POLL: Aces High political views

[Dead Man Flying]

In another thread, Hangtime and I briefly discussed the political makeup of the AH forums.  In order to verify our conclusions, I'd like to poll the AH BB denizens on their political views so I can compare them to a completely random sample of roughly 1600 Americans from the National Election Studies 2000 Pilot Study (available at http://www.umich.edu/~nes).

The questions I'm asking are taken exactly from the survey, so just answer them without any extra information.  I'll need about 30 responses in order to achieve statistical reliability, as fewer than that and extreme responses on any question can cause great variation in the mean of the response category.  Thirty is a generally agreed "safe" number.  Unfortunately, only responses from American members of the BB will count, as answers from non-Americans could introduce systematic cultural bias into the data.  So feel free to answer, but your responses won't be counted in the final analysis.  Please answer all questions completely if you decide to respond.

Anyway, when it's all said and done, I'll post the findings to see just how closely the AH BB matches the views and beliefs of a scientifically selected, representative random sample of the American population.  Could be interesting.    Anyway, onward to the poll.

POLL

(1) How would you rate the Democratic Party (on a scale of 0 to 100)

(2) How would you rate the Republican Party (on a scale of 0 to 100)

(3) When it comes to politics, do you usually think of yourself as extremely liberal, liberal, slightly liberal; moderate or middle of the road, slightly conservative, conservative, extremely conservative, or haven't you thought much about this?

(4) Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or what?  Would you call yourself a strong Democrat/Republican or a not very strong Democrat/ Republican? Do you think of yourself as closer to the Republican Party or to the Democratic party?

(5) Do you think the federal government should make it more difficult for people to buy a gun than it is  now, make it easier for people to buy a gun, or keep these rules about the same as they are now?  A lot easier/more difficult or somewhat easier/more difficult?

-- Todd/Leviathn

[funkedup]

1 0
2 1
3 moderate
4 closer to Republicans
5 same

[Sandman]

Hmmm... one of these questions certainly doesn't seem to fit... Guns?

What... is that the litmus test?

[Octavius]

1)  5.050148934123
2)  5.050148934124
3)  middle
4)  independent/libertarian
5)  somewhat more difficult

[SaburoS]

POLL I take it 0 is the worst/ 100 is the best.

(1) How would you rate the Democratic Party (on a scale of 0 to 100)
30

(2) How would you rate the Republican Party (on a scale of 0 to 100)
30

(3) When it comes to politics, do you usually think of yourself as extremely liberal, liberal, slightly liberal; moderate or middle of the road, slightly conservative, conservative, extremely conservative, or haven't you thought much about this?
Slightly liberal

(4) Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or what?  Would you call yourself a strong Democrat/Republican or a not very strong Democrat/ Republican? Do you think of yourself as closer to the Republican Party or to the Democratic party?
American Independent. Somewhat. I find the Democratic party the lesser of two evils.

(5) Do you think the federal government should make it more difficult for people to buy a gun than it is  now, make it easier for people to buy a gun, or keep these rules about the same as they are now?  A lot easier/more difficult or somewhat easier/more difficult?
Overall about the same, however I would favor the "Assault Weapons Ban" being eliminated.

Regards,
SaburoS

[Yeager]

1) 010
2) 050
3) Moderate Conservative Views
4) Independant
5) Easier with harsh consequnces for crime

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
Hmmm... one of these questions certainly doesn't seem to fit... Guns?

What... is that the litmus test?

I see a lot of gun debate and gun-oriented discussions on these forums.  As such, I've included that question to measure how close the views here match those of the American public.  It seemed like a neat thing to throw in there, and I honestly don't know how the responses here will stack up to the NES survey.

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Dead Man Flying
I'll need about 30 responses in order to achieve statistical reliability, as fewer than that and extreme responses on any question can cause great variation in the mean of the response category.
-- Todd/Leviathn

Hmmm...  AFAIK, convenience sample results cannot (or should not) be extrapolated to give results for the population.

I assume that it's okay to compare one statistic to another... not my idea of fun, but what the heck...

[funkedup]

Pollwhiner!

[Sandman]

I know... I'm being a wet rag...


Just have a very jaded view of opinion polls...  I blame the media.

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
Hmmm...  AFAIK, convenience sample results cannot (or should not) be extrapolated to give results for the population.

[/B]

If you're referring to the fact that this is a non-random survey, then you're right.  But that's the point, actually.  I'm curious as to how the kinds of people who read the Aces High forums and respond to polls like this self-selected one compare to the general American population; these will be the people who post here frequently.  I am not interested in creating a representative political picture of the AH BB population (nor am I capable of it by this method), since most are lurkers anyway.

I assume that it's okay to compare one statistic to another... not my idea of fun, but what the heck...

That's the idea.    So long as you take it for what it's worth, which of course is just for the entertainment value.

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
Just have a very jaded view of opinion polls...  I blame the media.

The National Election Study has been an ongoing project since 1948.  Funded by federal grant money, it always utilizes the most scientific polling and question content methods available.  Its results are about as scientific as you can get in a poll.  Plus, it lacks any sort of political or media agenda since its results are meant purely for academic research.

In other words, quit your whinin'.  

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Sandman]

Okay... I'll play along...

1) 10
2) 10
3) Liberal
4) Independent
5) Somewhat more difficult

[StSanta]

I'll play too

0
0
Most Preussian
Even more Preussian
No. First they ban machineguns, then they want to take our leather g-strings away.

[hyena426]

guns laws,,were guns are legal you seem to have a lower rate in crime,, japan didnt invade usa after pearl harbor because it was worried about every american having a gun back then,,,,would be like fighting a 200million man army,,lol,,,one major city fully gunned would out number any invading army,,let alone a hole state full of people with guns,,back in the 1940's everyone had a gun

im glad they made it harder to get a gun,,but i dont beleve in banning guns,,would be a big mistake,,and lots of good people would be robbed thats for sure,,because if they take are guns away,,,the criminals will still have there guns,,,because they dont care if its legal or not,,because there criminals!!,,lol,,,they will just be making a whipped dog out of the public,,and total dependent on the goverment to protect there homes