A Record Percentage Of Americans Now Say They're Social Liberals [View all]

[applegrove]

A Record Percentage Of Americans Now Say They're Social Liberals

by Ariel Edwards-Levy at the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/22/socially-liberal-poll_n_7422440.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

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For the first time in at least 16 years, Americans are equally likely to describe themselves as socially liberal as they are to say they're social conservatives, a new Gallup poll finds.

Thirty-one percent of Americans say they're liberal on social issues, with another 31 percent calling themselves conservatives and the rest identifying as moderates.

In 1999, when Gallup first began tracking questions on ideology, Americans were 18 points more likely to describe themselves as social conservatives. Since then, the gap has narrowed, with the exception of a spike in conservatism at the beginning of President Barack Obama's first term.

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Much of the change is due to a long-term shift among Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party, a record 53 percent of whom now call themselves social liberals. A majority of Republicans still say they're social conservatives, but that number has also dipped in recent years, with an increasing minority in the party instead saying they're moderate on social issues.


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