October 26, 2009 12:33 PM
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Conservatives (Still) Vastly Outnumber Liberals
(CBS/iStockphoto)
Thirty-six percent of those surveyed call themselves moderate.
These numbers have held fairly steady since all the way back to the beginning of the Clinton administration. In 1992, according to Gallup, 36 percent of Americans called themselves conservative, while 17 percent said they were liberal.
Between 1992 and today, in fact, the percentage of Americans that calls itself conservative has hovered right around 38 percent, never rising above 40 percent of falling below 36 percent.
The percentage that calls itself liberal, meanwhile, has stayed close to 19 percent, never rising above 22 percent or below 16 percent.
Moderates were slightly more prevalent than conservatives throughout the 1990s, though conservatives became the largest ideological group overall around the time of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The two groups were roughly equivalent between 2005 and 2008 before conservatives surged ahead this year.
"Changes among political independents appear to be the main reason the percentage of conservatives has increased nationally over the past year: the 35% of independents describing their views as conservative in 2009 is up from 29% in 2008," said Gallup.
Gallup has also found that Americans have moved rightward on some issues: A record-high 55 percent want less regulation on guns, a record-high 42 percent want less influence by unions, and there has been an increase in the percent who say they oppose abortion rights (47 percent), believe global warming warnings are exaggerated (41 percent), want the government to "promote traditional values" (53 percent) and believe there is too much government regulation in business (45 percent).
There is some good news for Democrats here, however, as they look toward the future: The survey shows that Americans age 18-29 are roughly as likely to call themselves liberal (31 percent) as they are to call themselves conservative (30 percent). Americans 65 and older, meanwhile, are more likely than any group to call themselves conservative (48 percent).
And the approval level for the Republican Party, according to a poll released Friday, is at its lowest level in a decade.
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Brian Montopoli Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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