Unscientific Political Lean Poll Results (1 Viewer)

[Captain Cranks]

Despite the polls obviously being flawed, let's see if there's anything to glean from the results. Unfortunately there was a 27 vote difference between the two polls to make things even worse, but here's what we got.

How you view the political leanings of the PSF:

Radical Liberal - 17%

Moderate Liberal - 44%

Moderate Conservative - 28%

Radical Conservative - 14%

How you view your own political leanings:

Radical Liberal - 12%

Moderate Liberal - 54%

Moderate Conservative - 33%

Radical Conservative - 1%

My takes

- Not surprisingly, people were less likely to label themselves radical than how the population as a whole is viewed. Only one conservative considers himself radical. 

- There's a 2/3 to 1/3 majority of self-identified liberals vs conservatives on the board according to the self-label poll although the impression of the board as a whole is less lobsided (51% vs 42%). 

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I'm surprised those two polls came out that close to one another.  61-42 vs. 66-34 is really pretty good, even with the rounding errors.

 

[djmich]

Despite the polls obviously being flawed, let's see if there's anything to glean from the results. Unfortunately there was a 27 vote difference between the two polls to make things even worse, but here's what we got.

How you view the political leanings of the PSF:

Radical Liberal - 17%

Moderate Liberal - 44%

Moderate Conservative - 28%

Radical Conservative - 14%

How you view your own political leanings:

Radical Liberal - 12%

Moderate Liberal - 54%

Moderate Conservative - 33%

Radical Conservative - 1%

My takes

- Not surprisingly, people were less likely to label themselves radical than how the population as a whole is viewed. Only one conservative considers himself radical. 

- There's a 2/3 to 1/3 majority of self-identified liberals vs conservatives on the board according to the self-label poll although the impression of the board as a whole is less lobsided (51% vs 42%). 

What’s Interesting to me in results is that this place has a bit of a reputation of being very liberal and then it’s argued that it’s not true mostly by left leaning posters.

But the poll response that addresses perceptions of the forum is pretty even (so people don’t think it’s lopsided liberal)

And then the part where people actually identify themselves is more lopsided liberal.

Not sure what to make of that

 

[Rich Conway]

And then the part where people actually identify themselves is more lopsided liberal.

Not sure what to make of that

It wasn't a public poll?

 

[djmich]

It wasn't a public poll?

I hear ya but If people were trying to nefariously identify as liberal to make the forum lool more liberal I’d think they also would have more consistently voted that it was perceived as liberal as well.

 Not sure, it’s odd 

 

[(HULK)]

It may be that conservatives start more threads? I mean, if you just scroll the thread titles, this place seems like 8kun's cousin sometimes.

 

[Captain Cranks]

It may be that conservatives start more threads? I mean, if you just scroll the thread titles, this place seems like 8kun's cousin sometimes.

That's probably more indicative of the administration. From 2016-2020 it was all things Trump. That said, GG is doing his best to make the PSF a far right propaganda cesspool.

 

[Captain Cranks]

It wasn't a public poll?

Nah...My mistake. The next iteration will definitely be public.

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

What’s Interesting to me in results is that this place has a bit of a reputation of being very liberal and then it’s argued that it’s not true mostly by left leaning posters.

But the poll response that addresses perceptions of the forum is pretty even (so people don’t think it’s lopsided liberal)

And then the part where people actually identify themselves is more lopsided liberal.

Not sure what to make of that

The people voting on the poll are the ones who comprise the FFA, so the perspective is badly skewed by our collective biases and worldviews.

I would guess that the people here are far older, wealthier, more well-educated and whiter than the average American. That is almost certainly true of their friends and communities as well. So that's three perspectives that make the FFA and their communities far more likely to be conservative than the average American (older, whiter, wealthier) and one that makes them somewhat more likely to be liberal (education level). This makes it basically impossible for us to gauge this accurately IMO.

 

[Sand]

How you view your own political leanings:

Radical Liberal - 12%

Moderate Liberal - 54%

Moderate Conservative - 33%

Radical Conservative - 1%

2/3 liberal is exactly what I pegged the forum at and this is right on.  It also shows the the left folks in here are significantly further left than the folks on the right are right.  That also is fairly obvious from reading this forum for a while.

and whiter than the average American. 

