domingo, 29 de octubre de 2017

Facebook struggles to contain Russia narrative

Hearings this week will increase the pressure for the company to explain how bots and fake news exploited its network — beyond a narrow focus on political ads.





Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, walks with Rep. Tony Cardenas to a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, at the Capitol on Oct. 12.



Facebook has been happy to keep congressional investigators focused on the Russian-bought online ads that helped sway voters in last year’s election — despite the many other ways that fake messages and bogus accounts spread on the dark side of social media.

But that may be about to end: Facebook, Twitter and Google are preparing for hearings this week at which lawmakers are expected to grill the companies about the broad reach that foreign actors achieved through fake accounts and deliberate misinformation, a topic that encompasses far more than the 3,000 paid political ads that Facebook disclosed last month.



Some lawmakers are already pressing for more details about so-called organic content, including unpaid posts from thousands of fake, automated and hijacked user accounts. Those questions could require Facebook to divulge more details about the priceless proprietary algorithms it uses to decide what messages its users see.

Top Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat Dianne Feinstein asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday for a wealth of additional data about Russian activity on its networks, including all organic content and ads "targeted to any part of the United States" by any users who "may be connected in some way to Russia." The California senator also sent an extensive data request to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, similarly requested a meeting with Google, Facebook and Twitter to discuss both their advertising and broader content management policies. In a letter, Pallone said their platforms have become increasingly powerful and the companies have taken on a "quasi-governmental role" in determining what content is appropriate.

Ads are the "easier problem" to solve, a source close to the Senate probes told POLITICO. Spotlighting paid ads benefits Facebook because it limits the discussion to a relatively small slice of the possible malicious activity that Russia is believed to have engaged in on social media platforms, said a second source, a former Senate staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.

"I keep learning about how extensive this ecosystem is and the interrelationship between paid ads, fake accounts, the ability of the bots to push traffic," Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Thursday.


Warner also indicated that regulations will be necessary to address the problem. "The notion of self-policing alone, I just don't think that's it, because it would simply move the bad actors onto sites that aren't," he said.

Representatives of all three companies are due to testify at a Senate Judiciary hearing Tuesday on "Russian disinformation online," and at separate House and Senate intelligence committee hearings Wednesday on social media, Russia and the election.

As part of its playbook for shaping the narrative of the Russia probes, Facebook focused on the issue of online advertising when it met with representatives of the Senate intelligence panel, according to a source close to the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the inquiry. The former Senate aide also described a broader perception on Capitol Hill that tech companies are steering the discussion toward ads.

Facebook offered a glimpse at seven problematic ads during a private Hill briefing last month and, after pressure from lawmakers, agreed to turn over 3,000 of them to investigators. It separately disclosed to the public that the Russia-linked ads cost about $100,000, a figure that drew widespread media attention.

Twitter then followed its lead and presented some similar information to lawmakers' offices.

Both companies have since announced internal plans to require greater oversight of political and issues-based ads — pre-emptive strikes that could blunt recently introduced legislation to force greater disclosure. And Twitter announced Thursday that it was dropping all ads from Kremlin-funded English-language media outlets RT and Sputnik.

But advertising is just one part of the far-reaching Russian influence campaign that the probe has documented so far — one that also included hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign, along with shaping public discourse through fake news stories targeted at impressionable Americans.

While Congress’ legislative response so far has consisted of bills targeting social media ads, this week's hearings will provide an opportunity for lawmakers to press beyond ads for the first time in a public forum. Facebook, Google — which owns YouTube — and Twitter will probably face questions about why their platforms seemed to so easily facilitate the spread of misinformation and what the companies are doing to prevent future election-meddling.

"I got a lot of [questions], and I'm going to ask them all at the open hearing," Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said in a brief interview. He played coy on specifics. "I want to save it so it's a surprise for everybody."

Other lawmakers said they plan to probe the dissemination of fake news, fake Facebook accounts that impersonated people or were actually bots, and the use of online trolls to promote divisive messages.

One issue that could plague the company is the extent to which the Russian entities created fake organic content on both Facebook and Twitter and used those posts to sow chaos in the election and drive undecided potential voters away from Hillary Clinton and into the Donald Trump camp. Facebook has committed to giving material on organic content to the investigators.

miércoles, 25 de octubre de 2017

Political Typology Reveals Deep Fissures on the Right and Left

Conservative Republican groups divided on immigration, ‘openness’

Nearly a year after Donald Trump was elected president, the Republican coalition is deeply divided on such major issues as immigration, America’s role in the world and the fundamental fairness of the U.S. economic system.

The Democratic coalition is largely united in staunch opposition to President Trump. Yet, while Trump’s election has triggered a wave of political activism within the party’s sizable liberal bloc, the liberals’ sky-high political energy is not nearly as evident among other segments in the Democratic base. And Democrats also are internally divided over U.S. global involvement, as well as some religious and social issues.

These are among the findings of Pew Research Center’s new political typology, which sorts Americans into cohesive groups based on their values, attitudes and party affiliation, and provides a unique perspective on the nation’s changing political landscape. Before reading further, take our quiz to see where you fit in the political typology.

The political typology reveals that even in a political landscape increasingly fractured by partisanship, the divisions within the Republican and Democratic coalitions may be as important a factor in American politics as the divisions between them.

In some cases these fissures are not new – they were evident in six previous Pew Research Center typology studies conducted over the past three decades, most recently in 2014. Yet, especially within the GOP, many of the divisions now center on the issues that have been front-and-center for Trump since he first launched his presidential campaign.

This study is based on surveys of more than 5,000 adults conducted over the summer. This was also the data source for our Oct. 6 report, “The Partisan Divide on Political Values Grows Even Wider.” These reports were made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the surveys from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Divisions on the right

The political typology finds two distinctly different groups on the right – Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives, who both overwhelmingly approve of Trump, but disagree on much else – including immigration and whether it benefits the U.S. to be active internationally.

Core Conservatives, who are in many ways the most traditional group of Republicans, have an outsized influence on the GOP coalition; while they make up just 13% of the public – and about a third (31%) of all Republicans and Republican-leaning independents – they constitute a much larger share (43%) of politically engaged Republicans.

This financially comfortable, male-dominated group overwhelmingly supports smaller government, lower corporate tax rates and believes in the fairness of the nation’s economic system. And a large majority of Core Conservatives (68%) express a positive view of U.S. involvement in the global economy “because it provides the U.S. with new markets and opportunities for growth.”

Country First Conservatives, a much smaller segment of the GOP base, are older and less educated than other Republican-leaning typology groups. Unlike Core Conservatives, Country First Conservatives are unhappy with the nation’s course, highly critical of immigrants and deeply wary of U.S. global involvement.

Nearly two-thirds of Country First Conservatives (64%) – the highest share of any typology group, right or left – say that “if America is too open to people from all over the world, we risk losing our identity as a nation.”

A third Republican group, Market Skeptic Republicans, sharply diverges from the GOP’s traditional support for business and lower taxes. Only about a third of Market Skeptic Republicans (34%) say banks and other financial institutions have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country, lowest among Republican-leaning typology groups.

Alone among the groups in the GOP coalition, a majority of Market Skeptic Republicans support raising tax rates on corporations and large businesses. An overwhelming share (94%) say the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests, which places the view of Market Skeptic Republicans on this issue much closer to Solid Liberals (99% mostly unfair) than Core Conservatives (21%).

In contrast to Market Skeptic Republicans, New Era Enterprisers are fundamentally optimistic about the state of the nation and its future. They are more likely than any other typology group to say the next generation of Americans will have it better than people today. Younger and somewhat less overwhelmingly white than the other GOP-leaning groups, New Era Enterprisers are strongly pro-business and generally think that immigrants strengthen, rather than burden, the country.
Divisions on the left

The four groups in the Democratic coalition differ on a number of issues: While they all strongly support the social safety net, the Democratic-leaning groups are divided on government regulation of business, and government performance more generally. And like the GOP coalition, they disagree on U.S. global involvement.

