# Based on these political positions, would you call me a conservative, a liberal, or something else? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 25, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676 "2011-04-25T16:50:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/41 "2011-05-01T01:25:42Z")
**Skald** , I kinda like the way you think. And FWIW, the views expressed in the OP reflect mine own pretty closely. Certainly not tea-party-conservative. Only someone from the far right might consider them liberal. Sounds pretty much like a sensible centrist to me. Or a labor or blue-dog democrat. Or a modern whig. I still have a basic faith that the great silent majority of Americans feel much the same, it’s just that we mostly hear from the noisy ones at either extreme. Regards from the extreme middle, SS ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/42 "2011-05-01T03:37:09Z")
Liberalish, semi-Libertarian on some issues. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/43 "2011-05-01T15:31:23Z")
It won’t be the be-all end-all but try taking Vote Compass at CBC.ca. (And it is kind of flawed even for Canadians.) At least it will tell you what your politics are in Cana-speak. But I think today is the last day since we get to DECIDE OUR FATE tomorrow. (Now I am running from the WRATH of Skald, his minions and deities, because I know his feelings about Canadians) ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/44 "2011-05-01T15:47:33Z")
On second thought, I just re took the compass and so many questions are Canada centric I don 't know if it would be any use. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/45 "2011-05-01T16:46:45Z")
You’d make a great 70’s/80’s Texas Democrat. Basically a liberal who likes guns. Charles Wilson comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/46 "2011-05-02T10:36:45Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I’ve not read the thread, but I’ll bet that if you were to meet a Republican in the street she’d call you a Republican, and that if you were to meet a Democrat in the street, she’d call you a Democrat. Both would then ask you for a donation. 🙂 This is what I’m doing wrong. I call everyone an Objectivist and curse them for damned fools. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/47 "2011-05-02T14:22:47Z")
You’re almost exactly what I am, although I feel more conflicted about the morality of the death penalty in theory, not just in practice. I call myself a liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/48 "2011-05-02T14:25:53Z")
> [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > It won’t be the be-all end-all but try taking Vote Compass at CBC.ca. (And it is kind of flawed even for Canadians.) > > At least it will tell you what your politics are in Cana-speak. But I think today is the last day since we get to DECIDE OUR FATE tomorrow. > (Now I am running from the WRATH of Skald, his minions and deities, because I know his feelings about Canadians) :: demonic bureaucrat hat on:: Just because the Great Mouth finds Canadians so repellent that he will not allow them in hell does not mean that **I** hate Canadians. And I’m not sure how how Canadians are injured or discriminated against by now being eligible for an eternity of flame and torment and being eaten by worms. :: demonic bureaucrat hat off :: > [@Zsofia](#): > > You’re almost exactly what I am, although I feel more conflicted about the morality of the death penalty in theory, not just in practice. I call myself a liberal. I’m not sure what you mean when you say that you’re more conflicted about the morality of capital punishment. It could be that you think that it’s more likely to be theoretically justified than I do, or less. Can you expand? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/49 "2011-05-02T21:24:37Z")
> [@](#): > > You’d make a great 70’s/80’s Texas Democrat. Basically a liberal who likes guns. Charles Wilson comes to mind. Or a current Montana democrat, for that matter. Guns really aren’t a political issue around here, for the simple reason that _everyone_ is pro-gun. As our current governor Brian Schweitzer (D) said, “Gun control means that you control your gun and I control mine”. ---
**Author:** ![enigmatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@enigmatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigmatic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/50 "2011-05-05T08:51:53Z")
You’re a person. In so far as I hate _anything_, I hate the tribal nature of politics. I think if people tried their hardest to make up their mind about individual issues without ever even worrying about how it places them on a utterly nonsensical political axis the world would be a much better place. To be fair, I suspect that I am mostly preaching to the converted here. ---
**Author:** ![Dinaroozie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Dinaroozie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinaroozie)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/51 "2011-05-05T11:08:08Z")
If I tried to pick out a theme to all the points you posted, it seems that broadly you think people should be able to do what they want, even to their own detriment (helmets/seatbelts/drugs), but not if it’s going to fuck it up for others (vaccines/creationism), and that the government should be involved only when there’s a good reason (marriage), but that sometimes there _are_ good reasons (health/schooling). It’s hard to get a read on the gun control position because it could either be “guns are awesome” or “we shouldn’t deliberately misread the constitution” - perhaps you could tell us how you’d feel about gun control if you lived in a country without the (equivalent of) the second amendment? That notwithstanding, you seem pretty centrist to me, with perhaps a slightly higher than average standard deviation. 🙂 > [@enigma](#): > > In so far as I hate _anything_, I hate the tribal nature of politics. A tragically underrepresented position, presumably on account of an unwillingness to form a political party around it. 😉 (just kidding, I completely agree with you) ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/52 "2011-05-05T19:55:50Z")
As far as I can tell, not being an American, you are a free thinker whose opinions divide pretty evenly between both side of the debate. In other words, Skald, just like I’ve always thought, you’re something else! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/53 "2011-05-06T01:24:36Z")
You’re like most of us - people who have to pick a party and then be annoyed at them for doing things you can’t stand. It’s called “siding with the lesser of many evils”, and it seems to be about the only choice any of us have any more. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/54 "2011-05-08T14:49:28Z")
I agree with **Skald the Rhymer** on _almost_ all his points and would call him centrist (or left-of-center in American diction) like myself. The issue I disagree with most strongly is the one he considers most important: gun control. Guns kill people. America would be a safer, happier place with more control. (However, opposite to **Skald** , the issue is very low-priority for me.) I’m curious about his reason for opposing gun control: the simple existence of _The Second Amendment_. More often that not, gun advocates cite this as their reason. It almost seems some people think _The Amendments_ have some special supernatural truth, like _The Ten Commandmants_. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/55 "2011-05-08T15:10:05Z")
I’m gonna vote Liberal who likes guns and dislikes so-called nanny-stateism. I don’t really think you’re a Libertarian, since most of that lot aren’t hung up on practical reality, and you don’t strike me as an ideologue. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t strike me at all. As for the franchise thing, I attribute that to reading too much Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/56 "2011-05-13T23:20:54Z")
I would say that you have moved away from Republicans because you don’t favor moral legislation and people getting into your shorts. I mean, private life. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676/57 "2011-05-14T04:11:48Z")
Third Way or Modern Whig. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/based-on-these-political-positions-would-you-call-me-a-conservative-a-liberal-or-something-else/579676.md?page=2)