Time for another of those "what political type are you?" quizzes

Via the Washington Post's The Fix, here's a Pew research quiz to identify your political type, with the categories of:

* Staunch Conservatives take extremely conservative positions on nearly all issues. They are highly engaged in politics and highly religious. (9%)

* Main Street Republicans are still conservative on most issues, but less so. They are less enamored of business than staunch conservatives and more supportive of government efforts to protect the environment. They also prefer a less aggressive foreign policy. (11%)

* Libertarians are secular and liberal on social issues but very critical of government and very supportive of business. They are more moderate on immigration than other Republican-oriented groups. (9%)

* Disaffecteds are financially stressed, pessimistic, and politically cynical. They lean Republican but break from the party on government support for the poor. They distrust both government and business and are skeptical about immigrants. (11%)

* Post-Moderns are very liberal on social issues and more supportive of government than libertarians. They support environmental and business regulations. They are more accepting of homosexuality than most Democrats and support immigration rights. However, they are conservative on racial issues and the social safety net. (13 %)

* New Coalition Democrats are highly religious and financially stressed. They support government generally but are divided on the size of the social safety net. They are racially diverse and pro-immigration, bu they are conservative on social issues. (10%)

* Hard-Pressed Democrats are blue-collar, financially stressed, and cynical about government but even more cynical about business. They are socially conservative, anti-immigration and very religious. They support environmental protection in general but fear the economic impact of new regulations. (13%)

* Solid Liberals are politically engaged, strongly pro-government and socially liberal. They support an expanded social safety net and are pro-immigration. They are not very religious. (14%)

* Bystanders are people who are ineligible to vote or uninterested in voting. They are racially diverse and lean Democratic in their views. (10%)

The quiz characterized me as Libertarian, which it describes as:

What They Believe

• Economically very conservative but moderate to liberal on social issues
• Highly critical of government
• Strongly pro-business
• Accepting of homosexuality
• Less religious than the average American
• Moderate views about immigrants compared to other GOP-oriented groups

Who They Are

• Strong Republican-orientation, though a majority identify as independents
• Affluent: 39% have incomes of $75,000 or more
• Two-thirds are male
• 85% are non-Hispanic whites
• About seven-in-ten (71%) have attended college
• About half as likely as the two strongest GOP groups to attend church weekly
• 56% use social networking sites
• 36% trade stocks

I don't know about "strong Republican-orientation . . . ." I did vote for my colleague Jim Huffman, who was the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Oregon in 2010, but the last Republican presidential candidate I voted for was George H.W. Bush in 1988 (my first Presidential election). There are a few other Republican candidates that I've thought highly of, like Tom Campbell (the incoming Dean of Chapman Law School), but for the most part, I'd say that as ridiculous as he is, Donald Trump would be less bad than most of the Republican presidential candidates like Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrinch, or Rick Santorum.

Also, "strongly pro-business" and "highly critical of government" go too far. I'm not of those capital-L Libertarians who would like to abolish most of the government, though I'm quite concerned about our state and federal governments' inability to restrain their debt and/or unfunded future liabilities to manageable levels.

My guess is that if the questions had permitted more nuance to the answers, instead of forcing you to pick one of two choices, I might have come closer to straddling the line between Libertarian and Post-Moderns.

Comments

[Matthew Lewis]

Several things:

-I agree, the questions didn't allow for much nuance. Unsurprisingly, I was "solid liberal." But most liberals I know get annoyed with me on a regular basis.

-You voted against Ron Wyden? Dude is one of the smartest and probably the best, most policy-oriented guy in the Senate! I know nothing about your colleague, but I have a ton of respect for Wyden, I think we need more senators like him, not less. I don't agree with him on everything, but he really knows his stuff. He also fights the good fight on copyright issues, which endears him to me.

-If you're worried about fiscal issues, I don't think Trump would necessarily help, considering how many times he's been through bankruptcy. I get what you're saying about the insanity of Palin, Bachmann, etc. But I don't think Trump is really any better.

-I got a kick out of the demographic picture it painted of libertarians. Confirmed most of my stereotypes/suspicions/assumptions/whatevers.

[Tung Yin]

I would've guessed that you would be either Solid Liberal or Post-Modern -- in other words, liberal but mainstream. If the liberals you know get annoyed with you regularly over politics, maybe they should move to Berkeley or something.

I voted for Huffman partly because he's very libertarian, partly because I like him personally, and partly in a vain hope for divided government.

I think you get this, but just to be clear, I'm not saying that Trump would be good in any way other than entertainment value. I'm just saying he wouldn't be as bad as Palin et al.

[acl]

Huh, I'm supposedly a Post-Modern. I've never heard of that term in the context of political philosophy.

What They Believe

• Generally supportive of government, though more conservative on race policies and the safety net
• Strongly supportive of regulation and environmental protection
• Most (56%) say Wall Street helps the economy more than it hurts
• Very liberal on social issues, including same-sex marriage
• One of the least religious groups: nearly a third are unaffiliated with any religious tradition
• Favor the use of diplomacy rather than force

Who They Are

• The youngest of the typology groups: 32% under age 30
• A majority are non-Hispanic white and have at least some college experience
• Half live in either the Northeast or the West
• A majority (58%) live in the suburbs 63% use social networking
• One-in-five regularly listen to NPR; 14% regularly watch The Daily Show

[Stephen Bainbridge]

I would have pegged you for Post-Modern. I'm "Staunch Conservative," which strikes me as a product of the aforementioned lack of nuance.