While there have long been racial, ethnic and income differences within the Democratic coalition, these gaps are especially striking today. Reflecting the changing demographic composition of the Democratic base, for the first time there are two majority-minority Democratic-leaning typology groups, along with two more affluent, mostly white groups.

Solid Liberals are the largest group in the Democratic coalition, and they make up close to half (48%) of politically engaged Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

Largely white, financially comfortable and highly educated (most are college graduates and nearly a third have postgraduate degrees), Solid Liberals overwhelmingly express liberal attitudes on virtually every issue.

And their level of political activism in the months following Trump’s election sets Solid Liberals apart from all other groups in the political typology, left or right. Nearly half of Solid Liberals (49%) say they have contributed money to a political candidate or campaign in the past year; no more than a third in any other group (32% of Core Conservatives) say the same. And 39% of Solid Liberals report they have participated in a protest against Trump’s policies, which also is by far the highest share among the political typology groups.

For the most part, Opportunity Democrats agree with Solid Liberals on major issues. But Opportunity Democrats are less affluent, less politically engaged and less liberal – both in their attitudes on issues and in how they describe themselves politically. One area of difference between Opportunity Democrats and Solid Liberals is on corporate profits: 40% of Opportunity Democrats say most corporations make a “fair and reasonable amount of profit,” compared with 16% of Solid Liberals. And Opportunity Democrats stand out in their belief that most people can get ahead if they are willing to work hard.

Disaffected Democrats have very positive feelings toward the Democratic Party and its leading figures. Their disaffection stems from their cynicism about politics, government and the way things are going in the country. This financially stressed, majority-minority group supports activist government and the social safety net, but most say government is “wasteful and inefficient.” A large majority of Disaffected Democrats say their side has been losing in politics, while fewer than half believe that voting gives them a say in how the government runs things.

A second majority-minority group, Devout and Diverse, faces even tougher financial hardships than Disaffected Democrats. Devout and Diverse also are the most politically mixed typology group (about a quarter lean Republican), as well as the least politically engaged. Like Disaffected Democrats, they are critical of government regulation of business. They also are the most religiously observant Democratic-leaning group, and the only one in which a majority (64%) says it is necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values.

In addition to the eight main groups in the political typology, a ninth group – the Bystanders – is missing in action politically. Almost no one in this relatively young, largely minority group is registered to vote and most pay little or no attention to politics and government.
Trump and the political typology

While both parties are divided internally, partisanship remains a defining feature of American political life. Across the eight main typology groups, majorities either affiliate with or lean toward either the Republican or Democratic Party.


The power of partisanship is reflected in attitudes about Donald Trump. In the survey, conducted in June, Trump’s job ratings are more deeply polarized along partisan lines than those of any president in more than 60 years.

Overall, Trump gets his most positive ratings among the two most solidly Republican groups, Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives. Large majorities in each group strongly approve of Trump’s job performance (80% of Core Conservatives, 71% of Country First Conservatives).

By contrast, more than 70% in the three overwhelmingly Democratic groups (Solid Liberals, Opportunity Democrats and Disaffected Democrats) strongly disapprove.

However, even the Republican-leaning groups who strongly approve of Trump’s job performance are not all that positive about his conduct as president. Among the public overall, 58% say they don’t like Trump’s conduct, while just 16% like his conduct; 25% say they have mixed feelings.

There is no typology group in which a clear majority expresses positive views of Trump’s conduct. About half of Country First Conservatives (51%) like Trump’s conduct as president, while 39% have mixed feelings. And among Core Conservatives, who strongly approve of Trump’s job performance, only 41% like his conduct and 51% have mixed feelings.

The other GOP-leaning groups are divided in views of Trump’s conduct. About half of Market Skeptic Republicans (49%) say they have mixed feelings, while roughly equal shares say they like (24%) and don’t like (26%) his conduct. And among New Era Enterprisers, more express negative (39%) than positive (23%) views of Trump’s conduct, with 38% expressing mixed feelings.

Among Democratic-leaning groups, overwhelming majorities of Solid Liberals (98%), Opportunity Democrats (86%) and Disaffected Democrats (89%) say they don’t like Trump’s conduct in office. As with Trump’s job approval, Devout and Diverse offer less critical views of Trump’s conduct, though far more express negative (52%) than positive views (10%).
Political engagement and a look ahead to 2018

The two largest groups in the political typology – Core Conservatives on the right and Solid Liberals on the left – make up an even larger share of their partisan coalitions when political engagement is factored in.

Core Conservatives are more likely than other GOP-leaning groups to say they follow politics and government most of the time and say they always vote. Consequently, while Core Conservatives make up about a third of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents overall (31%), they constitute a larger proportion of politically engaged Republicans (43%).

At the other end of the political typology, Solid Liberals constitute by far the largest proportion of politically engaged Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

Solid Liberals make up a third of all Democrats and Democratic leaners – but close to half (48%) of politically engaged Democrats. That is about the same proportion as the other Democratic-leaning groups combined.

The next largest group, Disaffected Democrats, make up 23% of Democrats and about the same share of politically engaged Democrats (20%); similarly, Opportunity Democrats constitute 20% of all Democrats and an identical share of politically engaged Democrats. And Devout and Diverse, who express very low levels of interest in politics and government, make up a substantially smaller share of politically engaged Democrats (7%) than of all Democrats (11%).

The 2018 midterm elections are still more than a year away, but the two groups at either end of the political typology are already highly motivated by the battle for congressional control. More than eight-in-ten Solid Liberals (84%) say it matters a great deal to them which party wins control of Congress next year, the highest share of any typology group. Core Conservatives are next highest, at 77%.

At this point, other groups are less engaged by the struggle for partisan control of Congress. And the drop-off is particularly notable among three groups close to the middle of the typology. On the right, fewer than half of Market Skeptic Republicans (44%) and New Era Enterprisers (41%) say it matters a great deal which party wins control of Congress; on the left, just 44% of Devout and Diverse say the same.
The political typology: 1987-2017

The political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values and beliefs, as well as their partisan affiliation. The current study, which comes 30 years after the first political typology, is based on surveys conducted June 8-18 among 2,504 adults and June 27-July 9 among 2,505 adults, with a follow-up survey conducted Aug. 15-21 among 1,893 respondents.

The typology is not intended to measure changes over time in the electorate, but some of the internal party differences that were evident 30 years ago still persist today. For example, Core Conservatives are far more likely than Country First Conservatives to favor societal acceptance of homosexuality. In 1987, two roughly parallel groups – Enterprise Republicans and Moral Republicans – differed over a disputed social policy at that time, whether or not school boards should have the right to fire homosexual teachers.

There also have been long-standing divisions among Democratic groups over religion and morality. Today’s Solid Liberals, who overwhelmingly say that belief in God is not necessary to be moral, bear some resemblance to the Seculars and ’60s Democrats from that earlier era. Today’s Disaffected Democrats and Devout and Diverse – majority-minority groups who are much more likely than Solid Liberals to link belief in God with morality – are somewhat similar to the Partisan Poor and Passive Poor of three decades ago.

To be sure, there have been seismic changes in the nation and politics over the past three decades – and these are reflected in the political typology. The country has become far more racially and ethnically diverse. In 1987, both parties were overwhelmingly white and non-Hispanic; today, only the GOP is, while more than 40% of Democrats are nonwhite. Thirty years ago, one of the largest groups in the political typology were the New Dealers, an older, mostly white, mostly Democratic group who were relatively conservative on social issues but favored activist government. There is no equivalent group in today’s political typology.

There have been more recent changes as well, particularly in the GOP coalition. The two conservative Republican groups are divided over immigration, “openness” and America’s role in the world, as well as homosexuality. And for the first time, there is a Republican-leaning group that is deeply skeptical of business and the fundamental fairness of the nation’s economic system. On these issues, Market Skeptic Republicans have less in common with the other groups on the right than they do with the Democratic-leaning groups in the political typology.




1. Partisanship and political engagement

Pew Research Center’s political typology divides the public into eight politically oriented groups, along with a ninth group of politically disengaged Bystanders. Although the partisan divide on political values is now wider than at any point in the past two decades, significant divides in values are evident within both the Democratic and Republican coalitions. The political typology is designed to understand these intraparty schisms and illustrate how different sectors within each partisan coalition differ in their participation in politics and in other aspects of American life.

