Or maybe Conservatism has lost it's defining characteristics.
Gallup:
More broadly, the percentage of Americans calling themselves either conservative or liberal has increased over the last decade, while the percentage of moderates has declined.
Gallup ideological groups
Since 1992, there have been only two other years -- 2003 and 2004 -- in which the average percentage of conservatives nationwide outnumbered moderates, and in both cases, it was by two percentage points (in contrast to the current four points).
It's not like Conservatives have made any major gains in the Gallup poll. The three point gain over last year is rather large, but Conservatives have long vied with moderates for the largest ideological group. Meanwhile, Liberals have languished far behind with only about twenty percent of Americans calling themselves Liberals.
Political independents showed increased attachment to the "conservative" label in 2009, boosting the overall ranks of that group so that it now clearly outnumbers moderates in Gallup's annual averages for the first time since 2004. Longer term, the proportions of Americans calling themselves conservative as well as liberal expanded slightly this past decade, largely because of increased partisan attachment to each label. At the same time, the percentage of "moderates" has dwindled, underscoring the heightened polarization of American politics as the nation heads into a new decade.
Topic: Conservatives Finish 2009 As The Largest Ideological Group (Read 940 times)