Ok, i don't get this poll - CA, MA, NY, has more conservatives than liberals??

[Hawaii Hiker]

http://www.gallup.com/poll/141677/Wyoming-Mississippi-Utah-Rank-Conservative-States.aspx

Well, no Republican is going to win CA, MA, or NY in a presidential election anytime soon, so there Gallup...

[joeybee12]

1. People who identify themselves as "moderate" actually have liberal views...n/t

[Unvanguard]

2. Nationally, there are far more self-identified conservatives than self-identified liberals.

So you have to adjust for that.

[HillbillyBob]

3. They need adjustments not I!

They also need reeducated on how to behave in civilisation and social terms and definitions. Deprogramming comes to mind.

[MorningGlow]

4. New York at least

Has millions of rural-living uber-conservatives. I know--I'm surrounded by 'em. The rest of the state tips the balance away from NYC liberals easily. Can't speak for the other states, though it might be the same there as well.

[dionysus]

14. i know.. we got maggie brooks and the gang stinking up the joint!

:hi:

[NutmegYankee]

5. Connecticut has the third highest % of liberals.

This state is odd in that one can find Liberals in both urban or rural settings in fairly equal numbers. Believe it or not, a lot of CT is rural. My Congressional District (2nd) comprises the entire eastern half of the state and has been won twice in the past 4 elections by less than 200 votes. It's the ultimate swing district!

[Jennicut]

8. CT is indeed very rural. I live in the 5th district, in Litchfield County.

I am happy to be living in the 3rd most liberal state, aren't you? Now, if only Lieberman can retire in 2012.

And my Grandmother lives in Old Lyme. I love it there. She lives along a lake.

[NutmegYankee]

17. Oh yeah! My only regret is RI beat us on the ranking.

Hell, we might finally take the Governorship back! My point was the moderate vote in the state is pretty strong and makes for a lot of interesting election fights. For instance, the ass-wipe of a senator we have is the result of splitting the Dem vote and collecting every conservative vote plus most of the moderates.

[Jennicut]

23. We do have a lot of moderates. Most of the people I know here are moderates.

It does make close elections but usually we seem to elect moderate Repubs. A lot of people think of Mass, RI, and CT as very liberal but I think we are just more moderate then other states. That is the group that swings the elections around here. My parents are unfortunately very conservative but they are still stuck with Chris Murphy as their rep, being as they are in 5th district too. Somehow, I am happy about that.

[valerief]

6. It's Gallup. How much more conservative can you get than them? nt

[Kat45]

7. In MA, moderates outnumber both conservatives & liberals

Also in MA, unenrolled (independent) voters outnumber those enrolled in either party. That's huge in this state. A number of the suburbs, as well as rural areas, tend conservative here. Yes, MA is one of the most liberal states but it's not quite as liberal as people think it is. And we can't forget that the word 'liberal' has been demonized so much and for so long that a lot of people probably don't want to identify as liberal, or think that the definition of liberal is something that in actuality is radical. You may note that these days a lot of liberals identify themselves as progressive, rather than liberal, though the word liberal would certainly apply to their beliefs. Reminds me of the people who say, "I'm not a feminist, but..."

[rox63]

10. And MA recently had 16 straight years of GOP governors

So even though it is more liberal than a lot of other states, it's more of a mixed bag than anything else.

[Statistical]

9. Conservative != vote Republican.

If you look at a pool that has both party affiliation and ideology you will notice two distinct things
1) greater % of country indicates they are self described conservative over self described liberal.
2) that hasn't translated into higher Republican affiliation.

There are quite a few people who are self described conservatives and vote Democrat or are independents and sometimes vote Democrat.

Hard to believe but it is true.

[Hawaii Hiker]

11. This poll is bizarre, according to Gallup

Liberals have an advantage in 2 places only, Rhode Island and District of Colubmia, or 7 electoral votes, that's it....Like you said though, there are many who might be self described conservatives, but they vote Democrat...

But as i said in the initial post, there is no way any Repub is going to win CA, NY, MA, IL, HI, CT, and probably 12 other states in a presidential election anytime soon, no matter how many conservatives Gallup says there are..

And in my opinion, many who call themselves moderate are likely social liberals and fiscal conservatives, who more often than not, vote Democratic...

[XemaSab]

12. This is what 40 years of propaganda will get you

"Liberal" has a negative connotation in many circles. :(

[WI_DEM]

13. makes sense to me, most people are either moderate or conservative in most

every poll. Liberals run a distant third. Why? I don't know.

[NutmegYankee]

18. Liberal was made a shameful word by the right.

Nobody wants to admit to it because it "brands" you.

[marmar]

15. This poll is kind of loaded.......

nt

[geardaddy]

16. They can't even count.

top TEN? Really? Don't they mean Top 11?

:eyes:

[Wilms]

20. Don't assume pollsters count. They mostly advocate for their clients. n/t

[geardaddy]

22. Touché!

[Iggo]

19. You are confusing Con/Lib with Rep/Dem.

They are not the same things.

[surrealAmerican]

21. What's most significant here is what the poll leaves out ...

... namely, that a majority of people in this country consider themselves to be "moderates".

[provis99]

24. issue positions rarely coincide with self-definitions of ideology

There are plenty of people out there who self-identify as conservatives, but if you ask them their stance on a collection of issue positions, they take liberal stances. Its an artifact of the propaganda that conservative=good and liberal=bad.

[MadHound]

25. I don't know why people consider California a liberal mecca,

Yeah, there's San Francisco, and a few other concentrated areas, but overall California is a pretty conservative state. One but has to look at their record on tax matters and the two presidents they gave us, Nixon and Reagan.

[Hawaii Hiker]

27. I think from 1956-1988, only one Democrat won a presidential election in CA.

LBJ in 1964...But starting in the early 1990's something happened that propelled the state into the reliably blue column...

I know there is the OC and Kern County (conservative areas), but LA & SF are where most of the people live, thus I think it is fair to say CA. is a liberal mecca...Just my opinion....

[mdmc]

26. NY has a strong conservative party

the democrats have killed the liberal party. We do have "The Working Families Party" which is a union backed political party that supports pro-labor democrats or their own candidate.