The current political typology is the seventh of its kind, following on previous studies in 1987, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2011 and 2014. This year’s typology segments people based on a combination of 12 political values and beliefs as well as partisan orientation. Take the quiz to find where you fit in the political typology.

This year’s typology identifies four Republican-oriented groups and four Democratic-oriented groups. In both coalitions, the most deeply partisan and ideological groups, Solid Liberals and Core Conservatives, also are the most likely to vote, to pay attention to politics and to be invested in the outcome of the 2018 congressional elections.


In addition to being the most likely to say they always or nearly always vote, these highly partisan ideological groups also donate money, contact elected officials and discuss politics with others at the highest rates. Far more Solid Liberals say they engage in these activities than do members of other typology groups, including Core Conservatives.

By contrast, political engagement is lowest among some of the groups with the most mixed political values. Devout and Diverse, in particular, stand out for their general low level of attention to public affairs. New Era Enterprisers, Market Skeptic Republicans and Disaffected Democrats also express less interest, and vote at lower rates, than other groups.
Partisan coalitions in the typology

Among the four Republican-oriented groups, Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives stand out as the most partisan and ideological: Nearly all in both groups (97% and 95%, respectively) identify with or lean toward the GOP, and fully 45% in both groups consider themselves to be strong Republican identifiers. Wide majorities of both groups (81% of Core Conservatives and 70% of Country First Conservatives) identify themselves as politically conservative.

While both groups share a deeply critical view of government and a desire for smaller government and less regulation, they differ in other key political values. Core Conservatives are strong backers of business and believe that the economic system is fair; Country First Conservatives are more divided in these assessments. Conversely, while Country First Conservatives are very socially conservative and couple strongly negative views of immigrants with a skepticism about American involvement in the world, Core Conservatives are split internally over each of these values.

While the two other, less traditionally conservative groups in the GOP-oriented coalition – Market Skeptic Republicans (75% Republican/lean Republican) and New Era Enterprisers (66% Republican/lean Republican) – are also mostly Republican in their orientation, only about a quarter in each of these groups consider themselves strong Republicans.

Those in these less politically engaged and younger GOP-oriented groups also tend to hold more ideologically mixed values than Core and Country First Conservatives, though in markedly different ways. Market Skeptic Republicans express generally negative views of immigrants and a desire for the country to be less focused on foreign affairs, but they are otherwise somewhat less socially conservative than Country First Conservatives. Their economic attitudes – skepticism about the fairness of the economy and a generally negative view of banks and business –distinguish them from Core Conservatives.

By contrast, the other ideologically mixed group in the Republican coalition, New Era Enterprisers, are in many ways economically aligned with Core Conservatives, expressing some of the most positive views about the U.S. economic system of any typology group. But this group’s views on immigration, the environment, foreign policy and homosexuality are more in line with those of most Democratic groups.

Solid Liberals anchor the Democratic coalition, as similar groups did in 2014 and 2011. Those in this group take liberal positions across nearly every domain – including government, the economy and business, race, gender and immigration. They also think the U.S. should be active in world affairs. Solid Liberals are highly engaged and intensely partisan: 99% affiliate with, or lean to, the Democratic Party, including 47% who describe themselves as strong Democrats. About seven-in-ten (71%) describe themselves as liberal; by comparison, no more than a third of those in any other typology group call themselves liberal.

Opportunity Democrats, who are 80% Democratic or Democratic-leaning, are in broad agreement with Solid Liberals on most political values. However, particularly on questions about economic opportunity, they hold less uniformly liberal stances than Solid Liberals and a plurality (46%) call themselves moderate.

Disaffected Democrats similarly are more likely to call themselves moderate (44%) than liberal (30%), even as 85% identify with or lean to the Democratic Party. Generally in alignment with Solid Liberals on most political values, this group diverges from them in their skepticism about government. In contrast to Opportunity Democrats, Disaffected Democrats are more critical in their views of the economic system broadly, including U.S. involvement in the global economic system.

The final group in the Democratic coalition, Devout and Diverse, is the most politically diverse group in the typology: 59% are Democrats or lean Democratic, while 26% are Republican or lean Republican. Most of those in this majority-minority group hold liberal values about the social safety net and racial issues. But Devout and Diverse part ways with other Democratic-oriented groups in their isolationist views of foreign policy and are far more mixed than these other groups in their views about immigrants, environmental regulation and homosexuality.
Political engagement, attention and efficacy

Among the public overall, 59% say they follow what’s going on in government and public affairs most of the time. The share rises to 82% among Solid Liberals and 80% among Core Conservatives. Roughly six-in-ten Country First Conservatives (60%) and Opportunity Democrats (63%) say they follow what’s going on in government most of the time.

Attention to politics and government lags among the other typology groups; no more than six-in-ten in any other group say they follow government most of the time. Devout and Diverse are least likely to say this (43%).

Views about the importance of the outcome of next year’s congressional election follow a similar pattern. Nearly all Solid Liberals (97%) say it matters at least a fair amount who wins control of Congress in the 2018 elections (including 84% who say it matters a great deal), while Core Conservatives also express high levels of investment in the outcome (93% say it matters at least a fair amount). Narrower majorities of all other groups say control of Congress matters at least a fair amount, and fewer than half of Market Skeptic Republicans, New Era Enterprisers and Devout and Diverse say partisan control of Congress matters a great deal to them.

Although Solid Liberals and Core Conservatives are roughly equally likely to express broad interest in politics, Solid Liberals stand out for their political activism over the past year, particularly since the 2016 election. Fully 39% of Solid Liberals say they have attended a political event, rally or organized protest since the 2016 election, making them about twice as likely as any other typology group to have engaged in this kind of political activity.

This high level of political engagement since Donald Trump’s election is also reflected in Solid Liberals’ comparatively higher reporting of other political activities over the last year: 59% of Solid Liberals say they have contacted an elected official, 49% say they have contributed money to a candidate and 19% say they worked or volunteered for a political candidate over the past year. They are significantly more likely to report engaging in each of these activities than other political typology groups.

While Core Conservatives report these types of political behaviors at lower rates than Solid Liberals, they are more active than most other groups.

Aside from Solid Liberals, Core Conservatives are more likely to make financial contributions to campaigns (32%) than the other typology groups and also to report contacting elected officials at relatively high rates (38% say they have done so over the past year). The current activism gap between Solid Liberals and Core Conservatives is wider than the gap seen in the 2014 Political Typology between Solid Liberals and the two most politically engaged GOP-oriented groups at that time (Steadfast Conservatives and Business Conservatives).

As is the case with their overall measures of interest and engagement with politics, Devout and Diverse and Market Skeptic Republicans are among the least likely to engage these types of political activities.

Among the public overall, roughly half (52%) say they are paying more attention to politics since Trump’s election, a third say they are paying the same amount of attention and 13% say they are paying less attention.

While about half of most typology groups say they are paying more attention than they used to, the share reporting increased attention is higher among three Democratic groups: Disaffected Democrats (57%), Opportunity Democrats (58%) – and particularly Solid Liberals, two-thirds (67%) of whom say they are paying more attention than in the past.

When it comes to views of voting, most of the public (63%) says that voting “gives people like me some say about how government runs things,” while 35% say “voting by people like me doesn’t really affect how government runs things.”

Though majorities of most groups say voting gives them a voice in how government runs, Core Conservatives and Solid Liberals are the most likely to think this (79% and 75%, respectively), paralleling their relatively high levels of political engagement.

Though Disaffected Democrats’ political engagement is on par with other middle typology groups, this group stands out for its comparatively low sense of political efficacy: Just 43% say that voting gives them a voice in how government runs, while 54% say that voting by people like them doesn’t really affect the way government works.




2. Views of the parties and political figures

The eight typology groups fall into four Republican-leaning groups and four Democratic-leaning groups. While each group has a partisan orientation, there are substantial intraparty divides in how these groups view the parties, the president and other political figures.

