Political Typology

You go establishment liberal gays!

I would have thought I was a stressed sideliner, an outsider leftie or a Democratic mainstay. But I scored as an Establishment Liberal. I am somewhat puzzled. I knew I should have answered about the right amount of time in jail!

Same here. Firmly one of the 13%

Democratic Mainstays

Your best fit is…

Establishment Liberals

… along with 13% the public

Evidently I'm ambivalent right????

What the actual fuck?

The answers proffered to the questions are incredibly stupid. There are too many factors for blanket statements to be reflective of the situations described.

I got Establishment Liberal. The only question that I hesitated on was if criminals get the right amount of jail time. It really depends on the crime. I think some murderers get too little and some drug offenders get too much.

R7 - most murderers in the US for 1st and 2nd degree murder get massive jail sentences. You get less in other countries.

Meanwhile, I personally think white collar crime should have massively long sentences as a deterrent. But they get hardly anything unless it's billions and billions and billions.

I got Outsider Left. But I agree that the crime question needs to be redone, because the answer is subjective to the crime that was done.

"Do you think that experts that have studied a subject for many years are better at making policy?"

What the fuck kind of question is that? Policy relating to the subject or to the public interaction with the subject? How the hell do I know? A brilliant botanist or engineer may not know the first thing about policy.

“I’m a mainstay, a fixture, if you will…”

Democratic Mainstay.

It's a really stupid quiz, however. So many questions needed more detail.

For instance, I think being open to trans people in general is a good for society. But I also thing allowing a transwoman who went through male puberty to play female sports is bad for society. Simply out of fairness, not anything anti trans.

The crime/sentencing thing was another tricky one. Some crimes need stricter sentencing. Some lighter.

I don’t want any country to have the military power that the US currently has… not even the US!

As in elections so in this quiz, I find myself having to choose between the least bad of two bad choices. Establishment Liberal here.

Ambivalent Right, which is accurate enough - although I've never voted Republican. I believe in economic liberalism (what is derisively called neoliberalism). I'm socially moderate, pro-immigration, and and I'm quite a bit more sympathetic to neoconservative foreign policy than I used to be. Basically, I think isolationist foreign policy and economic protectionism are bad.

r6 Welcome to the club.

British but an establishment liberal.

The trans question is bullshit though.

Aussie/Kiwi here, Establishment Liberal. The jail time question was difficult for me because your sentences seem outrageous in some cases... Incarceration level per capita is high.

The highest! Of any country.

Progressive Left. No surprise.

Democratic Mainstay. W00t!

Democratic Mainstay here.

R7 I had the same hesitation. That question is far too complicated for a simple yes or no.

[Quote]because your sentences seem outrageous in some cases

The American public more or less demands it. We're lucky the US Constitution contains the protections for defendants that it does. The American electorate would happily vote most of them away if they could.

Democratic Mainstay here.

I guess I'm just not that exciting, but the "hair on fire" people on either side of me can be a little exhausting, but that's the beauty of this country. All voices are important.

^^except Lara Trump's^^

Agree that really need a whole lot more detail on these questions. I wound up Establishment Liberal, but really lean more progressive left, on some big economic questions.

The whole question of corporations can't be reduced to whether corporations make too much profit or a reasonable amount.

Questions like Are Corporations too powerful in society and too influential in government? Should we have such a large financial sector? Is the economy too driven by debt of all kinds, including student loans, mortgages, car payments, etc, etc, etc ad infinitum? Is constant and relentless "growth" actually a good thing overall? Should we care if there is massive income inequality?

I realize that a survey like this can only ask so much, but most of what they asked about are really kind of minor issues to me, or things like immigration that require much, much more specifics and discussion.

Progressive Left which is a surprise. I’d have predicted establishment liberal.

The questions are deliberately broad. They're intended to create an impression of your overall views in order to give a general idea of where people fit.

Democratic Mainstay.

I could have typed r12.

Ditto here. I really think of myself more as an Establishment Liberal, but I guess enough of the questions hit my more rightward views. Like, the nearest large city to me is suffering from a rash of violent criminals out on bail committing more crimes and being treated with kid gloves. But in general, I think the prison system puts convicts away too long, and is overwhelmingly weighted toward punishing minorities. Likewise, while I don't think the US has some moral right to be the world's sole military superpower, from a pragmatic view I certainly think it's best we do everything we can to prevent Russia from regaining that status, or China taking its place. If Spain or Sweden were to somehow attain it I don't think I'd be worried.

[quorte] the nearest large city to me is suffering from a rash of violent criminals out on bail committing more crimes and being treated with kid gloves.

May I ask what city?

I felt like the sentencing question should’ve acknowledged our two-tier system of justice. Like sentences are too long or too short for whom? It differs by race and class, certainly.