 It's summer - I have a tan, bub.

 

[Manster]

The radical right numbers are interesting.  This actually correlates with what I see from the wokest of the woke people I know.  They are so entrenched in their echo chamber of wokeness, they think if you go to church, or like to shoot guns, you are essentially a trump supporting, bible thumping, ignorant, gun nut.

 

[Captain Cranks]

The radical right numbers are interesting.  This actually correlates with what I see from the wokest of the woke people I know.  They are so entrenched in their echo chamber of wokeness, they think if you go to church, or like to shoot guns, you are essentially a trump supporting, bible thumping, ignorant, gun nut.

So you think it's accurate that only 1% of the PSF is this type of person? A potentially better explanation is that some on the left are more self aware. Plus, I'd bet good money that at least 2 of those I consider radical right answered the poll as radical left. 

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

2/3 liberal is exactly what I pegged the forum at and this is right on.  It also shows the the left folks in here are significantly further left than the folks on the right are right.  That also is fairly obvious from reading this forum for a while.

I seriously doubt this.  I think this is more a product of the fact that being associated with the far right is far more unseemly than being associated with the far left. It's also a question of perspective- the US is, at this point, far to the right of basically every other G-12 country. What we consider a moderate liberal would likely be a conservative in those countries.

Anyway, there are a lot of people in this forum who have said that they would still consider voting for Donald Trump after January 6. Hopefully reasonable people can agree that endorsing some sort of dictatorship or monarchy that rejects the will of the clear majority and their right to participate in democracy going forward would qualify as "far right."

 

[Manster]

So you think it's accurate that only 1% of the PSF is this type of person? A potentially better explanation is that some on the left are more self aware. Plus, I'd bet good money that at least 2 of those I consider radical right answered the poll as radical left. 

But what is radical right?  Someone who voted for Trump?  Someone who owns guns?  Someone who wants secure borders?

I think that the majority of those who are considered "radical right" are actually just your average American who doesn't line up with woke America.

 

[djmich]

The people voting on the poll are the ones who comprise the FFA, so the perspective is badly skewed by our collective biases and worldviews.

I would guess that the people here are far older, wealthier, more well-educated and whiter than the average American. That is almost certainly true of their friends and communities as well. So that's three perspectives that make the FFA and their communities far more likely to be conservative than the average American (older, whiter, wealthier) and one that makes them somewhat more likely to be liberal (education level). This makes it basically impossible for us to gauge this accurately IMO.

I’m not sure I understand, the intent was to gauge where the participants of the ffa political forum stand, not extrapolate it to a broader population?

Yes, we’re largely a bunch of old white nerds, nobody think we’re representative of America?

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

But what is radical right?  Someone who voted for Trump?  Someone who owns guns?  Someone who wants secure borders?

I think that the majority of those who are considered "radical right" are actually just your average American who doesn't line up with woke America.

Someone who continues to support Trump after January 6 would be "radical right" IMO. The other two things, not at all.

Regarding immigration, I would say anyone who opposes a respectable amount of legal immigration, including accepting refugees, is radical right (see eg supporters of the RAISE Act). 

Gun ownership is a non-issue in most people's perception, certainly is in mine. If you oppose literally every gun control measure of any kind I'd say maybe that's radical right, but I don't really know anyone who takes it that far.

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

I’m not sure I understand, the intent was to gauge where the participants of the ffa political forum stand, not extrapolate it to a broader population?

Yes, we’re largely a bunch of old white nerds, nobody think we’re representative of America?

I apologize if I wasn't clear.  Maybe this will clear up what I was saying:

Regarding the bolded ... gauge where the participants of the FFA political forum stand as compared to what?

 

[(HULK)]

But what is radical right?  Someone who voted for Trump?  Someone who owns guns?  Someone who wants secure borders?

I think that the majority of those who are considered "radical right" are actually just your average American who doesn't line up with woke America.

Someone who voted for Trump? No, not radical.