In the GOP coalition, Market Skeptic Republicans and New Era Enterprisers offer some criticism of the Republican Party and of Donald Trump, while Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives tend to offer more positive evaluations of both.

The divides are less pronounced among Democratic-leaning groups – particularly in their evaluations of Trump. Still, Devout and Diverse diverge from the other groups in the coalition by expressing less negative views of Trump and less positive views of the Democratic Party.
Within partisan coalitions, some differences in views of the parties

Core Conservatives express the most positive attitudes about the Republican Party of any typology group. Among the other GOP-oriented groups, Market Skeptic Republicans offer the least positive assessments of the party.

Overall, 90% of Core Conservatives say the Republican Party represents their values very or somewhat well, along with 75% of Country First Conservatives. A smaller majority (61%) of Market Skeptic Republicans say this.

Only about half (51%) of Market Skeptic Republicans say the GOP cares about the middle class, compared with no less than seven-in-ten of those in other Republican-oriented groups.

While only 12% of Core Conservatives say that the Republican Party is too willing to cut government programs even when they have proven effective, the share saying this rises among other groups in the GOP coalition: 36% of Country First Conservatives say this, along with 46% of New Era Enterprisers and 49% of Market Skeptic Republicans.

Among Democratic-leaning groups, Solid Liberals are the most likely to say their values are at least somewhat well represented by the Democratic Party (90%).

On the other hand, only about half (49%) of Devout and Diverse feel similarly. About seven-in-ten of both Opportunity Democrats and Disaffected Democrats (72% and 70%, respectively) feel that the Democratic Party represents their values at least somewhat well.

There are relatively modest differences between the Democratic-leaning groups on other assessments of the party; most of those in all Democratic-leaning groups say the Democratic Party cares about the middle class, and majorities say the Democratic Party has high ethical standards.

While the criticism that the GOP is too willing to cut government programs has little resonance among Core Conservatives, 39% of Solid Liberals say the Democratic Party “too often sees government as the only way to solve problems.”
Market Skeptic Republicans stand out for their criticisms of both parties

While Market Skeptic Republicans generally say the GOP represents their values at least somewhat well, they stand out for their criticism of both political parties when it comes to caring about the middle class.

Nearly a third of Market Skeptic Republicans (31%) say the Republican Party cares about the middle class and the Democratic Party does not, while just 10% say the reverse.

But this is the typology group most likely to fault both parties on this measure: 35% of Market Skeptic Republicans say that neither the Democratic Party nor the GOP cares about the middle class. A relatively large share of New Era Enterprisers (41%), by contrast, say both parties care about the middle class; just 11% say neither party cares for the middle class.
How the typology groups see Trump

Among Republican-oriented groups, more than eight-in-ten of those in the two most conservative groups say they tend to agree with Donald Trump on many or all issues, though fewer than half of Core Conservatives (44%) and Country First Conservatives (41%) agree with Trump on “all or nearly all issues.”

The other GOP-oriented groups are more divided. Among Market Skeptic Republicans, 56% say they agree with Trump on many or all issues, while 40% say they agree with him on a few or no issues. New Era Enterprisers are roughly evenly divided: 47% say they agree with Trump on many or all issues, while 53% say they agree with him on few or almost no issues.

Among Democratic-leaning groups, more than nine-in-ten Solid Liberals (98%), Opportunity Democrats (93%) and Disaffected Democrats (91%) say they agree with Trump on only a few or no issues. A smaller – though still clear – majority of Devout and Diverse (74%) also say this.

In general, just 16% of the public likes the way that Trump conducts himself as president, while an additional 25% say they have mixed feelings and 58% do not like his conduct.

Trump receives his highest marks on this score from the two conservative groups: 51% of Country First Conservatives and 41% of Core Conservatives say they like Trump’s conduct, while only about a quarter in the other Republican-oriented groups say this. Among Market Skeptic Republicans, about half (49%) say they have mixed feelings about Trump’s conduct as president, while 26% say they dislike it. The share of New Era Enterprisers expressing dislike of Trump’s conduct is even higher (39%).

Dislike for Trump’s conduct is overwhelming in three of the four Democratic-leaning groups: Solid Liberals almost universally (98%) hold this opinion, and large majorities of Disaffected Democrats and Opportunity Democrats (89% and 86%, respectively) don’t like Trump’s conduct. While few Devout and Diverse like Trump’s conduct (10%), their assessments are somewhat less negative: 52% say they don’t like how he comports himself, while 34% say they have mixed feelings.

Among GOP-oriented groups, Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives also are significantly more likely to ascribe positive traits – and less likely to ascribe negative traits – to Trump than other typology groups.

For example, though majorities of all four Republican groups say “intelligent” describes Donald Trump at least fairly well, about nine-in-ten Core Conservatives (95%) and Country First Conservatives (93%) say this, compared with 70% of New Era Enterprisers.

And while 86% of Core Conservatives and a similar share of Country First Conservatives (84%) say Trump is described very or fairly well as “honest,” that falls to a smaller majority (61%) among Market Skeptic Republicans and only about half (49%) for New Era Enterprisers.

A similar pattern is seen on negative traits. For example, about six-in-ten New Era Enterprisers (59%) and roughly half of Market Skeptic Republicans (51%) say “selfish” describes Trump at least fairly well, compared with only about a third of those in the two most conservative groups.

Overall, 58% of Republicans and Republican leaners say Trump should listen more to Republicans with governmental experience, while 34% say he should pay less attention to them. But these views differ across Republicans in GOP-oriented typology groups: Fully 77% of New Era Enterprisers say Trump should listen more to experienced Republicans, while just 40% of Core Conservatives say the same.

There is a similar – but more modest – pattern in views on whether Trump has changed the party for the better, worse or not much at all. About half of Core Conservatives (49%) say he has changed the party for the better, compared with a smaller share (37%) of New Era Enterprisers.
Favorability of leading political figures

Donald Trump receives his most favorable ratings from Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives: Roughly nine-in-ten in both groups view him favorably. Smaller majorities of Market Skeptic Republicans and New Era Enterprisers (64% and 62%, respectively) give him positive ratings.

Overall, Vice President Mike Pence’s ratings among GOP-leaning groups roughly mirror Trump’s. However, Core Conservatives are more likely to be very favorable in their ratings of Pence than of Trump (50% rate Pence very favorably; 36% give Trump the same rating).

Across all four GOP-leaning typology groups, wide majorities express negative views of Hillary Clinton. And among the less conservative GOP groups, far more rate Clinton negatively than rate Trump positively. For example, while 64% of Market Skeptic Republicans have a favorable view of Trump, fully 84% have an unfavorable view of Clinton, including 65% who express a very unfavorable view for the former Democratic presidential nominee.

Barack Obama is also viewed unfavorably among most GOP groups, though views of the former president are less negative than views of Clinton. Among New Era Enterprisers, about as many have a favorable (51%) as unfavorable (45%) opinion of Obama.

Majorities across all Democratic-oriented groups express favorable views of both Obama and Clinton. However, across all groups, substantially larger shares view Obama positively than view Clinton positively.

Solid Liberals have almost unanimous (99%) unfavorable views of Trump, including fully 91% who express a very unfavorable view. Wide majorities of Opportunity Democrats (84%) and Disaffected Democrats (90%) also express negative views of Trump, including majorities who have very unfavorable views.

A narrower 63% majority of Devout and Diverse view Trump unfavorably.
Partisanship on a personal level

About six-in-ten Americans overall (59%) say that talking about politics with people who have different views of Donald Trump than they do is “stressful and frustrating.” A smaller share (35%) says that these conversations are “interesting and informative.”

On average, Democratic-oriented groups are more likely than Republican-oriented groups to say that discussing politics with people who have different opinions about the current Republican president are stressful and frustrating, with Solid Liberals particularly likely to say this.

The only typology groups where opinion is relatively evenly split are New Era Enterprisers (46% interesting and informative, 44% stressful and frustrating) and Devout and Diverse (43% vs. 50%). Compared with other groups, these groups stand out for their relatively low levels of political engagement.

