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US Political Belief vs Media Attention Given


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  1. paulie3sticks says:

    In other words, “man bites dog, film at eleven.”

  2. borokid19 says:

    Agreed. Truth ftw!

  3. Jenni says:

    sadly true…well done to the creator of this graph!

  4. Airigh says:

    Actually there are more democrats than republicans. o.-’

    I think I qualify as the bright blue bar. Proudly.

  5. MsMsBurning says:

    Ridiculous! Everyone knows that Republicans eat kittens, not puppies!

  6. Th1nk F1rst says:

    That’s a LIE! Democrats do not ever eat Puppies!

    They eat live Kittens, Lil’ Cute Bunnies and Baby Chicks and right in front of small children! It’s TRUE, my sister’s roommate’s brother’s co-worker’s aunt’s dentist had to floss bunny fur out of Joe Biden’s teeth after a party Al Gore had for his grandkids.

  7. alftuba says:

    Actually, I disagree with this. I do not believe that there are that many true centrists or moderates out there. Why? Because I’ve never met one. Ever.

    I have many liberal friends and many conservative friends, and many more acquaintances on both sides. And I have met NO ONE who either is, or considers themselves to be, centrist or moderate.

    I HAVE met quite a few a-political people, people who have been conditioned to think that they’re dumb to understand politics, or it’s too boring, so they don’t even try. (NObody’s to dumb to understand politics… not with all the idiots we’ve elected, on both sides.) But that’s not the same as centrist/moderate.

    And besides, what’s so great about being centrist/moderate? These are the people who end up deciding every election just because they can’t make up their mind. And if you say I’m confusing the term with “independent,” I honestly don’t see a lot of difference.

    I paraphrase Zapp Brannigan: “It’s these bloody Neutrals, Kif. With bad guys at least you know where you stand, but with Neutrals, who knows?!”

    (For the record, I’m a Liberal “nutjob”)

    • alftuba says:

      …and no, I’m not just trying to be a “troll,” or whatever you people call it, or trying to get a rise out of people. I honestly do believe this, and if you don’t agree, well that’s your right.

      • Companion Cube says:

        Honestly, I think that is the first time I’ve seen someone reference Futurama on this site.

        I think you’re correct, too.

      • IPG says:

        I agree that most moderate centrist usually lean either way and the sum of the second and fourth bar should be moderate centrists.

        However, I do not agree with the distribution, as I am hardly ever see any people referring themselves as (proud) liberals, whereas there are loads of auto-identified conservatives. Also, I agree with Karl Rove (must be for the first time since he stated that water is wet) that Obama run a moderate right-of-center campaign. The Dems are slightly to the right of most European moderate conservative parties. I am quite happy with this, personally, but I just find the idea of symmetry between political views (and the methods employed by the two camps for that matter) laughable.

        • Deek says:

          Proud liberal, right here! :)

          I think lots of people have stopped using that word because (1) it’s been co-opted by some conservatives as a way of insulting us and (2) they have a view or two that diverges from the usual liberal positions, and they’re tired of being looked at askance by other liberals, or having people constantly try to change their mind, or having people make assumptions about their views.

          • Mark says:

            No, it was co-opted by statists. Liberal used to mean supportive of human liberty, was then transformed into meaning supporting reform and opposition against established policy, into liberty for government to do whatever the hell they can so long as they keep getting elected.

            I’m not a conservative and I’m not a liberal, but I am definitely not a moderate! I’m a libertarian. I’ll eat puppies and kittens. :-D

      • tyler says:

        by the way, that’s exactly what a troll does.
        anyway, have a good day, just had to tell you cause you didn’t seem to know :P

    • Lolnathan says:

      I feel sorry for you then. Your social circle is unfortunately not representative of the country as a whole. Of course, whose is? We’ve all had our social circles limited by those who take part in our day to day lives.

      Approximately 33% of the country consider themselves independents, 33% Republicans, and 33% Democrats. Yes, virtually every independent leans a certain way, but consider that on social and fiscal issues people can have very divergent beliefs.

