# You poor lonely conservative in the SDMB sea of liberals **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 29, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745 "2004-09-29T22:47:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/161 "2004-09-30T19:47:39Z")
> [@John Corrado](#): > > You are an Independent. Relish it. You are now free to laugh in the faces of those whose politics torture their ideology, and you may instruct candidates to jump through hoops to gain your considered vote. > For the record- My positions are 90% similar to Gobears; I am a bit more neo-conservative on foreign affairs. I am a registered Republican not because I agree with everything they say, but because if I keep voting in primaries, I can eventually make _them_ agree with what _I_ say. JC, I found this a fascinating idea, I am a registered Democrat because often times in this state it’s the primaries that decide who will win the regular election, especially in urban areas, and I want a voice in deciding who that person is. Jesus Christ himself couldn’t get elected mayor of Baltimore if he ran as a Republican. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/162 "2004-09-30T19:57:40Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > JC, > > I found this a fascinating idea, I am a registered Democrat because often times in this state it’s the primaries that decide who will win the regular election, especially in urban areas, and I want a voice in deciding who that person is. Jesus Christ himself couldn’t get elected mayor of Baltimore if he ran as a Republican. Sure, but remember that I’m from the D.C. suburbs, where Connie Morella was a Democrat in Republican’s clothing and held a seat in Congress for 10 years. So Republicans have a _bit_ more of a chance down here, especially if they’re moderate. Besides- given incumbency, I have no expectation that registering as a Democrat would allow me to affect whether or not Mikulski or Sarbanes ever got renominated. But I _can_ help decide which Republicans are going to tilt at that windmill, and help choose sane and moderate people like Ehrlich as opposed to Sauerbrey or Keyes. (I lost all respect for Sauerbrey in '98 when a magazine- I believe The Washingtonian- asked Sauerbrey and Glendening a bunch of trivial questions. One of them was, “What is your favorite food?” Sauerbrey responded, “Filet mignion.” Even if one were to try and evade the general elitism or upper-classism inherent in that, responding with _any_ non-seafood answer in Maryland strikes me as so politically inept as to borderline foolishness; she might as well have said her favorite sports team was the Indianapolis Colts.) And even when Republicans go down to disastrous defeat in Maryland- as they often do- being able to point out that one candidate did _slightly_ better than their forerunners slowly moves things along. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/163 "2004-09-30T20:00:13Z")
So, what’s the updated list like now? Around 30 or so (out of 40 some thousand? 😃 ) Count me in as a pretty middle of the road conservative with a little blip here and there. More fiscally than socially. I don’t think I’ll budge on abortion, guns, and taxes, but there are a few issues I’m pliable on. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/164 "2004-09-30T20:14:59Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > [This chart](http://www.amschwartz.net/jillandthomas/SDMBPoliticalGuage) from [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=272103&page=4&pp=50&highlight=compass) tallied the results of those who took the Political Gauge Test. I think it encompassed a pretty comprehensive list of regular GD posters. > > The results were: > > 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 > > Which backs up my claim earlier that on fiscal issues things are pretty balanced around here whereas on non-fiscal issues there is a strong liberal slant. I missed that thread the first time around, but when people like Airman, Sam Stone, and furt come up as _moderate_ on non-fiscal issues, it seriously makes me question the veracity of that test. And I notice that a lot of respondents complained about the questions. Isn’t this just a case of drawing the line between “conservative” and “liberal” at an arbitrary point that is perhaps right of center? It seems virtually impossible to actually score as a conservative on non-fiscal issues in that test. One would have to be slightly right of Hitler to actually score as a strong conservative. I’m not saying there aren’t more liberals here on SDMB, but I think that survey exaggerates the case. I’ve always thought that one of the main difference between liberal and conservative is that a liberal believes that the human condition _can_ and _should_ be improved by the actions of the government, whereas a conservative believes that the human condition is only improved through individual responsibility, which I think would tend to put Libertarians more in the conservative camp. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/165 "2004-09-30T20:15:44Z")
> [@](#): > > One of them was, “What is your favorite food?” Sauerbrey responded, “Filet mignion.” Even if one were to try and evade the general elitism or upper-classism inherent in that, responding with _any_ non-seafood answer in Maryland strikes me as so politically inept as to borderline foolishness; she might as well have said her favorite sports team was the Indianapolis Colts.) Maybe her favorite food _was_ filet mignon? 🙂 I mean, geez, we complain that the politicians lie to us and then get annoyed when they don’t tell us what we want to hear. ( And filet is not outrageously expensive, and is well within the ability of the middle class and even lower class to buy for a treat. It was $3.98 each at Jewel a few weeks back.) She may very well be a total dip but I think it’s weird that she is not considered “sane and moderate” because she didn’t have the proper (and most likely lying) response to a trivial question about her own personal food preference. If we really do expect politicians to lie to us even about what foods they like to eat and think less of them when they don’t, well, that’s kind of sad, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/166 "2004-09-30T20:32:26Z")