In general, people tend to have more friends who share their partisan orientation than friends who do not, and this dynamic is seen across typology groups.

Roughly nine-in-ten Core Conservatives (88%) – who are near universally Republican or lean Republican – say they have at least some close Republican friends, while only 42% say they have at least some Democratic friends. The imbalance is even more pronounced among Country First Conservatives (68% to 24%) and Solid Liberals (94% say they have at least some Democratic friends, 29% at least some Republican friends).

New Era Enterprisers and Market Skeptic Republicans are slightly more likely than Core Conservatives to have Democratic friends, though this partly reflects the partisan composition of these groups (11% of Market Skeptic Republicans and 21% of New Era Enterprisers are Democrats or lean Democratic, compared with negligible shares of the conservative groups).

Among the Democratic-oriented groups, Opportunity Democrats stand out as being more likely to have at least some Republican friends (51% say this). Though partisan composition accounts for some of this (15% of Opportunity Democrats identify with or lean Republican), even among Democratic Opportunity Democrats, 47% have at least some GOP friends – substantially more than in the other Democratic-oriented groups.

Most Americans say that their friendships would not be affected by who their friends supported in the 2016 general election. Overall, Democrats are more likely to view a friends’ vote for Trump as a strain than Republicans are to say a friends’ vote for Clinton would strain a friendship.

Solid Liberals are particularly likely to say that a friendship would be strained if someone voted for Trump: 55% say this, along with 32% of Disaffected Democrats and smaller shares of other Democratic-leaning groups.

About one-in-five (19%) of both Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives say a friend’s vote for Trump would strengthen their friendship, compared with smaller shares in other GOP-oriented groups. Roughly the same share of Solid Liberals (18%) say knowing a friend voted for Clinton would strengthen a friendship.


3. Views of life in the country today, U.S. global standing

The typology groups express diverse views on how they see life in the country today, the roots of American success and their own place in society. Within both partisan coalitions, groups differ in their assessments of life today compared with 50 years ago. And there is no clear partisan pattern in views of life for the next generation of Americans, with many groups expressing at least some degree of skepticism.
However, there are strong partisan patterns in some views of the nation: Republican-oriented groups point to reliance on principles as the main source of American success, while Democratic groups cite the country’s ability to change. And when it comes to the country’s standing in the world, most Democratic groups say the U.S. is one of the world’s greatest countries, while half or more of Core and Country First Conservatives say it stands above all other nations.
While there’s much common ground in how typology groups define components of the American Dream, there are differences between groups over whether or not their family has achieved it – reflecting the different personal circumstances and outlooks of the groups.

Views of life in the country today and in the future

Among the public overall, assessments are mixed over whether people like them are better or worse off in America today compared with 50 years ago. About as many say life for people like them is better than it was 50 years ago (37%) as say it is worse (41%); 18% say it is about the same.
Evaluations of the trajectory of life in the country differ among both the Republican- and Democratic-oriented typology groups.
Core Conservatives and New Era Enterprisers are more likely to say life today is better than worse for people like them than it was 50 years ago (53% better vs. 33% worse and 51% vs. 28%, respectively). But other Republican groups take different views. Country First Conservatives – the group most likely to have a negative view of immigrants and openness to other countries – are much more likely to say life today is worse (54%) than better (27%) for people like them. Similarly, 50% of Market Skeptics – who express low levels of personal financial satisfaction – say life today is worse for people like them, compared with 32% who say it is better.


On the Democratic side, Solid Liberals and Opportunity Democrats are somewhat more likely to say that life in the country today is better than worse for people like them (45%-32% and 43%-33%, respectively). Disaffected Democrats and the Devout and Diverse, who report low levels of financial satisfaction and think government benefits do not go far enough to help the needy, have more pessimistic views. About half of each group say life is worse today for people like them compared with 50 years ago; about a quarter think life today is better.

Looking ahead to life for the next generation of Americans, the public has a generally negative outlook. About half (48%) say that life for the next generation of Americans will be worse than life today, while just 28% think it will be better; 20% expect life for the next generation to be about the same as life today.

This pessimism is prevalent across most typology groups, but Disaffected Democrats stand out for their particularly bleak views. Two-thirds (66%) think life for the next generation of Americans will be worse than life today, compared with just 19% who think it will be better. This negative outlook is one characteristic that sets Disaffected Democrats apart from other Democratic-oriented groups in the political typology.

At the other end of the spectrum, New Era Enterprisers are relatively optimistic about life in the future. Four-in-ten think life for the next generation will be better than life today, while 32% think it will be worse. A relatively bright overall outlook is part of what defines this typology group.
Democratic groups see their side as losing on important political issues

There is a widely held sense among Americans that things have not been going their way on the political issues they care about. Overall, 62% say they feel their side has been losing more often than winning on the issues that matter most to them; just 26% see themselves as winning more often than losing.

Wide majorities of the groups in the Democratic coalition feel they are losing on key political issues. Fully 86% of Solid Liberals and 83% of Disaffected Democrats say they are losing more often than winning, as do slightly smaller majorities of Opportunity Democrats (67%) and the Devout and Diverse (66%).

Views among Republican-oriented groups are somewhat more positive; still, a sense of winning on issues is not widely held. New Era Enterprisers are one of the more optimistic groups: 48% feel they’ve been winning more often on issues, compared with 38% who feel they’ve been losing more often. Views are evenly divided, or worse, among other Republican groups. About as many Core Conservatives feel they’ve been losing (44%) as winning (42%) on issues. More Market Skeptic Republicans and Country First Conservatives feel they’ve been losing than winning on important political issues (54%-29% and 48%-31%, respectively).
Opinions on U.S. success and standing in the world

Overall, Americans say that the country has been successful more because of its ability to change (52%) than because of its reliance on long-standing principles (43%).

Core Conservatives overwhelmingly attribute the nation’s success to its reliance on long-standing principles (78%). By a narrower margin, more Country First Conservatives also point to reliance on principles (55%) rather than the ability to change (32%) as the bigger reason the country has been successful.

By contrast, clear majorities of Solid Liberals (77%) and Opportunity Democrats (70%) identify change as the bigger factor underlying the country’s success. A narrower majority of Disaffected Democrats (56%) also hold this view.

There are three groups – including one that leans Democratic and two that lean Republican – that are split on this question. Market Skeptic Republicans, New Era Enterprisers and Devout and Diverse are all about as likely to say they country has been successful because of its reliance on principles as its ability to change.

There are differences across the typology groups in opinions about U.S. standing in the world. And there is a particularly wide gap in views between Core and Country First Conservatives and the three most Democratic groups.

About three-in-ten Americans (29%) say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world; 56% say the U.S. is one of the greatest countries, along with some others, while just 14% say there are other countries better than the U.S.

Among the two most Republican groups, about half or more say the U.S. stands alone as the greatest country. A 57% majority of Core Conservatives say the U.S. stands above all others, while 40% say it is one of several great countries. Among Country First Conservatives, 52% see the U.S. as exceptional (43% say it is one of the greatest countries, along with some others).

By contrast, just 7% of Solid Liberals, 15% of Opportunity Democrats and 19% of Disaffected Democrats say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world. Majorities of each of these three groups say the U.S. is one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others.

The Devout and Diverse are much more likely to say the U.S. is exceptional than the other Democratic-oriented groups: 42% say the U.S. stands above all other countries, compared with 47% who say it is among the greatest countries.

More Market Skeptic Republicans and New Era Enterprisers say the U.S. is one of the greatest countries in the world than say it stands above all others, a view that separates them from Core Conservatives and Country First Conservatives.
Perceptions of the American Dream and personal achievement

Typology groups tend to hold similar definitions of the important aspects of the American Dream, but there are differences between groups when it comes to whether their families have achieved it.

Overall, the public thinks freedom of choice in how to live one’s life (77%) and a good family life (70%) are essential components of the American Dream. A somewhat smaller majority (60%) also says that the ability to retire comfortably is essential to how they think about the American Dream. About half or fewer say making valuable contributions to their community (48%), owning a home (43%) or having a successful career (43%) are essential. And just 11% think becoming wealthy is essential to their understanding of the American Dream. There are relatively modest differences between typology groups in these assessments.

