Liberal-Leaning Centrists are those in the Liberal quadrant but within the center circle.
Guns | Should the Second Amendment stay in force? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8.3% | 2037 | 7.5% | 83.7 | NO! Private gun ownership is too dangerous. (The 2nd Amendment is an obsolete relic from frontier days.) | 0 |
22.9% | 5908 | 21.7% | 79.4 | No. Ban private handguns. Carefully control hunting weapons. | 24 |
54.0% | 15290 | 56.1% | 72.3 | OK, but require registration and background checks. | 50 |
11.8% | 3200 | 11.7% | 75.3 | Yes. Legal handguns actually prevent crime, save lives, and give women equality. (And registration requirements are a dangerous slippery slope.) | 75 |
3.0% | 800 | 2.9% | 76.4 | YES! Private MILITARY arms are the last bastion against tyranny. (And gun registration is a dangerous slippery slope) | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 75.2 | Total | 44.3 |
Subsidies & Tariffs | Should the government help certain "important" industries using subsidies, quotas, and/or tariffs? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10.3% | 2648 | 9.7% | 71.3 | Yes! It is high time that the US implement an Industrial Policy, guiding industries to our national purpose. | 0 |
16.1% | 4297 | 15.8% | 68.8 | Yes. The Freedom to Farm Act and free trade with Mexico have hurt too many workers. Repeal them. | 27 |
44.8% | 12593 | 46.2% | 65.1 | Some. The current amount of support for distressed industries is about right. | 52 |
23.9% | 6423 | 23.6% | 68.1 | No. Subsidies keep inefficient industries in this country keeping us poorer in the long run. Limit subsidies to help out in short term crises only. | 77 |
4.8% | 1274 | 4.7% | 69.6 | NO! Giving taxpayer money to favored industries is theft, pure and simple! Eliminate all subsidies, quotas and protective tariffs. | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 67.2 | Total | 50.9 |
Education | Should the public schools be privatized? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
32.9% | 8809 | 32.3% | 93.1 | NO! We need to extend the public schools to day care and college. | 0 |
59.2% | 16209 | 59.5% | 91.0 | No. We need continued government ownership of schools. (Reform is possible.) | 45 |
5.9% | 1650 | 6.1% | 88.8 | Yes. Replace government-owned schools with government-provided vouchers for everyone. | 60 |
1.4% | 409 | 1.5% | 85.6 | Yes! Government vouchers for the poor only. (Let the middle and upper classes write their own checks.) | 80 |
0.5% | 158 | 0.6% | 85.3 | YES! Complete separation of education and state. (Let churches and other charities educate the poor.) | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 91.4 | Total | 31.8 |
Social Security | Should Social Security be phased out? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14.6% | 3704 | 13.6% | 82.6 | NO! All we have to do is start investing the Social Security trust fund in the stock market. | 0 |
12.6% | 3304 | 12.1% | 79.7 | NO! Raise taxes as necessary when the baby boomers retire. | 20 |
44.3% | 12134 | 44.6% | 76.4 | No, but pay down the national debt now, before the baby boomers retire. | 50 |
15.2% | 4380 | 16.1% | 72.6 | Some. Ramp up the retirement age so the average number of years for receiving government checks is brought back down to 5. | 60 |
5.9% | 1691 | 6.2% | 73.5 | Yes. Replace Social Security with a purely aged-based MINIMUM income (comparable to current minimum Social Security payouts) funded out of general revenues. | 68 |
5.0% | 1376 | 5.1% | 76.6 | Yes. Replace Social Security with a forced savings plan for the young. | 76 |
2.2% | 646 | 2.4% | 72.1 | YES! Complete separation of retirement and state. Let people plan their own retirement. | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 76.7 | Total | 43.9 |
Workplace | Should the government continue to regulate employment relations in the name of Civil Rights? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10.6% | 2651 | 9.7% | 81.6 | YES! A job is a right. The burden of proof lies on the employer to fire anyone. All firings should be subject to judicial review. | 0 |
34.7% | 9009 | 33.1% | 78.9 | Yes! Workplace equality has not yet been achieved. Clearly more action is required. | 20 |
41.7% | 11816 | 43.4% | 72.4 | Yes. About what it is now. (Sure, some of the lawsuits are ridiculous, but it takes dire threats to bring certain employers into line.) | 44 |
10.5% | 3044 | 11.2% | 70.6 | No. The penalties for discrimination and/or offending people have gotten way out of line. The loss of a job is worth a few months' pay in damages at most. | 79 |
2.6% | 715 | 2.6% | 73.3 | NO! Hiring and working should be purely voluntary activities. (The marketplace will punish discriminators.) | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 75.2 | Total | 36.1 |
Taxes & Spending | Should the size of government be significantly reduced (over a period of time)? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
11.2% | 3060 | 11.2% | 81.8 | NO! Government is too small. There are vital programs that are under-funded. | 0 |
33.1% | 9212 | 33.8% | 80.2 | No. Government is about the right size. | 40 |