      Also someones voting record does not necessary reflect their views, either. We only get to vote on what is put before us. Many of us have beliefs that neither party want to do anything about. I tend to lean towards the right when it comes to business and finances, but when it comes to social freedoms and rights, I am very far to the left. Even then, on some social issues I do tend to fall along the lines of some Republicans. If I had to describe my views in two words it would be “limited anarchy”, as contradictory as that may sound. And I mean Anarchy in the political sense, not the pop culture sense.

      People in the United States have far more varied political views than any one political parties. Most of the time I find myself disagreeing with both sides, being forced to choose the lesser of two evils.

      That, I believe, is the core failing of our nations political system. No voter should ever have to choose between two evils. They should be able to vote for what they believe, not what disagrees with their beliefs the least.

      • cj says:

        I absolutely agree! I seem to be in the same boat with you. I do find myself voting for the lesser of 2 evils in most elections and I don’t agree with either party about much of anything. I seem to be some how split between the 2 parties and vote for who I think will cause the least amount of problems for our country. How sad has this political arena become?

    • Xavier says:

      Why does everyone have to be one or the other in your world view? I know humans like classifications, but don’t you think that it’s the teeniest bit possible for someone to make decisions based on their own reasoning, and not ideology or demagoguery?

      “These are the people who end up deciding every election just because they can’t make up their mind”

      Or, perhaps, because they haven’t had it made up for them in advance? I grant you, there are some people who simply have an aversion to commitment, but these aren’t the ones deciding elections.

      And finally, what’s so great about being one of either 40%, who on their own cannot elect anyone or anything?

      • Loop the Lup says:

        In the words of Gilbert and Sullivan:

        “I often find it comical
        (fal lal la, fal lal la)
        that nature always does contrive
        (fal lal lal, la)
        that ev’ry boy and ev’ry gal
        that’s born into the world alive
        is either a little liberal
        or else a little conservative!”

    • ... says:

      You quoted zapp brannigan….. wow

    • limbaugh-head says:

      can’t wait fer my gubment handouts. pssshhh….liberals.

    • El Ojo says:

      Disagree, man. I’m an old-school Labor Democrat who briefly flirted with the Republicans in the ’80s, and voted for Bush the first time, but not the second. My beliefs never changed, and I tend to be very active in local issues, but the parties have been better and worse over time about addressing the issues that I care about. That’s why I count myself a “moderate” — although this time, I canvassed neighborhoods for Obama.

    • Da Grim says:

      Hmm. I consider myself to be in the middle. I believe in Pro-choice. I believe in the right to bear arms. I believe that Gays should be allowed to marry. I believe in smaller government. I believe in the death penalty. I believe in Stem-cell research.

      I don’t follow either party because they have a few of what I believe, but a plenty that I don’t.

      Not sure of what your definition of a centrist is but I think this qualifies.

  8. Guy says:

    I think the two charts got reversed.

  9. Fred Pennsylvania says:

    Silly graph-maker — all Decmocrats eat puppies! Except the ones that eat kittens, too!

    Also, there are no “moderates & centrists.” There are only a lot of Americans who don’t give a lukewarm rat’s butt about politics, and wish both parties would just leave them alone. And, in years like this, I totally understand why they feel that way!

    • 216 says:

      You must be one of the chosen few whose life is not affected by poitics. Must be nice. Would you like to share with us how you made all of your money.

      • Fred Pennsylvania says:

        I have a modest salary, but I’ve saved a great deal they way people save … no vacations or bling, used cars, home cooking, few frills. Of course, if the stock market continues to tank, 401(k)s are abolished by eager Dems, and the value of the dollar is inflated away as it was under Carter, I’m screwed.

        And so are you!

    • PeppaMama says:

      Have to say I’m in the “don’t give a lukewarm rat’s butt” category…well said, Fred! Yes, I voted. No, I don’t have enough money that I avoid concern about the current state of America. It’s just that I HATE POLITICS!

