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Radical Conservatives are those who are within 26 points of the right corner.
| Guns | To what degree should guns be regulated/restricted in the modern age? | ||||
| ECONOMIC | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74.8% | 1155 | 72.7% | 83.0 | A. None. Any system of registration is an invitation for future seizure. The Second Amendment guarantees the right for civilians to own military grade firearms. | 100 |
| 20.4% | 353 | 22.2% | 74.1 | B. Less. We need more upstanding citizens carrying concealed weapons so criminals and mad men can be stopped quickly. | 75 |
| 1.5% | 23 | 1.4% | 81.2 | C. About the same as we do now. | 55 |
| 1.3% | 21 | 1.3% | 79.6 | D. A bit more. Require registration and background checks for pistols and semi-automatic rifles but not for shotguns and bolt action rifles. (See this proposal.) | 47 |
| 0.2% | 4 | 0.3% | 75.2 | E. Ban large ammunition clips. | 45 |
| 0.1% | 2 | 0.1% | 75.0 | F. Ban all semi-automatic weapons from civilian use. | 24 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | G. Ban all pistols and semi-automatic weapons from civilian use. | 10 |
| 1.8% | 30 | 1.9% | 75.2 | H. Ban all civilian firearm ownership entirely. | 0 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 80.8 | Total | 91.6 |
| Sex Industry | To what degree should the sex industry be legal? | ||||
| PERSONAL | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83.4% | 1291 | 81.3% | 79.4 | A. None, outlaw pornography AND strip clubs. | 0 |
| 8.0% | 140 | 8.8% | 70.6 | B. Much less, outlaw pornography OR strip clubs. | 20 |
| 3.6% | 60 | 3.8% | 73.3 | C. Less. Make it harder to get pornography, but allow it for determined adults. For example, all dirty images on the Internet should be behind paywalls. | 40 |
| 3.9% | 76 | 4.8% | 63.4 | D. Current law: outlaw and regulate as we do now. | 50 |
| 0.4% | 9 | 0.6% | 57.6 | E. More legal. Keep strip clubs and pornography as legal as they are today, and legalize prostitution as well. | 90 |
| 0.6% | 12 | 0.8% | 62.6 | F. Completely legal. Eliminate geographic restrictions on strip clubs, and legalize prostitution as well. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 77.4 | Total | 6.0 |
| Immigration | What should the U.S. immigration policy be? | ||||
| PERSONAL | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3% | 6 | 0.4% | 64.3 | A. Open the gates! Borders are artificial. Let the welfare system crash and shantytowns bloom. Overall, more people benefit with fully open borders. | 100 |
| 0.4% | 6 | 0.4% | 80.7 | B. Raise the quotas a bit, but favor skilled immigrants. | 70 |
| 0.4% | 7 | 0.4% | 69.1 | C. Keep the existing immigration laws. | 50 |
| 0.4% | 7 | 0.4% | 69.3 | D. Raise taxes on poor but give all citizens a monthly rebate check. This could be the 'prebate' promoted by the Fair Tax folks, or making the income tax flat towards the bottom coupled with a citizen's dividend. This ensures that all guest workers are net taxpayers. | 66 |
| 1.9% | 30 | 1.9% | 80.7 | E. Seal the borders but don't violate civil liberties trying to hunt down illegals already within the country. | 40 |
| 5.6% | 78 | 4.9% | 91.5 | F. Institute a national ID in order to catch illegals within the borders. | 24 |
| 1.6% | 26 | 1.6% | 79.7 | G. Reduce the immigration quotas so we can assimilate the immigrants we have. | 30 |
| 20.5% | 359 | 22.6% | 73.1 | H. Do two of the above three options (seal borders, national ID, reduced quotas). | 10 |
| 68.9% | 1069 | 67.3% | 82.5 | I. Do all of the above three options to reduce immigration. | 0 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 80.5 | Total | 5.6 |
| Public Education | Should our system of public education be significantly reformed? | ||||
| ECONOMIC | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5% | 7 | 0.4% | 88.1 | A. Yes, we need more class time. Extend school hours to match standard work hours. | 30 |
| 0.2% | 4 | 0.3% | 75.2 | B. Yes, we need more class time. Extend the school year and get rid of the long summer break when the kids forget what they have learned. | 30 |
| 0.9% | 15 | 0.9% | 74.6 | C. Yes, we need better trained teachers. Require graduate degrees to teach and pay teachers accordingly. | 30 |