45.4% | 12209 | 44.8% | 83.1 | Yes. Cut by 10-20% (eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse...). | 55 |
4.9% | 1290 | 4.7% | 84.1 | Yes! Cut significantly, 30-40%. | 65 |
2.4% | 641 | 2.4% | 85.3 | Yes! Cut spending roughly in half. | 75 |
2.1% | 556 | 2.0% | 85.7 | YES! Cut 70% or more. (The rightful function of government is to protect our borders and enforce laws protecting life, liberty and property.) | 86 |
0.9% | 267 | 1.0% | 77.9 | YES!! Taxation is theft! Government should be run from voluntary contributions and user fees only. | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 82.1 | Total | 45.9 |
The Draft | Should military service be voluntary, or should there be a draft? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10.3% | 2836 | 10.4% | 68.1 | Everyone should have the experience of two years of "National Service" (can be non-military). | 0 |
15.1% | 4321 | 15.9% | 65.4 | No draft now, but keep draft registration. | 50 |
43.7% | 12165 | 44.7% | 67.2 | Under extreme circumstances a draft could be acceptable. However, we do not need draft registration now. | 70 |
13.1% | 3461 | 12.7% | 70.6 | In times of crisis the problem is not lack of volunteers; the problem is lack of a prepared populace. Add military training to the basic high school curriculum and make training camps available without further obligation. | 80 |
17.8% | 4452 | 16.3% | 74.9 | The draft is slavery and therefore morally unacceptable. A country that needs a draft to defend itself deserves to lose. | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 68.7 | Total | 66.4 |
Censorship | Should the FCC regulate the content of broadcast television? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2.6% | 661 | 2.4% | 73.4 | Yes! The government should own the air waves. We need a system like the BBC. | 0 |
10.2% | 2664 | 9.8% | 71.3 | Yes. We need less sex, less violence, and/or more "educational" TV. | 25 |
29.8% | 8320 | 30.5% | 67.0 | Yes. The current level of FCC power is about right. | 50 |
41.2% | 11278 | 41.4% | 68.3 | No. Let broadcasters choose content and format. Only require that they scramble the really rude stuff. | 76 |
16.2% | 4312 | 15.8% | 70.0 | No! Any government censorship is intolerable. Give broadcasters the same freedoms of expression enjoyed by publishers of books and magazines -- including how much sex, violence and crude language. | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 68.6 | Total | 65.0 |
Sex | Should the government have laws regulating sex between consenting adults? Should they be enforced? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.5% | 362 | 1.3% | 69.8 | Yes! It is time to actually enforce laws against sex out of wedlock and certain "deviant" acts. | 0 |
3.6% | 894 | 3.3% | 66.8 | Yes. Time to enforce the laws against certain "deviant" acts. | 25 |
4.0% | 1038 | 3.8% | 65.4 | Yes. Time to enforce the laws against sex out of wedlock. | 30 |
16.7% | 4646 | 17.1% | 60.4 | Well, keep current sodomy and fornication laws on the books to make a statement, but don't enforce them. | 50 |
42.2% | 11700 | 43.0% | 60.5 | No. Sodomy and fornication laws are unenforceable and obsolete. Take them off the books. | 76 |
32.0% | 8595 | 31.6% | 62.4 | NO! The government has no right to regulate sex between consenting adults. Take all such laws off the books, including laws against prostitution. | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 61.6 | Total | 74.5 |
Drugs | Should the War on Drugs continue? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6.5% | 1546 | 5.7% | 84.3 | YES! And we need to redouble our efforts! More life sentences! More mandatory drug tests! More no-knock warrants! | 0 |
18.9% | 4742 | 17.4% | 79.2 | Yes! Continue on our present course. | 44 |
25.1% | 6883 | 25.3% | 72.6 | Well yes, but obey the Constitution. Repeal civil asset forfeiture and/or lessen some of the more outrageous punishments. | 59 |
45.2% | 12855 | 47.2% | 70.2 | No. Legalize the safer drugs such as marijuana. Tax and regulate them like liquor. | 81 |
4.3% | 1209 | 4.4% | 71.0 | No! Legalize all recreational drugs for adult use. (What you take is none of the government's business as long as you handle your 'high' responsibly.) | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 73.2 | Total | 64.0 |
Immigration | Is illegal immigration a serious problem? Does it justify the cost and lost rights necessary to keep people out? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
16.6% | 4164 | 15.3% | 82.4 | Illegal immigration is a serious problem. Institute a national ID for everyone. | 0 |
39.0% | 10209 | 37.5% | 78.9 | Illegal immigration is a serious problem, but the solution is more border patrol and/or use of the military to guard the borders better. | 40 |
23.4% | 7053 | 25.9% | 68.5 | Keep the current system more or less. | 50 |
14.5% | 4051 | 14.9% | 73.8 | Keep the immigration quotas but keep our Constitutional rights also. Eliminate the proof of legal residency requirement to get a job. | 72 |
6.4% | 1758 | 6.5% | 75.7 | Immigrants are a blessing to this country. Open the gates! Just require that they pay their own way. | 100 | 100% | 27235 | 100% | 75.8 | Total | 44.2 |