  10. David Joyner says:

    Hmm. I think the ratio of “Democrats/Republicans eat puppies” people to “True liberals/conservatives” is actually about 3 to 1. It’s my old theory, 1 in every 4 person actually can defend their political beliefs, the others just spout talking points from the candidates, repeat what the media says, or repeat what their parents said.

    But I agree with the graph in theory :)

    • raspberry says:

      I agree. There are so many people out there who just spout what they heard on tv. They don’t actually research into it. I wish people were taught to question their beliefs so that way they could find out why they believe what they believe instead of just believing it.

    • January says:

      Of course, the problem with actually researching your beliefs is that no matter what you believe and how well you back it up, if your beliefs do not match up with the beliefs of the majority of the people reading what you think, you will be accused of getting all your information from whatever the large news organisation for the unpopular view. So, I could make a well-thought out argument against Obama, but I guarantee you I would get replies telling me to stop watching Fox News and quit reading Townhall.com and think for myself, even though I do not watch Fox News nor read Townhall.com.

      Likewise, if I were to go to a primarily conservative place and argue for Obama based off of my own research, I would be told to quit allowing myself to be brainwashed by the liberal media and quit reading the Daily Kos, and go think for myself when, again, I don’t read the Daily Kos, and do not get my research from televised news sources given how inaccurate and biased they are.

      (That may be the one conservative point I cannot argue with, that the media has a liberal bias. Especially as the media itself admits they purposefully ran much more negative coverage about the Republican ticket, and how obvious it is that the media is biased against President Bush, seeing as they blame everything on him even when there is no plausible way for it to be all his fault. They really ought to look at Congress, with it’s record low 9% approval rating. Except they won’t, because it’s a very liberal Congress.)

      Of course, I’m a Libertarian, so everyone mocks me.

      • Kian says:

        In response to your take on the “liberal media,” here’s what Maddox has to say about it: “Whiny, bitching, cry-baby conservatives love to prattle on and on about the “liberal media.” To be fair, except for FOX News (Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, John Gibson, Neil Cavuto, Steve Doocy, E.D. Hill, Brian Kilmeade, Brit Hume), Clear Channel, Laura Ingraham, Dr. Laura, Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt, Ann Coulter, Newsmax, G. Gordon Liddy, Michael Reagan, Michael Savage, The New York Post, Sinclair Broadcast Group (WLOS13, Fox 45, WTTO21, WB49, KGAN, WICD, WICS, WCHS, WVAH, WTAT, WSTR, WSYX, WTTE, WKEF, WRGT, KDSM, WSMH, WXLV, WURN, KVWB, KFBT, WDKY, WMSN, WVTV, WEAR, WZTV, KOTH, WYZZ, WPGH, WGME, WLFL, WRLH, WUHF, KABB, WGGB, WSYT, WTTA), David Horowitz, Rupert Murdoch, PAX, and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, they’re right.”

        Yeah. That about sums it up.

        • P. says:

          Yeah, Talk radio is conservative heavy… But who listens to talk radio? also quite a few of those stations are “Fox”, so you are just repeating “Fox” over and over…

          Now Televised news… That’s where most people get their info, and if you keep a score card handy and rate how news channel color politics, it’s either Republicans are saints (Fox), or Republics are devils (Everybody else). Reps are not evil. Dems are not evil. Both sides just want what they feel is best for the country.

          My example of how the media is bias: During the Bush/Kerry election, we had Bush show up in town to give a speach. Kerry visited a neighboring state. Our local news covered it this way: Bush got a 15 second blurb (Emphasizing his worst qualities) , a 1 minute interview with a PO’d person that didn’t get to see him (person didn’t register before hand)… and Kerry got almost 10 mins, with key excerpts from his speech hammering home his best qualities.

          Now what is bigger local news? the current president visiting your town (for the first time ever), or a presidential candidate visiting your neighbor state?

          Yeah.. Unbias.

  11. 216 says:

    I think this is 100% accurate. I happen to be a left wing nutjob and I think it’s a fine and humourous chart. I’m feeling rather joyful these days and it feels good to be able to laugh again.