There are bigger differences between typology groups in views of whether they have achieved – or are on their way to achieving – the American Dream.

Overall, 53% of Core Conservatives say their family has achieved the American Dream; another 37% say they are on their way to achieving it, and just 8% think it is out of reach. No more than about four-in-ten in any other group say their family has achieved the American Dream.

Disaffected Democrats are among the least likely to feel their family has achieved the American Dream: Just 23% say this. About as many say the American Dream is out of reach for their family (24%). Still, 51% say they think their family is on the way to achieving the American Dream. Views are similar among Devout and Diverse: Only 27% say their family has achieved the American Dream, while 49% think their family is on their way to achieving the American Dream and 21% say it is out of reach for their family.

Among all other typology groups, the shares who say their family has achieved the American Dream range between 35% and 42%. And between 80% and 90% say either that their family has achieved, or is on their way to achieving, the American Dream.




4. Government’s role and performance, views of national institutions, expertise

The political typology groups are deeply divided along partisan lines in opinions about the size of government. And while there also are partisan gaps in views of government performance, there are cleavages within the partisan coalitions.

In views of nongovernmental national institutions, Republican-leaning typology groups are divided over the impact of colleges and universities, while Democratic groups differ on the effect churches have on the country. And there are differences within both partisan coalitions in views of the impact of banks and financial institutions.
Views of government

Overall, the public is divided over whether the government should be bigger and provide more services (48%), or should be smaller and offer fewer services (45%).

While Democratic-oriented groups are broadly in favor of bigger government, groups in the Republican coalition prefer a smaller government.

Large majorities in three GOP-leaning groups – Core Conservatives (89%), Country First Conservatives (71%) and Market Skeptic Republicans (69%) – also fault the government’s performance, saying the government is “almost always wasteful and inefficient.”

Most Solid Liberals (66%) and Opportunity Democrats (57%) take the opposing view – that government “often does a better job than it gets credit for.”

Yet a majority of Disaffected Democrats (63%), a financially hard-pressed group that overall expresses a preference for bigger government, say government is almost always wasteful and inefficient. Devout and Diverse, another Democratic-leaning group that favors bigger government, are divided over whether government is almost always wasteful (49%) or often gets too little credit (47%).

And while New Era Enterprisers side with other GOP-leaning groups in supporting smaller government, they are split over government’s performance (49% almost always wasteful, 47% often does a better job than given credit for).
Partisan divides in views of institutions

There are deep partisan differences in views of the impact of several national institutions. In some cases – notably, in opinions about the effect of colleges and universities – these differences have increased sharply over the past year.

Among the political typology groups, most Core Conservatives (80%) and Country First Conservatives (60%) say colleges have a negative effect on the way things are going in the country.

But other GOP-leaning groups – Market Skeptic Republicans and New Era Enterprisers – hold more mixed views of the impact of colleges, with 49% and 42%, respectively, viewing their impact negatively.

Majorities of all four Democratic-leaning groups say colleges have a positive impact on the country.

Views of the impact of the national news media for the most part break down along partisan lines, with Democratic-leaning groups expressing more positive opinions than GOP groups. However, Solid Liberals are the only typology group in which a majority (57%) says that the news media has a positive effect on the way things are going in the country.

In assessments of the effect of churches and other religious institutions, majorities of the Republican groups view their impact positively, while Democratic groups are more divided. In three of four Democratic groups, positive opinions outweigh negative ones, but more Solid Liberals say churches have a negative than positive impact (48% to 39%).

Both partisan coalitions are divided in opinions about the effect of labor unions on the country. Nearly two-thirds of Core Conservatives (65%) say unions have a negative impact, the highest share of any typology group; other GOP groups are less negative. And Solid Liberals are much more likely than other Democratic-oriented groups to have positive views of labor unions (74%).

There also are sharp differences within each partisan coalition over the effect that banks and financial institutions have on the country. On the left, a substantial majority of Solid Liberals (69%) say banks have a negative effect on the country. But Opportunity Democrats are divided, with as about as many taking a positive view (42%) as a negative one (41%).

Market Skeptic Republicans, a group that faces financial stress and mostly believes the economic system is unfair to most Americans, stand out from the other Republican-oriented groups for their negative opinions of banks and other financial institutions. About half say banks have a negative effect on the country (52%).
Positive views of most professions – with some exceptions

The public takes a positive view of many professions: Large majorities say farmers, members of the military, police officers and scientists contribute either a lot or some to the well-being of society. But there are striking differences in these attitudes across political typology groups.

While large majorities across the political typology say that scientists contribute “a lot” to the well-being of society, Country First Conservatives are a notable exception. Just 39% of Country First Conservatives, who are older and less educated on average than most other typology groups, say that scientists contribute a lot to the well-being of society. Among other groups, 70% or more (including 94% of Solid Liberals) say scientists contribute a great deal.

Police officers are widely viewed as making positive contributions; about nine-in-ten in every typology group say they contribute at least some to the well-being of society. But Diverse and Devout and Disaffected Democrats, the most racially and ethnically diverse typology groups, are less likely than other groups to say police officers contribute a lot to society. (For more on this topic, see “Deep Racial, Partisan Divisions in Views of Police Officers.”)

Artists also are generally viewed positively, but just 18% of Core Conservatives and 14% of Country First Conservatives say they contribute a lot to society. Majorities of Opportunity Democrats (57%) and Solid Liberals say artists contribute a great deal to the well-being of society.

Business executives are viewed fairly similarly across political typology groups, with the exception of Core Conservatives. Core Conservatives are more likely than other typology groups to say business executives contribute a lot to society (40% say this).

The contributions of lawyers are generally seen more positively among Democratic groups than Republican groups. Solid Liberals (37%) and Opportunity Democrats (38%) are about twice as likely as Core Conservatives (20%) and Country First Conservatives (17%) to say lawyers contribute a lot to society.
Many say country’s big issues don’t have clear solutions

On the most important issues facing the country, a majority of Americans (56%) say there are not “clear solutions” to most big issues, while 41% say there are clear solutions to these issues.

Across all of the Democratic typology groups, more think the big issues facing the country do not have clear solutions than say they do.

By contrast, among Core Conservatives, 51% say there are clear solutions to most big issues, while 45% say there are not. Country First Conservatives are divided (47% say there are clear solutions, 45% say most issues don’t have clear solutions).

The public generally says that people with expertise on a subject do better than other people at making good decisions. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) say people with expertise are usually better than others at making good decisions; 33% say they are no better at making good decisions.

In general, better-educated typology groups tend to be more likely than those with less education to say that people with expertise make good decisions.

Majorities of Solid Liberals (83%) and Opportunity Democrats (72%) – the Democratic groups with the highest levels of educational attainment – say people with expertise are more likely than others to make good decisions. Fewer Disaffected Democrats (54%) and Devout and Diverse (50%) say the same.

Two-thirds of Core Conservatives (66%), the best-educated Republican group, say people with expertise are usually better at making good decisions. Among Core Conservatives and Market Skeptic Republicans, which have smaller shares of college graduates, fewer say this. But among New Era Enterprisers, who also are less likely than Core Conservatives to have completed college, 67% say people with expertise usually make good decisions.




5. Views of the economy and the social safety net

Views of the economy and social safety net reflect the distinct profiles of the typology groups. Opinions differ among those with similar partisan leanings while still following the traditional, wide divides between the left and right.

While most Americans and typology groups see economic inequality as a problem, Core Conservatives express relatively low levels of concern about this issue. And while most Republican-oriented groups think the economic system is generally fair to most Americans, a large majority of Market Skeptic Republicans say it unfairly favors powerful interests.

On the Democratic side, there is disagreement over whether hard work leads to success for most people. Solid Liberals are broadly skeptical, but a large share of Opportunity Democrats think most people can get ahead if they’re willing to work hard.

Views of the social safety net prompt traditional partisan responses. Republican-leaning groups say the government can’t afford to do much more to help the needy, while Democratic-leaning groups say the government should do more for the needy even if it means going deeper into debt.

