Polling Conservatives

So I finished watching the whole filibuster thing a while ago, which is kind of crazy and says a lot about the current state of our politics because despite tonight’s seeming victory, we know that it’ll only be a matter of minutes before the same exact bill is up for vote again, this time with even more pressure by Gov. Perry to make sure that it goes through without any further unforeseen circumstances. 🙁

Nonetheless, I was bouncing around to a few different news sites to see how they were covering it … and then simply to see who was covering it (also disappointing), when I came across one site in particular which accidentally caught my attention for far longer than it should’ve!

The site has a simple advertising-based poll in the sidebar with the unique feature that after answering the questions, it spit back the results so far for each question, and I don’t know why but I found myself answering one question, and then another, and then another because I was slowly becoming kind of fascinated by the results that were coming back at me. Overall it was very clear that the majority of those polled would align themselves with being conservative, and some even ultra-conservative … in a way, I was seeing a picture painted before my eyes of someone who is pretty much the polar opposite of my own political views … although there were a couple of questions that caught me off guard because their responses didn’t really seem in line with the typical agenda.

After a short while I started capturing the most indicative questions just because they kind of amused me…  🙄

Do you support efforts by the U.S. Government to intervene in the ongoing Civil War in Syria?
74% No

Would you be willing to have your Social Security coverage reduced to cut the deficit?
66% – No

Do you feel very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable towards Planned Parenthood?
44% – No

Do you believe that global warming is a hoax?
63% Yes

How concerned are you right now about border security and criminal gangs?
59% Very Concerned

Do you support or oppose development of the Keystone XL Pipeline?
62% Strongly Support

How concerned are you right now about accelerated government spending?
68% Very Concerned

Which outcome in the trial of George Zimmerman for the second degree murder of Trayvon Martin do you believe is just?
56% Not guilty

In general, do you think things in the United States are moving in the right direction or are they moving in the wrong direction?
64% Wrong Direction

Have you ever played an Angry Birds game?
72% No

Do you believe that state government does enough to support poor and at-risk populations?
34% Yes we do enough

How concerned are you right now about the state of health care in the United States?
71% Very concerned

How concerned are you right now about climate change and the environment?
54% Not concerned at all

Which of the following comments regarding gun control do you agree with more?
62% I think gun control laws in America should be less strict

How concerned are you right now about income inequality in the United States?
43% Very concerned / 40% Not at all concerned

Do you believe that state government does enough to support struggling working families?
35% Yes we do enough

Do you support or oppose increased offshore drilling in the US?
61% Strongly support

How would you describe the current state of the Democratic party?
68% Too Liberal

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of school vouchers?
42% Very favorable

How do you feel about the amount of money the federal government is spending for national defense and military purposes?
38% Too much / 35% Too little

Do you have an overall positive or negative opinion of the banking industry?
45% Very negative

Do you believe that the economic benefits of coal energy outweigh its environmental impact?
45% Yes, the economic benefits strongly outweigh the environmental impact

Needless to say, I probably was a bit of a lone wolf in the mix of the data that they were collecting from these things, but it’s still interesting to see actual data of #s of people sharing their opinions as opposed to random anecdotal commentary – even without knowing the total # polled behind the surveys or anything. Granted, I’m not so sure how much I trust someone’s opinion who’s never even played Angry Birds…  😆