# The Political Gauge. Take the test and see how you score. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 20, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643 "2004-08-20T02:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Peter\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Peter\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/181 "2004-08-25T11:48:08Z")
49 51 I am centered in the tao. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/182 "2004-08-25T12:02:01Z")
Glad to see there’s other commies in here. On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (11). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (10). Hilarious chart, **Sam** , lol!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/183 "2004-08-25T14:53:54Z")
On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Conservative (66). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Conservative (76). ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/184 "2004-08-25T15:13:00Z")
On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (20). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Centrist (43). Sounds about right to me. ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/185 "2004-08-26T06:15:48Z")
On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (15). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Centrist (54). Sounds right. -lv ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/186 "2004-08-26T12:50:50Z")
_On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (17). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (27)._ I was surprised to find myself a Moderate Liberal fiscally, but I guess it’s true now that I think about it. However, the terms “conservative” and “liberal” are so ambiguous that this test really doesn’t prove anything for the taker. Was fun to see just _how_ liberal I am, though. 😃 Adam ---
**Author:** ![Monocracy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monocracy/32/4493_2.png) [@Monocracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monocracy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/187 "2004-08-28T00:02:27Z")
On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (21). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (33). I should be more liberal on non-fiscal issues, but i noticed that 2 questions pushed my score in the wrong direction. The mechanics behind the scoring is fairly simple. Of the four answers, they will push your score greatly liberal, slightly liberal, slightly conservative, or greatly conservative. And each question will affect either your fiscal score or your non-fiscal score, not both. The low-medium-high does add a nice twist, though. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/188 "2004-08-28T23:47:40Z")
I scored a 9 on fiscal and 2 non-fiscal. A 2 out of 100! Now **that’s** liberal! ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/189 "2004-08-30T14:40:48Z")
On non-fiscal issues, strong liberal: 15 On fiscal issues, moderate liberal: 39 But I’m not sure how accurate this is. On a number of issues, I didn’t really like any of the choices. A few times, I picked the option I disliked least. On two issues (Social Securtiy and Immigration), I had to check “no opinion,” not because I actually lack an opinion, but because I didn’t like any of the opinions available for checking. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/190 "2004-08-30T18:53:28Z")
> [@Strainger](#): > > On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a **Moderate Liberal (34).** > On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a **Moderate Conservative (71).** > > Sounds pretty much right for me. Hey, you stole my answers. 😃 On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (35). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Conservative (70). ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/191 "2004-08-30T20:04:11Z")
Assuming the chart is still being kept up to date, here is my (unoffical) count, if anyone is interested: Upper Right (North East): 22 Lower Right (South East): 4 Upper Left (North West): 28 Lower Left (South West): 62 Pretty much what I figured the distribution was on the board actually. Is anyone surprised by the distribution? -XT ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/192 "2004-08-31T00:59:13Z")
Not by the direction, but by the degree, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/193 "2004-08-31T15:12:19Z")
On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (18). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Centrist (42). ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/194 "2004-08-31T20:21:52Z")
On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (33). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (31). Not as out there as **xeno** … 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/195 "2004-08-31T23:57:19Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Centrist (45). > On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Centrist (55). > > Not that many Centrist-Centrists here, from what I see (besides me, only **lieu** ) You missed **Necro Romancer** (#38) whose scored an almost dead bullseye. Since your post there have been wolfman 9 (#153) (who also nearly got a bullseye) and Peter Doubt (#181) My scores were **44** and **48** placing me in the same boat. So the Centrist-Centrists so far are: [ul][li] Necro Romancer[/li][li] lieu[/li][li] Polerius[/li][li] wolfman[/li][li] Peter Doubt[/li][li] kniz[/ul][/li] My **44** actually is more extreme than anyone elses and I’m the one that qualifies as left or center. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/196 "2004-09-01T00:17:33Z")
> [@](#): > > On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (7). > On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Conservative (64). I don’t think anybody else had that combo. No wonder I stuck out like a sore thumb at the libertarian conference I attended some years back. ---
**Author:** ![chaparralv8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@chaparralv8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaparralv8)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/197 "2004-09-01T02:13:26Z")
14 non-fiscal (strong liberal) 41 fiscal (centrist) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/198 "2004-09-01T07:57:46Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Through **+MDI** ’s post #134, plus my scores (Moderate Liberal 28/39, which puts me in [relatively the same spot on the grid](http://www.amschwartz.net/jillandthomas/politicalleanings.html) as the Political Compass), there have been 100 respondents, whose results break down as follows: > > **On Non-Fiscal Issues** > 45 Strong Liberals > 28 Moderate Liberals > 16 Centrists > 7 Moderate Conservatives > 4 Strong Conservatives > > **On Fiscal Issues** > 19 Strong Liberals > 32 Moderate Liberals > 18 Centrists > 17 Moderate Conservatives > 14 Strong Conservatives > > There was one person who didn’t record their scores, so for the purposes of averaging, etc., there were only 99 respondents considered, resulting in the following: > > **On Non-Fiscal Issues** > Mean Score: 29.10 > Median Score: 22 > Mode Score: 12 (with 7 respondents) > > **On Fiscal Issues** > Mean Score: 45.17 > Median Score: 39 > Mode Score: 60 (with 7 respondents) Great! Thanks for this. Yes, this board is very liberal socially. I got:On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Liberal (38). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Centrist (54). So I nudge it a trifle towards the center. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/199 "2004-09-01T08:25:25Z")
On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (5). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Strong Liberal (16). No surprises here. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643/200 "2004-09-02T07:01:11Z")
I’m bumping this in the hopes that **Sam Stone** and/or **Shayna** will update their charts. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-gauge-take-the-test-and-see-how-you-score/260643.md?page=11)