And when it comes to two areas of current political debate, taxes and health care, the views of the typology groups are nuanced. There are wide differences between groups on the basis on partisan affiliation, but there also are gaps within the two broader party coalitions when it comes to the best way to address the two issues.
Evaluations of the U.S. economic system

Among the public overall, there are widespread doubts about the fairness of the country’s economic system. About two-thirds (65%) say the economic system in this country unfairly favors powerful interests, while just 32% say the economic system is general fair to most Americans.

Democratic-oriented typology groups are especially likely to view the economic system as unfair. Fully 99% of Solid Liberals and Disaffected Democrats say the country’s economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. Two-thirds of Opportunity Democrats (67%) say this, as do a somewhat smaller majority (55%) of Devout and Diverse.

On the Republican side, 94% of Market Skeptic Republicans say the economic system unfairly favors the powerful. By contrast, most other Republican-oriented groups think the economic system in the country is generally fair to most people.

When asked about the issue of economic inequality, most Americans (82%) say it is either a very big problem (48%) or a moderately big problem (34%) in the country today. Relatively few say it is a small problem or not a problem at all.

There is disagreement among Republican-leaning typology groups in concerns about economic inequality. Just 8% of Core Conservatives think economic inequality is a very big problem, while another 37% think it is a moderately big problem. Clear majorities of all other Republican-leaning groups say economic inequality is at least a moderately big problem, including 86% of Market Skeptic Republicans.

Broad majorities of Democratic-oriented groups say economic inequality is a moderately big or very big problem. All Solid Liberals say inequality is at least a moderately big problem, including 84% who say it is a very big problem. Among Disaffected Democrats, far more also view economic inequality as a very big (66%) than moderately big (30%) problem.
Views of hard work and success

Despite widespread sentiment that the economic system is unfair, most Americans continue to believe in the ability of people to get ahead through hard work. About six-in-ten (61%) say most people who want to get ahead can make it if they’re willing to work hard; fewer (36%) say that hard work and determination are no guarantee of success for most people.

On the left, Opportunity Democrats and Solid Liberals take very different views of whether success is possible through hard work. By 76% to 22%, Opportunity Democrats say that most people can get ahead if they are willing to work hard. This viewpoint sets them apart from the other Democratic groups.

A wide majority of Solid Liberals (73%) think hard work and determination are no guarantee of success for most people. Devout and Diverse and Disaffected Democrats, both financially strapped groups, are roughly divided in their views on hard work and success.

Roughly nine-in-ten Core Conservatives (94%) and New Era Enterprisers (90%) think most people can get ahead if they’re willing to work hard. Smaller majorities of Market Skeptic Republicans (65%) and Country First Conservatives (57%) say the same.
Divided views on the social safety net

Views on the social safety net follow a liberal-conservative pattern across the typology groups, with a wide gulf between the views of Core Conservative and Solid Liberals.

Overall, 85% of Solid Liberals say the government “should do more to help needy Americans, even if it means going deeper into debt.” Most Disaffected Democrats (72%), Opportunity Democrats (62%) and Devout and Diverse (62%) share this view.

Republican-oriented typology groups take the opposite view: 83% of Core Conservatives and 70% of Country First Conservatives say the government cannot afford to do much more to help the needy. Smaller majorities of Market Skeptic Republicans (58%) and New Era Enterprisers (59%) say the same.
Views on ‘zero-sum’ economic policies

Although the public has concerns about economic fairness and issues such as inequality, a narrow majority believes that it’s possible to have economic policies that benefit all Americans. Overall, 56% say “it’s possible to have economic policies that benefit everyone in the country,” while fewer (41%) think “pretty much any economic policy will end up benefiting some people at the expense of others.”

Across most typology groups, greater shares believe there are economic policies that can benefit all than say any policy will benefit some at the expense of others. And there’s rare agreement between Core Conservatives and Solid Liberals on this question: About six-in-ten among both groups say there are economic policies that can benefit everyone in the country.

Market Skeptic Republicans stand out from all other groups in their views. A majority (58%) says that pretty much any economic policy will end up benefiting some at the expense of others, compared with 41% who say it’s possible to have policies that benefit all. Along with their opinions on business and other economic issues, Market Skeptic Republicans’ view that economic policies are inherently unfair distinguish them from other Republican-oriented groups.
Divisions across typology groups in views of health care

Core Conservatives and Solid Liberals are poles apart on the question of the government’s role in health care, but this hot-button political issue also surfaces differences among the Republican-oriented groups. And while majorities of all Democratic-oriented groups think the government should make sure all Americans have health coverage, there are differences over whether the country should institute a “single-payer” system.

An overwhelming share of Core Conservatives (88%) say it is not the government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. Most Country First Conservatives (72%) also take this position. A narrower 57% majority of Market Skeptic Republicans say it’s not the government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. However, among the Republican-leaning New Era Enterprisers, about as many say it is not the government’s responsibility to ensure Americans have health care (50%) as say it is (47%).

Among the Democratic-oriented groups, about seven-in-ten or more say it is the government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. But there are differences in views about the right approach for ensuring coverage.

Overall, 70% of Solid Liberals say it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage and that coverage should be provided through a single national health insurance system run by the government; fewer (24%) say government should ensure that all have health care, but that coverage should continue to be provided through a mix of private insurance companies and government programs.

By comparison, Opportunity Democrats are only somewhat more likely to support single payer over a mix of public and private programs (44% vs. 33%). Disaffected Democrats and Devout and Diverse say it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care, but they are about evenly divided over the best approach for providing coverage.
Views on tax policy

A 43% plurality of the public says tax rates on household income over $250,000 should be raised. About a quarter (24%) say tax rates on this income should be lowered, while 29% say these rates on household income over $250,000 should be kept the same as they are now.

Views on taxes for large businesses and corporations are roughly similar to those on higher-income rates: 52% think tax rates on large businesses and corporations should be raised, while 24% think they should be lowered and 21% say they should stay the same.

Core Conservatives are more likely than all other groups to say there should be lower taxes on both on large businesses and corporations (67%) and household income over $250,000 (51%).

Market Skeptic Republicans, who widely say the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests, differ with the other right-leaning groups on tax policy. More say tax rates on high-earning households should be raised (40%) than say they should be kept the same (32%) or lowered (24%). And a 55% majority of Market Skeptic Republicans also says taxes on large businesses and corporations should be raised. Country First Conservatives and New Era Enterprisers are largely split in their views on tax rates for corporations and higher incomes, with fewer than 40% advocating any single approach to either question.

Large majorities of Solid Liberals think taxes should be raised on businesses and corporations (79%) as well as on household incomes over $250,000 (75%).

Among Devout and Diverse, Disaffected Democrats and Opportunity Democrats, greater shares say taxes should be raised than lowered on businesses and corporations as well as on household incomes over $250,000. However, slightly larger shares of all three groups support higher tax rates on large businesses and corporations than on household incomes over $250,000.
Most prioritize worker training in efforts to improve job situation

Wide majorities say the better way to improve the job situation in this country is “working to train people in the skills needed for jobs that are in demand” (81%) rather than “working to bring back or save the kinds of jobs that match the skills people already have” (16%).

The typology groups are largely in agreement on the better approach to improve the job situation. For example, large shares of Solid Liberals (95%) and Core Conservatives (80%) say the better way is to work to train people for in-demand jobs.

Country First Conservatives are the least likely to say this, though a majority still do: 62% say the better option is to train for in-demand jobs, while 30% say it’s better to work to bring back jobs that match current skills in the workforce.

Trump purges enemies and reshapes party in his image

The president wins short-term victories with the retirements of Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, but the cost to the GOP agenda could be steep.


 

President Donald Trump’s desire for revenge has troubled some of those close to the White House, who are convinced that it’s undercutting the party’s efforts to advance a legislative agenda.
President Donald Trump is squeezing out his enemies in the Republican Party — diminishing the power of the GOP establishment and reshaping his party in his own image.

