Conflicted Conservatives By Christopher Ellis supp1

We hear a lot of talk these days about liberals and conservatives. Here is a seven-point scale on which the political views that people might hold are arranged from extremely liberal to extremely conservative:

1. Extremely liberal

4. Moderate; middle of the road

5. Slightly conservative

7. Extremely conservative

Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven’t you thought much about this?

Follow up question for moderates:

If you had to choose, would you consider yourself a liberal or a conservative?

Issue-related questions:

Tradeoff: should government reduce spending, or provide more services

Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7.

And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6.

Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Coded “conservative” for 1-3, “liberal” for 5-7, and “moderate” for 4 or don’t know.

Right to government-provided health care

There is much concern about the rapid rise in medical and hospital costs. Some people feel there should be a government insurance plan which would cover all medical and hospital expenses for

everyone. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Others feel that all medical expenses should be paid by individuals through private insurance plans like Blue Cross or other company paid plans. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Coded “conservative” for 5-7, “liberal” for 1-3, and “moderate” for 4 or don’t know.

Government-mandated minimum standard of living

Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Coded “conservative” for 5-7, “liberal” for 1-3, and “moderate” for 4 or don’t know.

Government’s role in helping improve the conditions of blacks

Some people feel that the government in Washington should make every effort to improve the social and economic position of blacks. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Others feel that the government should not make any special effort to help blacks because they should help themselves. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Coded “conservative” for 5-7, “liberal” for 1-3, and “moderate” for 4 or don’t know.

Government’s role in helping improve the conditions of hispanics

Some people feel that the government in Washington should make every effort to improve the social and economic position of Hispanic-Americans. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Others feel that the government should not make any special effort to help Hispanic-Americans because they should help themselves. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Coded “conservative” for 5-7, “liberal” for 1-3, and “moderate” for 4 or don’t know.

Tradeoff: protecting the environment or preserving jobs

Some people think it is important to protect the environment even if it costs some jobs or otherwise reduces our standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of the scale, at point number 1. Other people think that protecting the environment is not as important as maintaining jobs and our standard of living. Suppose these people are at the other end of the scale, at point number 7. And of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Coded “conservative” for 5-7, “liberal” for 1-3, and “moderate” for 4 or don’t know.

Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?

Coded liberal for “oppose,” conservative for “favor,” and moderate for all others.

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?

Coded liberal for “more difficult,” conservative for “easier,” and moderate for all others.

Tradeoff: should budget deficit be increased to cut taxes

Do you favor an increase in the federal budget deficit in order to cut the taxes paid by ordinary Americans?

Coded conservative for “favor,” liberal for “oppose,” and moderate for all others.

Tradeoff: should government spending be reduced in order to cut taxes

Do you favor cuts in spending on domestic programs like Medicare, education and highways in order to cut the taxes paid by ordinary Americans?

Coded conservative for “favor,” liberal for “oppose,” and moderate for all others.

Tradeoff: should the budget deficit be increased to increase spending

Do you favor an increase in the federal budget deficit in order to increase spending on domestic programs like Medicare, education, and highways?

Coded conservative for “oppose,” liberal for “favor,” and moderate for all others.

Tradeoff: should government spending be reduced to decrease the deficit

Do you favor cuts in spending on domestic programs like Medicare, education, and highways in order to cut the federal budget deficit?

Coded conservative for “favor,” liberal for “oppose,” and moderate for all others.

Tradeoff: should taxes be increased in order to increase government spending

Do you favor increases in the taxes paid by ordinary Americans in order to increase spending on domestic programs like Medicare, education and highways?

Coded conservative for “oppose,” liberal for “favor,” and moderate for all others.

Tradeoff: should taxes be increased to reduce budget deficit

Do you favor increases in the taxes paid by ordinary Americans in order to cut the federal budget deficit?

Coded conservative for “oppose,” liberal for “favor,” and moderate for all others.

Partial privatization of Social Security

A proposal has been made that would allow people to put a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into personal retirement accounts that would be invested in private stocks and bonds. Do you favor this idea, oppose it, or neither favor nor oppose it?

Coded conservative for “favor,” liberal for “oppose,” and moderate for all others.

Spending on defense

Some people believe that we should spend much less money for defense. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Others feel that defense spending should be greatly increased. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Coded “conservative” for 5-7, “liberal” for 1-3, and “moderate” for 4 or don’t know.

Do you favor or oppose having the government give parents in low-income families money to help pay for their children to attend a private or religious school instead of their local public school?

Coded conservative for “favor,” liberal for “oppose,” and moderate for all others.

Government funding of abortion

Would you favor or oppose a law in your state that would allow the use of government funds to help pay for the costs of abortion for women who cannot afford them?

Coded liberal for “favor,” conservative for “oppose,” and moderate for all others.

Late-term abortion

There has been discussion recently about a law to ban certain types of late-term abortions, sometimes called partial birth abortions. Do you favor or oppose a law that makes these types of

Coded liberal for “oppose,” conservative for “favor,” and moderate for all others.

Circumstances under which abortion should be legal

There has been some discussion about abortion during recent years. Which one of the opinions on this page best agrees with your view? You can just tell me the number of the opinion you choose:

1. By law, abortion should never be permitted.

2. The law should permit abortion only in case of rape, incest, or when the woman's life is in danger.

3. The law should permit abortion for reasons other than rape, incest, or danger to the woman's life, but only after the need for the abortion has been clearly established.

4. By law, a woman should always be able to obtain an abortion as a matter of personal choice.

Coded conservative for options 1 and 2, liberal for option 4, and moderate for all others.

Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry, or do you think they should not be allowed to marry?

Coded liberal for “allowed,” conservative for “not allowed,” and moderate for all others (including the 3% of respondents who volunteered a ‘legal civil unions, but illegal marriage” response).

Laws against discrimination against homosexuals

Do you favor or oppose laws to protect homosexuals against job discrimination?

Coded conservative for “oppose,” liberal for “favor,” and moderate for all others.

Homosexuals in the military

Do you think homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the United States Armed Forces or don't you think so?

Coded conservative for “not allowed,” liberal for “allowed,” and moderate for all others.

Adoption of children by homosexuals

Do you think gay or lesbian couples, in other words, homosexual couples, should be legally permitted to adopt children?

Coded conservative for “not allowed,” liberal for “allowed,” and moderate for all others.

Spending on various government programs:

Next I am going to read you a list of federal programs. For each one, I would like you to tell me whether you would like to see spending increased or decreased.

The first program is (ORDER OF PROGRAMS IS RANDOMIZED):

If you had a say in making up the federal budget this year, should federal spending on building and repairing highways be increased, decreased, or kept about the same?

Social security? Should federal spending on social security be increased, decreased, or kept about the same? (same question wording for all remaining spending questions).

Science and technology

Dealing with crime

Welfare programs

Tightening border security to prevent illegal immigration

The War on Terrorism

All spending items are coded as liberal for “increase spending” and conservative for “decrease spending” with the exception of Illegal Immigration and the War on Terrorism. These are reverse-coded.

NES Questions Used in Factor Analysis