Politics - Not As Simple As Many Would Like

Too often these days people want to put people into a couple of easy political categories -- all Republicans are conservatives and all Democrats are liberals and all Independents are somewhere in the middle. It would be very convenient if that was true, and it would make politics and campaigning much easier. I'm afraid that things are a lot more complicated than that.

The fact is that not all Democrats agree with each other and the same is true of Republicans (and Independents). The Pew Research Center has determined that there are different types of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. They have divided these three groups into nine different political groups. I think there are probably many more than that, but these nine groups work pretty well to give us a look at the complicated political landscape. Here are the political divisions they have come up with (along with the percentages of the population and of registered voters they comprise):

STAUNCH CONSERVATIVES -- Take extremely conservative positions on all issues (size & role of government, economics, social issues, foreign policy). Most teabaggers and birthers are in this group.
9% of general public
11% of registered voters
92% White
<1% Black
3% Hispanic

MAIN STREET REPUBLICANS -- Are also generally conservative, but not consistently so. They may disagree with the extreme conservatives on some social and economic issues. For example, a majority of this group thinks corporations make too much profit, while only a minority think environmental laws hurt business (the opposite of what Staunch Conservatives think).
11% of general public
14% of registered voters
88% White
2% Black
4% Hispanic

LIBERTARIANS -- Critical of government and environmental regulations and supportive of business, but are more secular (and liberal) on social issues like homosexuality, drugs, and abortion. Tend to lean Republican.
9% of general population
10% of registered voters
85% White
1% Black
7% Hispanic

DISAFFECTEDS -- Financially stressed and cynical about politics. Tend to lean toward Republican views but disagree with them on government aid to poor and unemployed Americans (which they support).
11% of general population
11% of registered voters
77% White
8% Black
9% Hispanic

POST-MODERNS -- Agree with the Libertarians on social issues, but are more moderate about government, business, and the environment. Tend to lean Democratic.
13% of general population
14% of registered voters
70% White
6% Black
14% Hispanic

HARD-PRESSED DEMOCRATS -- Fairly liberal on government & business, but highly religious and conservative on social issues. Less likely to support environmental regulations.
13% of the general public
15% of registered voters
53% White
35% Black
6% Hispanic

NEW COALITION DEMOCRATS -- Very much like the Hard-Pressed Democrats except they have a much more upbeat attitude about economic struggles. Also more likely to support immigrant rights and environmental regulations.
10% of general population
9% of registered voters
34% White
30% Black
26% Hispanic

SOLID LIBERALS -- Take liberal positions on all issues (government, business, environment, social issues). Express diametrically-opposing views to those of Staunch Conservatives. This group mostly votes Democratic (but could vote a third party at times).
14% of general public
16% of registered voters
72% White
9% Black
11% Hispanic

BYSTANDERS -- Generally stay on the sidelines in political affairs (like elections). Too many of the young are in this group.
10% of general population
0% of registered voters

It's pretty easy to see by looking at these different constituencies how difficult it can be to build a winning coalition. There are different beliefs even within parties. And right now, neither of the two main political parties is doing a very good job of appealing to the majority of Americans.

While the Democrats haven't done much to bring the majority to their side, the Republicans have recently pulled a huge blunder by voting to abolish Medicare and Medicaid (while cutting corporate taxes). The only group that would go along with that are the Staunch Conservatives, and there aren't nearly enough of them to swing an election. If the Republicans don't back up on this pretty soon they may be giving the next election to the Democrats (by attacking the one thing, Medicare, which could unite most of the above groups).

Where do you fall on the political scale? Which group are you in? If you would like to know, Pew Research has a fairly short questionnaire that will tell you. It probably will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I was rated a Solid Liberal. Take the test, and if you don't mind, tell us in the comments which group you are in. I would be interested to know that.