Perhaps it would be better to say that while right conservatives are in the minority, there are also a sustantial number of posters that identify as libertarian, which doesn’t always fit neatly into a “left” or “right” mold. Another reason though, why the board may tend to attract more lefties could possibly be explained by the fact that this board is a VERY gay friendly place (which is a good thing!). We’re very big on gay rights around here, which isn’t something that would endear us to most traditional right wing conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/167 "2004-09-30T20:37:51Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Perhaps it would be better to say that while right conservatives are in the minority, there are also a sustantial number of posters that identify as libertarian, which doesn’t always fit neatly into a “left” or “right” mold. No, it doesn’t _always_ fit neatly, but on the issue of what the role of government ought to be, I think the Libertarian philosophy is diametrically opposed to the liberal philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/168 "2004-09-30T20:57:27Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > I missed that thread the first time around, but when people like Airman, Sam Stone, and furt come up as _moderate_ on non-fiscal issues, it seriously makes me question the veracity of that test. I don’t know \*\*Airman \*\*all that well, but **Sam Stone** is no social conservative. He’s very strongly libertarian in his views on social issues. > [@](#): > > I’ve always thought that one of the main difference between liberal and conservative is that a liberal believes that the human condition _can_ and _should_ be improved by the actions of the government, whereas a conservative believes that the human condition is only improved through individual responsibility, which I think would tend to put Libertarians more in the conservative camp. Actually, when that thought was framed, it was the LIBERALS (what we’d call libertarians today) who favored individual responisbility. I think you are mixing a 19th century philosophical debate with late 20th century nomenclature. I’m sure **Liberal** will be along shortly to expand on that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/169 "2004-09-30T21:05:49Z")
I’m trying to form the Anarchist Party Dopers Association. First, we will elect officers, then draft a mission statement and build an easily recognised platform. Fuck that, I’m going for a beer. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Leonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Leonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leonard)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/170 "2004-09-30T21:07:46Z")
I always thought the name of this place generally kept a lot of social conservatives from ever discovering it. I doubt most of them would ever visit a website or read a column that had the word ‘dope’ in the title. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/171 "2004-09-30T21:28:04Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I don’t know \*\*Airman \*\*all that well, but **Sam Stone** is no social conservative. He’s very strongly libertarian in his views on social issues. That hasn’t been my impression, but I could be wrong. Specifically what issues are you referring to? Sam, if you’re reading this, are you pro-gun control? Are you _for_ government regulation of businesses and the environment? Are you for affirmative action? My take is that Libertarians tend to be against these things, but I’m certainly willing to change my mind if I’m wrong about that. (I’m not sure that Sam is a Libertarian, either.) > [@](#): > > Actually, when that thought was framed, it was the LIBERALS (what we’d call libertarians today) who favored individual responisbility. I don’t know what you mean by “when that thought was framed.” I’m of course referring to the words as they are _currently_ used, not at some unspecified time in the past. I’m not sure what your point of disagreement is here. Are you contending that, in _this_ century, that conservatives are _for_ more government regulations, and liberals are _against_ it? I really don’t think that’s the case. > [@](#): > > I think you are mixing a 19th century philosophical debate with late 20th century nomenclature. I’m sure **Liberal** will be along shortly to expand on that. 🙂 No, I don’t think I am, and nothing against Liberal, but I don’t really think his opinion reflects mainstream thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/172 "2004-09-30T21:30:04Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > Anyway, getting back to the numbers, if you can name 100 different conservatives that are still here it’ll still represent only 2.5% of all paying members of the SDMB. Are all paying members of the SDMB regular posters to Great Debates and The Pit (which is where party affiliation comes out)? I don’t think so. The real test is how many of the regular posters to these two forums are liberal or conservative, not what is the ratio of conservative regular posters to the entire membership of the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/173 "2004-09-30T21:32:43Z")
> [@UncleBill](#): > > I am a mostly Social Liberal and mostly Fiscal Conservative, overall slightly right of center. > > Gay Marriage? Yes. > Abortion? Yes. > Affirmative Action? Not anymore. > Flat Tax? Yes. > War in Iraq? Yes, but for more honest reasons. > Legalize Marijuana and control like booze? Yes. > Gun Registration? Yes. > Welfare? With a endgame (job training, AmeriCorps-type work, WPA-style work) yes \Why isn’t there a “mostly Social Liberal and mostly Fiscal Conservative” party in the U.S.? I think many people would belong to this category. Anyway, I think there was a thread on this a while back, but I can’t find it\ ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/174 "2004-09-30T21:36:31Z")