    W I N !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  12. zing says:

    Shame its totally wrong, the american sense of democrats being liberal and left wing is a total joke when in reality they’re still slightly right wing conservatives. Its only relative to the religious fundamentalist party they appear liberal.

    • Slaggingham says:

      Naah, it just seems that way to you because all Europeans are varying degrees of Communist.

    • Slaggingham says:

      Naah. it only seems that way to you because all Europeans are varying degrees of Communist.

    • January says:

      Considering that Europe is primarily composed of nations with some degree of socialist policies (national health care, high taxes, putting power into the hands of many people and not just a few), I suppose American Liberalism WOULD seem conservative.

      However, I would hardly call true conservatism religious fundamentalism. True conservatives don’t really care for the fundies either, and besides, it’s primarily economic and foreign policies that make one conservative (that, and the idea that people should be responsible for themselves and not expect the government to nanny them).

  13. xedden says:

    Never met a moderate? You must live a very isolated life. Im a moderate and when you get down too it, very few people are extremists of any kind. Most people hold views that are pretty middle of the line and know that compromise is what makes the world go round. Sure, most people lean to the left or right on an issue, but they lean the other way on a different issue.

  14. robert says:

    I was contemplating a graph similar to this, but with slightly different labels with the US being the inverse of a normal std deviation distribution chart.

    Top chart: Normal countries political spectrum breakdown, liberals to conservatives.

    Bottom chart: USA political spectrum breakdown, liberals to conservatives.

  15. Slaggingham says:

    I’m a Republican, and I don’t eat Puppies.

    I eat Democrats.

    Well, one Democrat. But only because she asks me to.

    MMM, compromise!

  16. Fritters says:

    Amen. The most balanced and accurate thing I’ve ever seen here.

    And STILL amusing.

  17. Shin0bi272 says:

    The graphs are inverted… the bulk majority of the population are on one side or another and the middle are the people like my mom who make up their minds at the last minute and vote for the guy whos ahead in the polls… sad really.

  18. ClickClick says:

    Folks, this graph is NOT about population political belief percentages.
    It’s everything about how the media gives the most bang to the least common fractions.
    And you know, it’s not just politics where the media mucks like this with our news.

    • Zaer says:

      Thaaaaaaank you. People tend to take the numbers far too literal. It’s exaggerated. It gets the point across. It is funny. For ceiling cat’s sake get over yourselves.

      Someone should do a graph on the percentage of people who actually look past the fact that the numbers are purposefully unrealistic and see the joke…

  19. John says:

    It’s too bad the second graph is wrong…

  20. Mark says:

    Probability submitter still voted for Obama: 99.99999%

  21. Loop the Lup says:

    With how much attention the media gave to “undecided voters,” I was expecting a somewhat bigger bulge in the middle of the second graph. But that’s just me.

  22. fubuki says:

    Chart Type Selection Fail. These data were (see how I correctly use the plural of datum?) clearly made for a two-series smoothed line chart. Sigh…

  23. AnonymousPoliticalNerd says:

    It is true! Republicans (sometimes) eat puppies, kitties, and others….

  24. Matt11 says:

    OMG LIBERALS DO NOT EAT PUPPIES THAT IS A LIE!

    We are elitists. We only eat the finest orphans. Duh.

  25. irv says:

    I LOVE IT!

    the beauty of symmetry, the pleasance of wit.

  26. Jack Sprat says:

    if that graph is true, then how did obama win the election in a landslide?

  27. DR3DKnø† says:

    haha this is frikkin great.

    sometimes the truest things are in fact flippin hilarious

  28. Josh says:

    I would like to see the sample selection, sample size, population and methodology used in the formulation of those graphs, I think the results might be skewed.
    Please also include standard deviation between classes, and the mean used to develop the categories.
    Lastly, I do not believe Democrats eat puppies, they only engage in raping children and murdering babies.

  29. Proud to be dark red section says:

    Yet this is so true.


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