| 1.1% | 18 | 1.1% | 72.2 | D. Yes, we need more discipline. Require school uniforms. | 30 |
| 1.5% | 22 | 1.4% | 83.3 | E. Any 2 of the above. | 20 |
| 1.7% | 22 | 1.4% | 94.7 | F. Any 3 of the above. | 10 |
| 2.6% | 40 | 2.5% | 80.2 | G. All of the above. | 0 |
| 1.2% | 19 | 1.2% | 77.3 | H. No, our system has its problems, but it fosters creativity and universal citizenship. | 50 |
| 0.9% | 16 | 1.0% | 72.0 | I. No, but we do need more funding for our existing system. | 40 |
| 3.3% | 50 | 3.1% | 81.5 | J. The schools need competition to keep administrations on the bounce. We need more charter schools and other forms of public school choice. | 60 |
| 7.0% | 111 | 7.0% | 77.7 | K. We need more competition. Grant school vouchers for students who go to private school (at a fraction of the marginal cost of public school). | 75 |
| 6.7% | 120 | 7.6% | 68.8 | L. Charge partial tuition for public schools and grant scholarships for poor students. (This gets around the religious freedom problem that vouchers present.) | 80 |
| 23.8% | 408 | 25.7% | 71.7 | M. Sell off the public schools and grant school vouchers for all children. | 90 |
| 48.5% | 736 | 46.3% | 81.0 | N. Sell off the public schools and completely separate school from state. Let charities figure out how to educate the poor. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 77.4 | Total | 84.8 |
| Trade Policy | What should the U.S. trade policy be? | ||||
| ECONOMIC | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6% | 81 | 5.1% | 69.1 | A. Continue as currently, more or less. | 50 |
| 58.1% | 926 | 58.3% | 76.7 | B. Get rid of all tariffs, quotas, and export subsidies. | 100 |
| 5.6% | 89 | 5.6% | 77.5 | C. Aggressively enforce existing trade laws, retaliating against foreign subsidies which hurt domestic industries. | 35 |
| 5.1% | 77 | 4.8% | 81.1 | D. Increase tariffs and/or pull out of some/all of our trade agreements. | 25 |
| 2.3% | 37 | 2.3% | 76.3 | E. Implement an all out industrial policy. | 0 |
| 24.3% | 378 | 23.8% | 78.6 | F. Get rid of the existing reams of tariff schedules and trade agreements, but tax imports implicitly by having a national sales tax. This sales tax could replace Social Security taxes, the federal income tax, or both. | 80 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 77.0 | Total | 83.0 |
| Health Care | What should we do about exploding health care costs? | ||||
| ECONOMIC | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1% | 1 | 0.1% | 67.0 | A. Give ObamaCare a chance. Stay the course. | 40 |
| 0.2% | 2 | 0.1% | 100.0 | B. Stop messing about. Enact British style single payer system now. (Government paid medicine by default, but paying doctors out of pocket still legal.) | 15 |
| 0.1% | 1 | 0.1% | 100.0 | C. Everyone should have equal health care. Enact a Canadian style single payer system. (Paying doctors out of pocket illegal.) | 0 |
| 2.7% | 45 | 2.8% | 73.6 | D. Repeal ObamaCare and go back to what we had before, perhaps with some tort reform. | 55 |
| 3.4% | 52 | 3.3% | 78.6 | E. Repeal ObamaCare and have an individual tax deduction for health insurance instead of requiring people to go through their employers to get the tax exemption. | 70 |
| 4.0% | 67 | 4.2% | 72.9 | F. Repeal ObamaCare and replace tax free employer provided health insurance with a capped tax credit. (A tax credit gives the working poor incentive to buy health insurance. A cap gets rid of the subsidy for "Cadillac plans.") | 80 |
| 19.4% | 330 | 20.8% | 71.7 | G. Repeal ObamaCare and the employer provided health insurance exemption. Instead, give all citizens a health insurance voucher sufficient to buy a catastrophic health insurance policy. This better insures the poor, which leaving it to the market whether to pay ordinary medical bills out of pocket or buy more than catastrophic coverage. | 86 |
| 70.2% | 1090 | 68.6% | 78.5 | H. Repeal ObamaCare, the employer provided health insurance exemption, Medicare, Medicaid, and most restrictions on practicing medicine. Let nurses handle the mundane illnesses. Let pharmacists recommend and sell medicines to the already diagnosed without requiring expensive prescriptions. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 76.7 | Total | 94.0 |
| Marijuana | Should marijuana be legalized? | ||||
