# What Pew Political Type are You? Which type is the best type? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 2, 2026, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558 "2026-06-02T03:36:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/41 "2026-06-02T16:52:46Z")
“ambivalent right” which, as simplistic as it is, is as good a description as any to describe me ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/42 "2026-06-02T16:56:56Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > But they’re not centrists, they’re never going to vote Republican. I think this is actually the group that the Green Party voters are coming from, but as it says the vast majority of them voted for Biden. This is a good point and a problem with presenting everything on a single axis. If you consider the center of the graph as the point where a voter is most likely to _not_ vote for their preferred party (either stay home or vote 3rd-party), it makes sense. The voters being “fought over” are all in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/43 "2026-06-02T17:19:06Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > If you consider the center of the graph as the point where a voter is most likely to _not_ vote for their preferred party (either stay home or vote 3rd-party), it makes sense. The voters being “fought over” are all in the middle. It’s only the Democrats doing that fighting. The Republicans don’t need to because they already have their numbers on the far right. There aren’t enough progressives to make up for that advantage that the Republicans have, and so Democrats have to compete for what remains of the center and center right. That unfortunately means that Democrats have to take progressives for granted as part of the appeal to the center / center right. That’s why Democrats went with Hillary instead of Bernie in 2016. If there were more progressives, enough to counteract the numbers of people on the far right, then we could have safely nominated Bernie. But the numbers just aren’t there. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/44 "2026-06-02T17:23:52Z")
Yep, same for me. That’s where I’d place myself. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/45 "2026-06-02T17:25:09Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > That unfortunately means that Democrats have to take progressives for granted as part of the appeal to the center / center right. That’s why Democrats went with Hillary instead of Bernie in 2016. If there were more progressives, enough to counteract the numbers of people on the far right, then we could have safely nominated Bernie. But the numbers just aren’t there. What do you mean “that’s why Democrats went with Hillary instead of Bernie in 2016”? Democrats “went with” Hillary instead of Bernie in 2016 because Hillary beat Bernie by a significant margin in the primary. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/46 "2026-06-02T17:35:17Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > What do you mean “that’s why Democrats went with Hillary instead of Bernie in 2016”? Democrats “went with” Hillary instead of Bernie in 2016 because Hillary beat Bernie by a significant margin in the primary. Correct. But that’s because the bulk of Democrats are to the right of the progressives. If Democrats were in the same spot the Republicans are, with the extremists outnumbering the centrists, Bernie would have won. He would also have been in good shape for the general election, having a large progressive base to rival Trump’s far right MAGA base. The problem is that the progressives don’t have the numbers MAGA has, and so they can’t demand / expect that the run of the mill Democratic office holder be a progressive in the same way that a MAGA can reasonably expect their elected representative to be MAGA. Because the MAGAs aren’t in a rivalry with a hypothetical center right (because it no longer exists) the way progressives have a rivalry with mainstream / center left Democrats. ETA. IMHO the inevitable result is that Democrats have to fight for what’s left of the center right, because they are the “swing” voters. By fighting for that small group, they inevitably end up alienating progressives, based on the assumption that “of course they won’t vote for Trump, and at worst they might stay home”. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/47 "2026-06-02T17:38:39Z")
Democratic Mainstay ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/48 "2026-06-02T17:44:44Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Correct. But that’s because the bulk of Democrats are to the right of the progressives. Right, the majority of Democrats are not as far left as some progressives are, so the Democratic party takes positions that aren’t as far left as these particular progressives. Sounds like democracy is working. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > If Democrats were in the same spot the Republicans are, with the extremists outnumbering the centrists, Bernie would have won. He would also have been in good shape for the general election, having a large progressive base to rival Trump’s far right MAGA base. _If the political makeup of the United States was radically different then the 2016 election would have gone differently_ is a true statement but I’m not sure how meaningful it is. The point is that there simply isn’t a secret silent wing of progressives who’d come out and vote if only the Democrats respected them more. Democrats don’t take far left positions because the majority of their constituents are not supportive of far left policies. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > The problem is that the progressives don’t have the numbers MAGA has, and so they can’t demand / expect that the run of the mill Democratic office holder be a progressive in the same way that a MAGA can reasonably expect their elected representative to be MAGA. Because the MAGAs aren’t in a rivalry with a hypothetical center right (because it no longer exists) the way progressives have a rivalry with mainstream / center left Democrats. You call this a “_problem_”, I call it “_the thing that makes Democrats better than Republicans because it prevents them from being taken over by the left wing version of MAGA, which would be disastrous_”. Different perspectives, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/49 "2026-06-02T17:49:49Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > You call this a “_problem_”, I call it “_the thing that makes Democrats better than Republicans because it prevents them from being taken over by the left wing version of MAGA, which would be disastrous_”. Different perspectives, I suppose. I mean that it’s a problem for the Democratic Party, not for me personally. By which I mean that Democrats are going to have more problems winning the presidency than Republicans, because they have to appeal to multiple groups while the Republicans only have to appeal to one group, with the underlying assumption that having to appeal to multiple groups is inherently more difficult than having to appeal to only one group. That’s why I think Democrats do better when they are in “we’re running against Trump” mode as opposed to “we’re running for (Hillary, Biden, Kamala, etc.)” mode. > [@Babale](#): > > The point is that there simply isn’t a secret silent wing of progressives who’d come out and vote if only the Democrats respected them more. Democrats don’t take far left positions because the majority of their constituents are not supportive of far left policies. There is, but they are smaller in number than the center left that Democrats would lose if they did, as you say “respect the progressives more”. Why do I think they exist? Because they are part of the group that put Biden just over the top in 2020. At least that seems to me like the most likely hypothesis of where the numbers Biden had in 2020 came from. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/50 "2026-06-02T17:50:54Z")
