How Representative of American Public Opinion is USMB?

[MaggieMae]

Overall, Conservatives tend to be more politically active and informed. For the same reason that conservative talk radio is so successful compared to liberal talk radio, you will see more conservatives on this board. Well informed Liberals pale in comparison to well informed Conservatives. In other words, many who vote to the left do so because they are just voting what sounds good without placing much thought behind who and what they actually support.

However, trying to draw any conclusions as to how it relates to the general population is difficult, because so many people fall in the middle. While the majority support things like abortion, stem cell research, global warming, and many other liberal type programs or ideas, the silent majority still don't trust government to do everything for us and feel that government is much too big. That is why this country is still fairly evenly divided. Despite the Dems having control currently, Obama did not win by a large margin. Had 4% of voters gone the other way, McCain would have won despite an extreme backlash against Republicans.

So while you will see more Conservatives posting on boards such as USMB, the actual numbers are closer to being even, yet many of those who fall into the liberal category are there because they are too easily influenced by outside factors. This is why younger people tend to be much more liberal as they are indoctrinated by liberal teachers from high school through college. Younger people tend to have positive aspirtations and like the idea of utopian societies, and that is what liberalism preaches. Once these people wake up to reality and understand that it just doesn't work that way, then they tend to become more conservative.

Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing you did, but replace the word "conservtive" with "liberal."


Red states are predominantly conservative, and yet are the biggest recipients of welfare AND have the highest divorce rates AND the highest teen pregnancy rates. Plus, they don't pay in as much in taxes as they receive.

Listen, the day the red states pull their own weight is the day I'll take any of them seriously.

It's wonderful when numbers can be manipulated to make a point, don't you think? Let's look at divorce rates between red states and blue states as an example. Red states have a higher divorce rate per 1000 people. However, red states also have a much higher marriage rate per 1000. So guess what? The more marriages, the more opportunity for divorce. Go figure, eh?

Welfare spending, I love this one. Do you know what is included in this so called welfare spending? For one, Social Security and Medicare payments for retirees. And guess where a lot of people like to retire to? You got it, red states that are warmer and where the cost of living is cheaper. Oh yea, those would mostly be red states. But is Social Security and Mediare really welfare? I mean we're all going to collect those benefits, but you want to call it welfare. Maybe all you blue staters should reject your SS and Medicare benefits since you don't believe in welfare and don't need any welfare.

Oh yea, and those retirees don't pay much in taxes either, because they're done working, which skews the numbers even more, but I'm sure that makes no difference in your evaluation of things, so long as the numbers support your argument.

Sorry, but you can pull the wool over the eyes of the sheep as it has been pulled over your own, but I'm not falling for it.

Do you have a link where Social Security is placed in the welfare category? Social programs are always separated out from entitlement programs. If you really want the snapshot everyone is looking for, you need to see the poverty levels of each state.

StateMaster - Percent below poverty level (most recent) by state

 

[American Horse]

So.... uh, what's your insight on it?

Paints a somewhat good picture. I ran the following poll a while back with the purpose of seeing how closely the forum tracked the poll results as I outline below:

Who Do You Blame Most For The Recession?

A recent poll on the O’Reilly Factor asked “Who do you blame most for the recession, Government, Wall Street, Greedy consumers?"

It’s a given that this was not a scientifically accurate poll, that most of the voters in the poll were audience members who watch the O’Reilly Factor show on FNC.

But, still they did not agree with Bill’s usual take on the issue.
He lays more blame on a Greedy Wall Street, and secondly mentions Government in the persons of Frank, Dodd, President Bush, and the SEC Chairman Chris Cox are the ones he directs his most heated rhetoric towards. He rarely mentions Greedy consumers.

I duplicated the poll with the same limitation as to choice, an the results broke down with the same inclinations. A small sample but still a more or less random one.

The Results were announced Monday (23 March), and they were:
(USMB-69) - 82% blamed Government
(USMB-15) - 9 % blamed Wall Street
(USMB-15) - 9 % blamed Greedy consumers

 

[DiveCon]

A lot of time when I'm browsing through the posts here I tend to wonder just how representative the board is of the US population as a whole, in terms of political views mostly. Overall I feel there's a pretty good geographical representation, there's people from a lot of different places in the US, as well as some urban, some suburban, and some rural posters. There's also a lot of posters (I mean, almost 10,000, but probably how many are active? About 10%? 5%? Not a great sample size, but meh), but then there's also a lot of things that would skew it... ONLY people with internet, and ONLY people who have some interest in discussing their political views (then again, that could be positive, since we're talking about political views, probably there's a higher ratio of voters/politically active members here than in the population as a whole).

It does feel like the board has a pretty solid 'conservative' leaning, but I don't know if that is because just America as a whole has a conservative leaning (or maybe because I'm a far-left pinko radical)... Though most public opinion polls don't seem to really support that (i.e. majority support for abortion, health care, stem cell research, defense spending, etc).

So.... uh, what's your insight on it?

you left off the true option for me

too small a sample group to be used

 

[WorldAHope]

If you listen/watch Washington Journal on c-span you would see it's true. true snapshot.

I love CSpan, but the callers seem to be predominantly older, many sound befuddled or incoherent,
and that is not a true representation of America.
It is a small slice of Americans that watch or call in to CSpan or any radio or call-in show. Most folks are busy, they are working or at school, or doing something else besides tune in to political shows.
I met one of the techs from CSPAN, he handled the phones. He said during the election campaign they talked a few times about changing to a strict screening system because Ron Paul supporters were pounding their lines, like 20, 25% of all the calls were Ron Paul folks some days, and if they got on the air, the callers would go into a Ron Paul spiel and not bother asking the guest a relevant question. I like RonPaul, but the numbers are he got less than 1% of the popular vote.