Someone who presently believes the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and still supports him despite the mountain of evidence showing that Trump values Trump way more than he values the will of the people?  Yes, that person is a radical. Being anti-democracy in the United States is a radical position, and if you support Trump at this stage,  you are anti-democracy.

 

[AAABatteries]

I seriously doubt this.  I think this is more a product of the fact that being associated with the far right is far more unseemly than being associated with the far left. It's also a question of perspective- the US is, at this point, far to the right of basically every other G-12 country. What we consider a moderate liberal would likely be a conservative in those countries.

Anyway, there are a lot of people in this forum who have said that they would still consider voting for Donald Trump after January 6. Hopefully reasonable people can agree that endorsing some sort of dictatorship or monarchy that rejects the will of the clear majority and their right to participate in democracy going forward would qualify as "far right."

I wouldn't - as long as we are only giving people two options you will have at least some fairly reasonable people who will vote for their side no matter who that person is.  Literally you could stick anybody in that spot and they would vote for them.  I'd go so far as to say we could start producing POTUS ballots without people and just have parties listed and a large number of people would still vote.

 

[Manster]

Someone who continues to support Trump after January 6 would be "radical right" IMO. The other two things, not at all.

Regarding immigration, I would say anyone who opposes a respectable amount of legal immigration, including accepting refugees, is radical right (see eg supporters of the RAISE Act). 

Gun ownership is a non-issue in most people's perception, certainly is in mine. If you oppose literally every gun control measure of any kind I'd say maybe that's radical right, but I don't really know anyone who takes it that far.

Secure borders mean stopping illegal immigration......accepting refugees is not the same as Biden essentially inviting illegal immigration

 

[Manster]

Someone who voted for Trump? No, not radical.

Someone who presently believes the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and still supports him despite the mountain of evidence showing that Trump values Trump way more than he values the will of the people?  Yes, that person is a radical. Being anti-democracy in the United States is a radical position, and if you support Trump at this stage,  you are anti-democracy.

I don't support Trump, and I don't support the socialists who are trying to tear down our constitution.

The fact remains that we got Trump because the left is out of line with a good majority of Americans.   

 

[djmich]

I apologize if I wasn't clear.  Maybe this will clear up what I was saying:

Regarding the bolded ... gauge where the participants of the FFA political forum stand as compared to what?

I don’t know there was an express purpose to evaluate where this forum stands compared to any other?

Its interesting to simply know what the composition of the forum is.

It can also be interesting to compare this composition to the averages across america, at least where possible.

Either way, we know this small sample of people here is not representative of the US.  Not sure where you’re going with this?

 

[(HULK)]

I don't support Trump, and I don't support the socialists who are trying to tear down our constitution.

The fact remains that we got Trump because the left is out of line with a good majority of Americans.   

At no point did the majority vote for Trump, so I don't think your assertion is correct.

Regardless, I said if you support Trump today you're a radical. Not that if you supported him in 2016 or 2020.

 

[KarmaPolice]

2/3 liberal is exactly what I pegged the forum at and this is right on.  It also shows the the left folks in here are significantly further left than the folks on the right are right.  That also is fairly obvious from reading this forum for a while.

 It's summer - I have a tan, bub.

Fairly obvious?  I feel like we are either visiting a different forum than each other, or interacting with different people.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

So you think it's accurate that only 1% of the PSF is this type of person? A potentially better explanation is that some on the left are more self aware. Plus, I'd bet good money that at least 2 of those I consider radical right answered the poll as radical left. 

2 good points here at the end.   I bet, and have seen posters like tim admit when their position on an issue is an extreme view, even in relation to the left.   Posters like SC don't seem to do the same, even when people that lean right are telling him as much in threads like the gun control thread.    100% to the last part since it wasn't public voting.  

 

[Sand]

Fairly obvious?  I feel like we are either visiting a different forum than each other, or interacting with different people.  

I and all the voices in my head stand by the previous statement.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I and all the voices in my head stand by the previous statement.

I am sure we both stand by our statements.  It's just interesting how different of an experience two people have in the PSF.  

 

[Sand]

I am sure we both stand by our statements.  It's just interesting how different of an experience two people have in the PSF.  