The big government, little government things was also too stark of a contrast. It’s less about size and more about value and efficiency.

Still, I’m flattered to be lumped in among black people and women. Along with LGBT+ issues, they are my core political concerns.

Memphis, R31. National violent crime statistics are on a downward trend, but the city has been seeing a worrying upswing (about 10x the national average per 100,000 if I'm reading right). There was also a local judge overseeing bail hearings who was more or less forced to step down a couple months ago after scandals involving released suspects committing more crimes.

As I suspected pre-test, Establishment Liberal.

Agree that some questions were overly broad.

The test seemed too obvious as to where one would end up. Most of the time, the way I think wasn't really an option. Example: on the first question about whether you'd like bigger government/more services or smaller government/less services, what if you think government is the right size, but just needs more efficient and better reallocation resources?

I'm mostly progressive left, but not on all subjects.

Maybe this isn't the thread to ask Memphis specific questions, R33, but here goes.

How much of that is due to the economy of Tennessee (isn't minimum wage still $7.25/hour?) and in particular the insanity of laws like making it a felony to be homeless? In your opinion, why isn't this being addressed? Could it be a reactionary pendulum swing attempting to counter the conservatism of the rest of the state? A cursory Google search about the issues you reference shows much more outrage from the likes of Senator Sexhair Blackburn about the judge's light sentencing/bail than any attempt to actually address the issues of guns/crime/death.

Lastly, what tf is up with the state legislature threatening to take away $78 million in funding for the city if they even attempt to ASK citizens on a non-binding referendum what should be done about gun violence?

I'm legitimately curious. While I see why you would lean more conservative because of the crime issue, it also seems to me that there are other factors and forces at play.

Tennessee ranks low in several areas, including:

Public safety

[quote]Tennessee ranked 42nd in public safety in 2024. The state's violent crime rate is the second-highest in the country, and its property crime rate is the twelfth-highest.

Health care

[quote]Tennessee ranked 42nd in health care in 2024. The state also ranks poorly on several health indicators, including adverse childhood experiences, child poverty, drug deaths, and mental distress.

Helping struggling families and children

[quote]Tennessee ranks near the bottom in helping struggling families and children. The state ranks 49th in helping struggling families and children, and only 12 states reimburse doula services through Medicaid.

Quality of life

[quote]Tennessee was ranked sixth-worst in the nation for quality of life in 2024 by CNBC. The state received an "F" for livability due to poor health care, high crime, and lack of inclusiveness.

Democratic Mainstay. What do I win?

R19 and R27, I'm among you in the 6% of Progressive Left.

R7 and R22, I also took issue with the way the prison sentences question was framed. I think prison sentences are mostly way too long, but they're a byproduct of America having chosen to be pretty much solely an incarceration society. If we had a framework of policies and laws that better ensured equity and opportunity, living wages, access to affordable education / job training, affordable healthcare, etc. -- in other words, a more level playing field for *everyone* that could really have an impact on the issues that lead many into crime -- then I think we'd have a lot fewer criminals. Yes, we'd still have *some,* I know, there is no silver bullet to eliminate every single bad seed. But, I do think as a society we need to solve for many of these root cause problems before we'd be able to take a fresh look at our penal system, restorative justice alternatives for non-dangerous first offenders, sentencing guidelines, and the like.

Having said all that...yeah...I guess I'm Progressive Left after all.

I got populist right

Establisment liberal, as I suspected.

and my sister is a flag and faith conservative. . . . .

I'm shocked that I got Democratic Mainstay but I know which question pushed me in that direction because there wasn't a correct answer from my perspective about crime & punishment in this country. I feel that some crimes are not punished long enough while others are punished too harshly.

seems like from the DL responses that that questions needs to be rephrased

Democratic mainstay. The military power tripped me up.

[quote] I got Establishment Liberal. The only question that I hesitated on was if criminals get the right amount of jail time. It really depends on the crime. I think some murderers get too little and some drug offenders get too much.

Same here, R7. The irony is that out of the entire array of criminals, Murderers are the least likely to become recidivists. I don’t believe people should be jailed/imprisoned for drug use.

Me too

ESTABLISMENT LIBERAL

R35 Bigger government doesn't mean more people in government, it means more social welfare.

I think I got ambivalent right because growing up in the hood around objectively ignorant people and their foolishness has hardened my heart when it comes to my views on punishment for criminals and social welfare programs.

I literally have some cousins who game the welfare system because they're lazy as all hell and feel like the world owes them shit. And people who work hard making an honest living (heaven forbid it be a Black-owned business) end up struggling because these types of mf'ers prefer to steal and ruin the surrounding property values with their bullshit.

It's enough to make anybody lean more conservative. I'm just...not trying to hear all of that, anymore. Argue with your mom.

Another Democratic Mainstay here🤚

All fixtures, darling.