| PERSONAL | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1% | 55 | 3.5% | 67.5 | A. No. Keep current laws on the books. | 50 |
| 32.3% | 499 | 31.4% | 78.1 | B. No, and crack down on states which de facto legalize marijuana through lax "medical marijuana" laws. | 30 |
| 61.3% | 967 | 60.9% | 76.7 | C. No, and expand enforcement. Throw the book at rich white users the same as we do with poor blacks. | 0 |
| 1.2% | 23 | 1.4% | 63.4 | D. Partially. Legalize medical marijuana, but with a stricter definition of medical than California uses. | 60 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | E. Partially. Use California's medical marijuana laws as a national model. | 70 |
| 0.9% | 19 | 1.2% | 60.2 | F. Decriminalize only. Make marijuana possession and dealing a fineable offense, with fines in proportion to amount found. | 80 |
| 1.0% | 20 | 1.3% | 58.8 | G. Yes. Legalize marijuana outright, but tax and regulate it like we do hard liquor. | 90 |
| 0.2% | 5 | 0.3% | 50.2 | H. Yes. Legalize marijuana and don't regulate or tax. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 76.1 | Total | 13.8 |
| Hard Drugs | Should we change our laws against hard drugs? | ||||
| PERSONAL | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0% | 81 | 5.1% | 76.1 | A. No. Keep the laws we have on the books, and enforce at current levels. | 50 |
| 30.9% | 511 | 32.2% | 74.7 | B. No. Keep existing laws and extend vigorous enforcement. Treat rich white users as harshly as poor minorities caught with hard drugs. | 20 |
| 33.5% | 544 | 34.3% | 76.1 | C. Increase the penalties for possession to those for dealing so the courts don't have to prove intention to distribute. | 0 |
| 29.6% | 432 | 27.2% | 84.5 | D. In addition to existing enforcement, seal the borders so cocaine and opium cannot get into the country. | 35 |
| 0.7% | 13 | 0.8% | 65.8 | E. Keep the laws, but back off on some of the more aggressive police state tactics (no knock searches, civil asset forfeiture...). Instead, seal the borders and search for the drugs at border crossings instead of doing dangerous no-knock searches on citizens. | 65 |
| 0.0% | 1 | 0.1% | 51.0 | F. Yes. but legalize the more dilute forms only (cf. coca leaf, smokeable opium). | 90 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | G. Legalize hard drugs for licensed users only. (Like Timothy Leary's proposal. License drug use like we license drivers and pilots.) | 85 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | H. Legalize dilute forms for licensed users only. | 75 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | I. Legalize hard drugs for limited jurisdictions only (Nevada, Indian reservations...), like we do for casino gambling today. | 90 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | J. Legalize dilute forms of hard drugs for limited jurisdictions only. | 80 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | K. Legalize dilute forms for licensed users within limited jurisdictions. | 65 |
| 0.3% | 6 | 0.4% | 58.2 | L. Legalize all hard drugs period. Punish only those who cannot handle their highs and hurt others. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 77.8 | Total | 19.8 |
| Other Welfare Programs | Should we change or eliminate our government welfare system? (For the purposes of this question, don't consider Social Security, healthcare programs, or public education, as we cover those elsewhere. Also, do not consider government aid for the truly handicapped as part of this question; let's just consider those who don't need a caregiver or be institutionalized.) | ||||
| ECONOMIC | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2% | 4 | 0.3% | 75.2 | A. Keep the current programs of food stamps, monetary supplements, public housing and child care as is more or less. | 50 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | B. We need more welfare. Repeal the welfare reforms of the Clinton era. | 20 |
| 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | C. Even pre-Clinton welfare was too stingy. Expand and/or add to existing programs and promote them more aggressively. | 0 |
| 0.8% | 14 | 0.9% | 73.9 | D. Trim existing programs. | 55 |
| 1.1% | 19 | 1.2% | 73.1 | E. Block grant the programs and pass responsibility to the states. | 70 |