That was a joke.  While I don't take this stuff that seriously I personally do find that this board weighs left and a few are pretty far on the scale.  Not as much as used to be though - it's significantly more balanced than a few years ago.

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

Secure borders mean stopping illegal immigration......accepting refugees is not the same as Biden essentially inviting illegal immigration

This is not happening. If anything Biden has been surprisingly conservative with respect to the border and immigration. You need to stop watching Fox News, my man.

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

I don’t know there was an express purpose to evaluate where this forum stands compared to any other?

Its interesting to simply know what the composition of the forum is.

It can also be interesting to compare this composition to the averages across america, at least where possible.

Either way, we know this small sample of people here is not representative of the US.  Not sure where you’re going with this?

Same here. Political viewpoints along the spectrum are relative. I don't know how someone could answer a question about their own political leanings or the political leanings of the forum without knowing what they're comparing it to. Does the forum lean conservative? Well it certainly does as compared to the Western/G-12 world. IMO it is also to the right of the average American voter, even more so when compared to the average American when we include non-voters. But I'd also say it's far more liberal than, say, the average sports message board, or a typical group of fantasy football fans, or probably relative to the friends and peers of the people who post here.

 

[djmich]

Same here. Political viewpoints along the spectrum are relative. I don't know how someone could answer a question about their own political leanings or the political leanings of the forum without knowing what they're comparing it to. Does the forum lean conservative? Well it certainly does as compared to the Western/G-12 world. IMO it is also to the right of the average American voter, even more so when compared to the average American when we include non-voters. But I'd also say it's far more liberal than, say, the average sports message board, or a typical group of fantasy football fans, or probably relative to the friends and peers of the people who post here.

Gotcha, I understand better what you’re getting at.  I think there are generally accepted categorizations of political positions/leanings that this board would mostly be aligned on and were used when voting.
 

That said your point is valid that there is likely some variation in baselines and the baselines would also be different across the globe.

 

[(HULK)]

This is not happening. If anything Biden has been surprisingly conservative with respect to the border and immigration. You need to stop watching Fox News, my man.

It's amazing how easy the game over there is:

Bad Thing > ??? > Biden caused it

Never do they actually go into how. How has Biden been inviting immigrants into the US? I'm sure there are things you can argue that support that as well as things that don't. But you never see that here.

 

[Captain Cranks]

It's amazing how easy the game over there is:

Bad Thing > ??? > Biden caused it

Never do they actually go into how. How has Biden been inviting immigrants into the US? I'm sure there are things you can argue that support that as well as things that don't. But you never see that here.

I like this calculus:  Republican does bad thing > Evidence overwhelmingly proves it > The media and Dems and RINOs who acknowledge the bad are the real offenders.

 

[Manster]

This is not happening. If anything Biden has been surprisingly conservative with respect to the border and immigration. You need to stop watching Fox News, my man.

Don't watch any news on tv.  I've listened to the old fart himself

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

Don't watch any news on tv.  I've listened to the old fart himself

Interesting! If you don't mind my asking, what has Biden said that's led you to believe that he is "essentially inviting illegal immigration," and where did you hear him say it?

 

[Manster]

Interesting! If you don't mind my asking, what has Biden said that's led you to believe that he is "essentially inviting illegal immigration," and where did you hear him say it?

You've got to be kidding, right?  Everything the Biden admin has done has led to more people amassing at the border and record numbers of illegal immigrants 

 

[(HULK)]

You've got to be kidding, right?  Everything the Biden admin has done has led to more people amassing at the border and record numbers of illegal immigrants 

You've made claim. Now explain HOW and WHAT the Biden administration has done that led to more people amassing at the border and record numbers of illegal immigrants. 

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

You've got to be kidding, right?  Everything the Biden admin has done has led to more people amassing at the border and record numbers of illegal immigrants 

I am not.

Again, can you possibly give me specific Biden administration actions that you consider to be "essentially inviting illegal immigration," as you claim? 

 

[(HULK)]

What about the stone tablets engraved with, "We cordially invite you to illegally immigrate to the United States of America" that he used OUR tax dollars to send out to all of Latin America?