So, no, I do not think this board or any board is representative of America. Nor is any open poll with out a scientific sampling selection or design.
I was born and raised in a pretty conservative area, northern Pennslyvania and Southern Tier New York. Much of what is posted on this board is farther right than what you'll encounter from the hardworking decent Republican town folk and farmers, and what you'd hear in the bars and in public meetings of my native Red zone is more '"Liberal", meaning it is more based upon common sense than for adhering to or pumping out an ideology. Farmers. Small town folk. Store owners, business people, Truck drivers. They deal with the real world in a pragmatic way.
In my opinion, People just don't think and act and talk the same in the "real world" as you find in cyberworld. Voting records will bear my statement out, I do believe. Americans are more centrist and pragamatic than what USMB has shown.
I repeat. I love CSpan. Their live congressional cam and the website and their special programs are great.

 

[Shadow]

this board is HEAVILY conservative and NOT representative how how diverse America is.

Nope,this board has a good representation of Conservatives,Indy's,AND Libs (as well as others). You just don't like it that everyone isn't falling all over themselves to support Obama.

 

[Shadow]

the only reason blue sates are blue is because of the large population in the cites......they also seem to be in quite a bit of financial trouble......

btw...i thought you all were going to unite americans not divide them.....

after all you did vote for change.....

more financial trouble than the red states with their high poverty level?

but you can't unite people who give you the finger. would be nice... but not likely, eh?

california is more in debt than any state and has the highest unemployment rate....

kinda funny....all you all bitched at bush for 8 years saying he wouldn't unite america while you all called him hitler, chimpy, moron and shrub and gave him the finger.....

you all should really come clean and just admit that you think nothing is your fault.....

That's the understatement of the century LOL. Good post!

 

[Shadow]

Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing you did, but replace the word "conservtive" with "liberal."


Red states are predominantly conservative, and yet are the biggest recipients of welfare AND have the highest divorce rates AND the highest teen pregnancy rates. Plus, they don't pay in as much in taxes as they receive.

Listen, the day the red states pull their own weight is the day I'll take any of them seriously.

the only reason blue sates are blue is because of the large population in the cites......they also seem to be in quite a bit of financial trouble......

btw...i thought you all were going to unite americans not divide them.....

after all you did vote for change.....and the Pubs just said no. It's to their advantage to keep the country polarized.

Red states that turned blue in 08: Florida, Ohio, colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, North Carolina.

New Mexico didn't "turn blue". It was blue in 2000 (barely.. by only 300 or so votes). Red in 2004 etc...

New Mexico is a mixed bag and right in the bible belt. Don't count on it staying "blue" during the next election cycle.

 

[raceright]

Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing you did, but replace the word "conservtive" with "liberal."


Red states are predominantly conservative, and yet are the biggest recipients of welfare AND have the highest divorce rates AND the highest teen pregnancy rates. Plus, they don't pay in as much in taxes as they receive.

Listen, the day the red states pull their own weight is the day I'll take any of them seriously.

the only reason blue sates are blue is because of the large population in the cites......they also seem to be in quite a bit of financial trouble......

btw...i thought you all were going to unite americans not divide them.....

after all you did vote for change.....and the Pubs just said no. It's to their advantage to keep the country polarized.

Red states that turned blue in 08: Florida, Ohio, colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, North Carolina.

Full of prejudice blacks and self infected guilty whites

 

[MaggieMae]

If you listen/watch Washington Journal on c-span you would see it's true. true snapshot.

I love CSpan, but the callers seem to be predominantly older, many sound befuddled or incoherent,
and that is not a true representation of America.
It is a small slice of Americans that watch or call in to CSpan or any radio or call-in show. Most folks are busy, they are working or at school, or doing something else besides tune in to political shows.
I met one of the techs from CSPAN, he handled the phones. He said during the election campaign they talked a few times about changing to a strict screening system because Ron Paul supporters were pounding their lines, like 20, 25% of all the calls were Ron Paul folks some days, and if they got on the air, the callers would go into a Ron Paul spiel and not bother asking the guest a relevant question. I like RonPaul, but the numbers are he got less than 1% of the popular vote.

So, no, I do not think this board or any board is representative of America. Nor is any open poll with out a scientific sampling selection or design.
I was born and raised in a pretty conservative area, northern Pennslyvania and Southern Tier New York. Much of what is posted on this board is farther right than what you'll encounter from the hardworking decent Republican town folk and farmers, and what you'd hear in the bars and in public meetings of my native Red zone is more '"Liberal", meaning it is more based upon common sense than for adhering to or pumping out an ideology. Farmers. Small town folk. Store owners, business people, Truck drivers. They deal with the real world in a pragmatic way.
In my opinion, People just don't think and act and talk the same in the "real world" as you find in cyberworld. Voting records will bear my statement out, I do believe. Americans are more centrist and pragamatic than what USMB has shown.
I repeat. I love CSpan. Their live congressional cam and the website and their special programs are great.

C-Span regularly receives complaints about too many "liberal" callers as opposed to conservatives, implying bias, but I've listened to Washington Journal for five years and they indeed mix it up, not just with the callers but balancing interviews and guests. I notice in the past couple of days, they have changed their policy by asking for the first name of each caller, but I think that's more to identify those who consistently break the 30-day call rule.

Brian Lamb, C-Span's top dog, was the only one who would actively engage a caller who spouted nonsense or repeated urban myths. He's sorely missed since he stopped devoting one morning a week as moderator.