| 4.9% | 79 | 5.0% | 78.1 | F. Pass responsibility to the states without block grants. (Cut federal taxes and let the states raise taxes as they see fit.) | 90 |
| 14.5% | 250 | 15.7% | 73.0 | G. Replace federal welfare and tax deductions with a universal stipend for all adult citizens. Let the states and/or charities handle the outliers. | 80 |
| 78.5% | 1222 | 77.0% | 81.1 | H. Eliminate all government funded welfare. Let private charities care for the needy. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 79.5 | Total | 95.8 |
| Social Security | How should we fund Social Security as the Baby Boomers retire? Should we continue Social Security? | ||||
| ECONOMIC | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.9% | 15 | 0.9% | 70.3 | A. Raise income taxes and let the Treasury pay what it owes to the Social Security trust fund as needed. | 40 |
| 0.1% | 2 | 0.1% | 67.0 | B. Increase payroll taxes as needed when the number of workers/retiree goes from 3/1 to 2/1. (This would boost employee/employer FICA taxes from 6.2% each to close to 9% each.) | 30 |
| 0.1% | 1 | 0.1% | 100.0 | C. Invest payroll taxes in the stock market so Social Security reflects asset growth vs. wage growth.(Note: this would turn the Social Security Administration into an enormous pension fund, controlling a sizeable fraction of the stock market.) | 0 |
| 1.8% | 31 | 2.0% | 70.2 | D. Ramp up the retirement age so the average number of years for receiving government checks is brought back down to 5. (But what about manual laborers whose bodies lose strength at the current retirement age?) | 50 |
| 0.2% | 4 | 0.3% | 67.0 | E. Means test Social Security payouts. (In effect this is a retroactive tax on retirees who saved enough for retirement on their own.) | 20 |
| 1.3% | 22 | 1.4% | 72.2 | F. Replace Social Security with a purely aged-based MINIMUM income (comparable to current minimum Social Security payouts) funded out of general revenues. | 75 |
| 17.2% | 298 | 18.8% | 69.5 | G. Replace Social Security with a forced savings plan for the young. Pay existing retirees and the soon to be retired out of general funds. | 90 |
| 78.4% | 1215 | 76.5% | 77.9 | H. Let people plan their own retirement. Convert existing obligations into Treasury bonds and give them to existing retirees and the soon to be retired. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 76.0 | Total | 96.2 |
| Military Draft | To what degree should military service be voluntary? | ||||
| PERSONAL | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.9% | 204 | 12.8% | 68.3 | A. No draft now, but keep draft registration in case of a really big war. | 50 |
| 6.1% | 93 | 5.9% | 76.0 | B. Restore the draft, but only for home defense forces. Foreign occupation duty for low level wars such as Afghanistan should be for professionals only. | 30 |
| 21.0% | 298 | 18.8% | 82.3 | C. Restore the draft and use draftees for both home defense and foreign adventures. | 20 |
| 15.3% | 259 | 16.3% | 68.9 | D. Like B, but without a lottery. One year of civilian national service for those who don't do military service. | 10 |
| 37.8% | 596 | 37.5% | 74.1 | E. Like C, but without a lottery. Two years of civilian national service for those who don't do military service. | 0 |
| 3.8% | 65 | 4.1% | 69.0 | F. No draft, but expand the pool of qualified volunteers by offering military training in high schools, colleges, and as low pay summer work programs with no future obligations. | 65 |
| 2.1% | 38 | 2.4% | 65.3 | G. No draft, and don't call up reserves for long term foreign occupations. Reserve forces are for quick staffing up only. After that, foreign wars should be professionals only. | 75 |
| 1.5% | 28 | 1.8% | 63.7 | H. No draft, and don't call up reserves for optional wars (such as Iraq) period. | 85 |
| 0.3% | 7 | 0.4% | 57.1 | I. Like H, but even allow even professionals to quit in between battles (with appropriate financial penalty). Soldiers performing police actions should be volunteers in the same sense that police are volunteers at home. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 73.5 | Total | 19.3 |
| Abortion | At what stage in pregnancy should abortion become illegal? (Not counting medical necessity.) | ||||
| PERSONAL | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2% | 4 | 0.3% | 67.0 | A. After birth. Before birth it is purely a woman's choice. | 100 |