> [@Leonard](#): > > I always thought the name of this place generally kept a lot of social conservatives from ever discovering it. I doubt most of them would ever visit a website or read a column that had the word ‘dope’ in the title. Imagine the poor ultra-conservative who, upon finding out he has cancer and only medicinal dosages marijuana will help him bear the upcoming chemotherapy, decides to come over to the _Straight Dope_ only to find out there is no discernable info about marijuana … and let’s not even get into “straight”!!! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/175 "2004-09-30T21:46:58Z")
> [@Gaudere](#): > > If we really do expect politicians to lie to us even about what foods they like to eat and think less of them when they don’t, well, that’s kind of sad, IMHO. But, we expect politicians to root for hometown sports teams even if they really don’t care for the sport, and we expect politicians to portray themselves as “regular folks” even when we know it’s a complete sham. Both presidential candidates this year were children of privledge and Ivy League College graduates, but it is generally accepted that they need to act like the ‘regular folks’ that they aren’t and never have been. Maybe that’s sad, but it’s demanded. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/176 "2004-09-30T22:03:01Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Are all paying members of the SDMB regular posters to Great Debates and The Pit (which is where party affiliation comes out)? I don’t think so. > > The real test is how many of the regular posters to these two forums are liberal or conservative, not what is the ratio of conservative regular posters to the entire membership of the SDMB. Perhaps, but that wasn’t the premise of the OP. And party affiliation doesn’t mean squat. I am now, and have been since the day I registered, an independent. I voted for Clinton in 1996 (oops) and I’m voting for Kerry this year. A lockstep Republican I am not. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/177 "2004-09-30T22:09:09Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > What’s a factor of ten when you want to make a point _really bad_? Even that’s a bit misleading. The obverse would be how many liberals can one name off the top of one’s head? Probably about 200 +/-100. Most poster’s political views are unknown, just like most private citizens views are unknown. It might be that they don’t care or it might be that they don’t want to get into the shouting matches in GD or the Pit. As someone who is probably more liberal than conservative, with more than a touch of libertarian and libertine thrown in, I’d guess that the board runs about 2 or 3 to 1 liberals vs conservatives, of the people who bother to make themselves heard. The rest are busy discussing the latest videogame, film, asking if a duck’s quack echos, or posting their picture and flirting. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/178 "2004-09-30T22:23:21Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > **How many subscribers have paid $14.95 to date?** [As of 07-18-2004, 04:59 PM:](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5311435) > What’s a factor of ten when you want to make a point _really bad_? From the [The Straight Dope Message Board Home Page](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/): > [@](#): > > What’s Going On? > Straight Dope Message Board Statistics > Threads: 267,176, Posts: 5,209,240, **Members: 48,508** > Welcome to our newest member, razorblade Come again? :dubious: You’re relying on paid membership, I got the number from OVERALL membership. Are you saying that you can only have a viewpoint if you’ve paid $14.95? :smack: Factor of ten, my ass…(_that viewpoint provided by someone who paid only $4.95_) **DMC** - A handful? Probably less than 10% (or 5%), but more than 0%…Just a WAG. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/179 "2004-09-30T22:29:41Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > That hasn’t been my impression, but I could be wrong. Specifically what issues are you referring to? Sam, if you’re reading this, are you pro-gun control? Are you _for_ government regulation of businesses and the environment? Are you for affirmative action? My take is that Libertarians tend to be against these things, but I’m certainly willing to change my mind if I’m wrong about that. (I’m not sure that Sam is a Libertarian, either.) I’ll let Sam speak for himself, but he’s described himself as a libertarian (small “l”) on a number of occasions. I guess it depends on which non-fiscal issues you’re focussing on. If you talk about mixing religion and government, about abortion, or about regulating morality, there’s a big difference between Republican-type conservatives and libertarians. > [@](#): > > I don’t know what you mean by “when that thought was framed.” I’m of course referring to the words as they are _currently_ used, not at some unspecified time in the past. > > I’m not sure what your point of disagreement is here. Are you contending that, in _this_ century, that conservatives are _for_ more government regulations, and liberals are _against_ it? I really don’t think that’s the case. Especially in recent years, conservatives have championed regulations in the social/privacy area while liberals have championed regulations in the market. To a lot of us, that’s just two sides of the same coin. > [@](#): > > …nothing against Liberal, but I don’t really think his opinion reflects mainstream thinking. That’s a safe bet! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745/180 "2004-09-30T22:32:45Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I’ll let Sam speak for himself, but he’s described himself as a libertarian (small “l”) on a number of occasions. Let me be clearer on that. He’s described himself as more libertarian than conservative. Obviously, he’s got hawkish (non-libertarian) inclinations wrt Iraq. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-poor-lonely-conservative-in-the-sdmb-sea-of-liberals/266745.md?page=10)