My Beloved took the test-Establishment Liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/51 "2026-06-02T18:00:09Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > There is, but they are smaller in number than the center left that Democrats would lose if they did, as you say “respect the progressives more”. One quick note, since we are all using the term “progressive” a bit haphazardly here … I think that there’s a big difference between progressive Democrats like AOC or her supporters and anti-electoral “progressives” of the sort who travel around the country following AOC from event to event in order to heckle her. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/52 "2026-06-02T18:04:27Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Democrats “went with” Hillary instead of Bernie in 2016 because Hillary beat Bernie by a significant margin in the primary. I suggest you read “Hacks” by Donna Brazile. Hillary’s people bought the Democratic party and torpedoed Bernie. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/53 "2026-06-02T18:04:27Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > One quick note, since we are all using the term “progressive” a bit haphazardly here … I think that there’s a big difference between progressive Democrats like AOC or her supporters and anti-electoral “progressives” of the sort who travel around the country following AOC from event to event in order to heckle her. Agreed. I’m referring to those voters who form the base for elected officials like AOC and Bernie Sanders. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/54 "2026-06-02T18:04:50Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > You call this a “_problem_”, It’s a problem if you’re a progressive, because progressive ideals don’t get as much party support. It’s a problem for the party because having a bigger tent than the Republicans makes the cat-herding aspect of politics that much more difficult. In an at least structurally center-right leaning country (my contention, I don’t fully trust Pew’s breakdowns or numbers), Democrats really need to draw in all wings of the party to win. They need progressive votes. It can’t ignore anybody which is a jenga-tower problem because politics are generally zero-sum. I’m a progressive, more or less. I dislike the Democratic Party and am not a registered member of it. But I’m sadly (or not) a pragmatist, not an idealist. Which means the Democratic Party really can afford to take me for granted. I will unhappily cast my vote for Xavier Becerra today despite being thoroughly unimpressed with him simply because he is leading the polls as the candidate from the least objectionable party (that matters) and has no automatic disqualifying flags. But that’s just my vote. Others are a tougher nut and that is a very real problem. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/55 "2026-06-02T18:04:59Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > I suggest you read “Hacks” by Donna Brazile. Hillary’s people bought the Democratic party and torpedoed Bernie. I’m very familiar with the conspiracy theories. I’m sorry, but they’re nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/56 "2026-06-02T18:08:21Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I finally got it to work. It calls me an “establishment liberal”. I suppose that’s close enough, but again leaves out several nuances. It’s hilarious because I went through everything you went through. It kept saying it couldn’t save my results, and said I didn’t answer 4 questions. And then the results were blank once it did complete. I ended up grabbing the results URL and putting it in a new tab for it to appear, and it called me an “establishment liberal” just like you, and yeah, I think that’s probably accurate for the most part. It’s a very limited poll though. There were 16 questions, but I think it only focused on a few different issues amongst those questions. It didn’t even ask me questions about the things I care about the most; law enforcement abusing people without consequences, clear government corruption, the erosion of democracy through voter suppression, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/57 "2026-06-02T18:10:45Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I’m a progressive, more or less. I dislike the Democratic Party and am not a registered member of it. But I’m sadly (or not) a pragmatist, not an idealist. Which means the Democratic Party really can afford to take me for granted. I will unhappily cast my vote for Xavier Becerra today despite being thoroughly unimpressed with him simply because he is leading the polls as the candidate from the least objectionable party (that matters) and has no automatic disqualifying flags. But that’s just my vote. Others are a tougher nut and that is a very real problem. That’s the point I was trying to make. Democrats have to take voters like you for granted, because if they didn’t, the voters who make up the bulk of the base for someone like Xavier Becerra would instead be the ones staying home. The numbers of those voters almost certainly are larger than the numbers of voters like you, and so we end up with the current situation. FWIW, I also think of myself as mostly progressive (the exception being criminal justice for violent criminals, on which I’m probably on the far right), and I’m there every two years in the general election voting D, no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/58 "2026-06-02T18:32:24Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Establishment Liberal, which is unfathomably based Same here. "Establishment Liberals are more likely than any other group to say that compromise is how things get done in politics. " The last question about superpowers didnt give much choice. Sadly the quiz is way out of date- " and an overwhelming majority say they approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president.". > [@Czarcasm](#): > > The perfect political poll for people that also believe in horoscopes. Hardly. The poll has some small validity, it does ask some good questions. > [@Dorjan](#): > > That poll is far too simplified. True. Many posters here are likely not as far left as they would be under a sane regime. The reaction vs the insanity that is trump is tainting things. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/59 "2026-06-02T18:50:07Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > [Political Typology Quiz | Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/) I rather immediately lock up on the first question: “Define ‘services’”. There are a multitude of things I wish the government did, or did more of. There are also a multitude of things the government does that I want to bring to an end. And I want to be consulted, a lot more consulted than I’ve ever been w/regards to what my government does. So, from the outset, the very way the opening question is set up makes me feel excluded from the Pew political typology. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558/60 "2026-06-02T18:51:41Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I rather immediately lock up on the first question: “Define ‘services’”. There are a multitude of things I wish the government did, or did more of. There are also a multitude of things the government does that I want to bring to an end. And I want to be consulted, a lot more consulted than I’ve ever been w/regards to what my government does The instructions do, in fact, address this: _You may find some of these questions are difficult to answer. That’s OK. In those cases, pick the answer that comes closest to your view, even if it isn’t exactly right._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pew-political-type-are-you-which-type-is-the-best-type/1030558.md?page=4)