| 0.1% | 2 | 0.1% | 59.0 | B. At the age of viability outside the womb. | 75 |
| 0.2% | 4 | 0.3% | 63.0 | C. At 'quickening' (the stage when fetal movement first becomes noticeable to the mother). | 50 |
| 1.3% | 24 | 1.5% | 71.0 | D. The stage when fetal heartbeat is detectable with medical instruments. | 40 |
| 8.4% | 141 | 8.9% | 77.2 | E. Upon implantation. That is, outlaw all abortion save for rape or incest. | 25 |
| 17.3% | 296 | 18.6% | 75.4 | F. Upon implantaton. Outlaw all abortion without the rape/incest exceptions | 15 |
| 72.5% | 1117 | 70.3% | 83.8 | G. Upon conception. Outlaw all abortions and conventional birth control pills. | 0 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 81.3 | Total | 5.6 |
| War on Terror | What is/was the appropriate military response to terrorism in the 21st Century? | ||||
| PERSONAL | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2% | 38 | 2.4% | 75.6 | A. What we did. The U.S. response, including the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, was appropriate and sufficient. | 50 |
| 1.7% | 26 | 1.6% | 84.1 | B. More. We should intervene in Syria. | 25 |
| 8.4% | 124 | 7.8% | 87.2 | C. More: we need to stop Iran for getting nuclear weapons, by force of arms if need be. | 20 |
| 5.7% | 90 | 5.7% | 80.7 | D. More: there is another country or countries not mentioned here that need military correction soon. | 20 |
| 19.1% | 343 | 21.6% | 71.3 | E. Two of the above additional interventions | 10 |
| 56.9% | 866 | 54.5% | 84.2 | F. All of the above additional interventions. | 0 |
| 1.7% | 27 | 1.7% | 81.1 | G. Less. Taking out the Taliban and Saddam Hussein were worthwhile, but we shouldn't have stayed for the extensive nation building afterwards. | 55 |
| 0.7% | 15 | 0.9% | 61.5 | H. Less. Afghanistan yes. The second Iraq war no. | 65 |
| 0.1% | 2 | 0.1% | 83.5 | I. Way less. We should have used letters of marque and reprisal against Al Qaeda instead of invading Afghanistan. | 90 |
| 0.1% | 1 | 0.1% | 67.0 | J. Much less. Even the first Iraq war was a mistake, as was Desert Shield. Saddam was Saudi Arabia and Iran's problem. | 80 |
| 0.3% | 5 | 0.3% | 80.2 | K. Way less. They hate us not because we are free, but because we are over there. We should focus on energy independence so we can end our involvement in the Persian Gulf. Levy a large tariff on OPEC oil and/or spend some billions on a serious energy policy. | 75 |
| 0.0% | 1 | 0.1% | 51.0 | L. Way less. Let's get completely out the Persion Gulf now, without waiting for energy independence. | 90 |
| 3.0% | 50 | 3.1% | 76.8 | M. Way less. Get out the Middle East entirely now. And let Israel defend itself. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 80.7 | Total | 11.1 |
| Mortgage Crisis | What should we do about the ongoing mortgage crisis? | ||||
| ECONOMIC | |||||
| Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3% | 4 | 0.3% | 75.0 | A. Inflate the currency to bring nominal incomes and rents in line with current home prices. | 40 |
| 1.8% | 21 | 1.3% | 100.0 | B. Give out grants to homeowners based on how desperate they are. | 30 |
| 0.4% | 6 | 0.4% | 69.7 | C. Buy up surplus housing and demolish it to soak up excess supply. | 20 |
| 0.1% | 1 | 0.1% | 67.0 | D. Two of the above. | 15 |
| 0.1% | 1 | 0.1% | 67.0 | E. All of the above. | 0 |
| 1.8% | 40 | 2.5% | 52.0 | F. Do nothing beyond what we are doing now. The bailouts, new homeowner tax credits, and HARP suffice. | 50 |
| 1.6% | 28 | 1.8% | 69.1 | G. Let prices continue to fall but eliminate negative equity by granting existing homeowners the value of their future mortgage interest deductions as a lump sum payment applied existing mortgages, Then eliminate the mortgage deduction to avoid future bubbles. | 70 |
| 7.0% | 124 | 7.8% | 66.8 | H. Pop the remaining bubble. Eliminate all bailout programs. Yes, some people will learn a hard lesson, but others will gain by being able to afford homes on the cheap. | 80 |
| 22.6% | 376 | 23.7% | 71.4 | I. Pop the bubble even harder. Eliminate the remaining bailout programs, Fannie and Freddie, and the mortgage interest deduction. | 90 |
| 64.5% | 987 | 62.2% | 77.5 | J. Crush the bubble. Pop as above and go to a gold standard to eliminate inflation. | 100 | 100% | 1588 | 100% | 74.7 | Total | 93.2 |