With the looming exits of Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, Trump will rid himself of his two most outspoken Republican detractors. What happens before they depart in 2019 — Flake and Corker demonstrated Tuesday they are fully emboldened now to take on the president without fear of consequences — could determine the success or failure of the GOP-controlled Congress through the 2018 midterms.



But in the short term, there is no question: Trump, and his former strategist and now-Breitbart chief Steve Bannon, are winning.

The casualty list of Trump critics is bleeding over to the House, where a swelling group of anti-Trump lawmakers from the mainstream wing of the GOP — including Washington Rep. Dave Reichert, Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent and Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen — are ditching their reelection plans. While the circumstances of each departure are unique, the end result is the same.

With other establishment-aligned members of Congress eyeing the exits, the president’s backers are envisioning 2018 as an opportunity for Trump to steamroll the party establishment, much as he did in 2016.


“I think people want change,” said former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, an outspoken Trump supporter. “They want a breath of fresh air.”

“They’re fed up with the status quo,” she added. “Period.”

Flake refused to endorse the president in 2016 and recently authored an anti-Trump manifesto. In return, Trump took it upon himself to let the first-term senator know that he’s no longer welcome in the party. White House officials huddled with several prospective primary challengers to Flake over the course of the year, and Trump attacked the senator on Twitter. In August, the president flew to Arizona to hold a rally at which he savaged Flake.

The White House is already taking steps to ensure that a more Trump-friendly candidate takes Flake’s place. On Tuesday afternoon, the administration got in touch with Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit, a Trump stalwart who was an official on the 2016 campaign, to discuss the race, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

With Flake and Corker on their way out, Trump’s closest allies are expanding their effort to oust other mainstream GOP lawmakers. Bannon and David Bossie, the president’s deputy campaign manager in 2016, are lining up insurgent challengers across the country. And they're receiving financial backing from hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, one of Trump’s biggest donors.The extent to which Trump joins the Bannon-led effort remains an open question. The president has expressed a desire to support several senators on his former adviser’s target list, including Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso. On Tuesday, Trump was escorted by Barrasso into a Senate GOP lunch.
Yet Trump’s refusal to explicitly and vocally disavow the anti-incumbent effort has at times deeply frustrated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his top political aides. In some instances, the administration has come close to giving the Bannon forces their support. During a recent meeting with donors in Washington, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, instructed his audience to close their wallets or give to primary challengers if congressional Republicans fail to enact Trump’s agenda.
McConnell has been so alarmed that he ventured to the White House for several meetings with Trump in recent weeks and outlined why primaries are damaging for the party. The Republican leader has vented to friends that the president doesn’t seem to understand the peril his conference faces.
Trump’s desire for revenge has also troubled some of those close to the White House, who are convinced that it’s undercutting the party’s efforts to advance a legislative agenda. With Trump allies targeting multiple GOP lawmakers, there is growing concern that it could cool Republican support for tax reform.
On Monday evening, officials with the pro-White House outside group America First Policies met with Trump adviser Jared Kushner and Ayers to discuss how they could complement the administration’s efforts to sell tax reform. Those familiar with the group’s plans say it will be careful not to go after incumbents who could be helpful on a tax rewrite.
Still, the string of retirements has created an unmistakable sense of momentum for insurgent forces.

lunes, 23 de octubre de 2017

The Partisan Divide on Political Values Grows Even Wider



Rubén Weinsteiner



Sharp shifts among Democrats on aid to needy, race, immigration

The divisions between Republicans and Democrats on fundamental political values – on government, race, immigration, national security, environmental protection and other areas – reached record levels during Barack Obama’s presidency. In Donald Trump’s first year as president, these gaps have grown even larger.

And the magnitude of these differences dwarfs other divisions in society, along such lines as gender, race and ethnicity, religious observance or education.

A new study by Pew Research Center, based on surveys of more than 5,000 adults conducted over the summer, finds widening differences between Republicans and Democrats on a range of measures the Center has been asking about since 1994, as well as those with more recent trends. But in recent years, the gaps on several sets of political values in particular – including measures of attitudes about the social safety net, race and immigration – have increased dramatically.

Government aid to needy. Over the past six years, the share of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying the government should do more to help the needy, even if it means going deeper into debt, has risen 17 percentage points (from 54% to 71%), while the views of Republicans and Republican leaners have barely changed (25% then, 24% today). However, Republicans’ opinions on this issue had shifted substantially between 2007 and 2011, with the share favoring more aid to the needy falling 20 points (from 45% to 25%).

The result: While there has been a consistent party gap since 1994 on government aid to the poor, the divisions have never been this large. In 2011, about twice as many Democrats as Republicans said the government should do more for the needy (54% vs. 25%). Today, nearly three times as many Democrats as Republicans say this (71% vs. 24%).

Racial discrimination. In recent years, Democrats’ views on racial discrimination also have changed, driving an overall shift in public opinion. Currently, 41% of Americans say racial discrimination is the main reason many blacks cannot get ahead – the largest share expressing this view in surveys dating back 23 years. Still, somewhat more Americans (49%) say blacks who cannot get ahead are mostly responsible for their own condition.

When the racial discrimination question was first asked in 1994, the partisan difference was 13 points. By 2009, it was only somewhat larger (19 points). But today, the gap in opinions between Republicans and Democrats about racial discrimination and black advancement has increased to 50 points.

Immigration. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say immigrants strengthen the country “because of their hard work and talents.” Just 26% say immigrants are a burden “because they take our jobs, housing and health care.” Views of immigrants, though little changed from a year ago, are more positive than at any point in the past two decades.

As with views of racial discrimination, there has been a major shift in Democrats’ opinions about immigrants. The share of Democrats who say immigrants strengthen the country has increased from 32% in 1994 to 84% today. By contrast, Republicans are divided in attitudes about immigrants: 42% say they strengthen the country, while 44% view them as a burden. In 1994, 30% of Republicans said immigrants strengthened the country, while 64% said they were a burden.

“Peace through strength.” About six-in-ten Americans (61%) say good diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace, while 30% say peace is ensured by military strength. Opinions in both parties have changed since the 1990s; Democrats increasingly say peace is ensured by good diplomacy, while Republicans say it is military strength that ensures peace. Today, 83% of Democrats and Democratic leaners see good diplomacy as the way to ensure peace, compared with just 33% of Republicans and Republican leaners.

The surveys were conducted June 8-18 among 2,504 adults and June 27-July 9 among 2,505 adults, with a follow-up survey conducted Aug. 15-21 among 1,893 respondents. This report was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the surveys from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Party gaps much larger than demographic differences

The partisan shifts on political values over the past 23 years have had different trajectories across different sets of issues. While there has been greater movement among Democrats than Republicans on several issues, on others Republicans have shown more change.

In views of stricter environmental laws and regulations, for example, there has been a larger long-term change among Republicans than Democrats. Republicans are far less supportive of stricter environmental laws than they were in the mid-1990s, while Democrats have become somewhat more supportive.

But the bottom line is this: Across 10 measures that Pew Research Center has tracked on the same surveys since 1994, the average partisan gap has increased from 15 percentage points to 36 points.

Two decades ago, the average partisan differences on these items were only somewhat wider than differences by religious attendance or educational attainment and about as wide as the differences between blacks and whites (14 points, on average). Today, the party divide is much wider than any of these demographic differences.

Partisan gaps have grown even on measures in which opinion in both parties has moved in the same direction, such as support for societal acceptance of homosexuality. Currently, 70% of Americans say homosexuality should be accepted – the highest percentage ever.

For the first time, a majority of Republicans (54%) favor acceptance of homosexuality; just 38% did so in 1994. Yet over this period, the increase in the share of Democrats saying homosexuality should be accepted has been much larger (from 54% to 83%). As a result, partisan differences have gotten larger.

The surveys find that while Republicans and Democrats have grown further apart, there are sizable divisions within both parties on many political values. Younger Republicans differ from older Republicans in attitudes about immigration and several other issues. Among Republicans and Republican leaners younger than 30, 62% say immigrants strengthen the country; half as many Republicans ages 65 and older say the same (31%).

In recent years, there has been a decline in the share of Democrats who say that most people can get ahead if they work hard. Only about half of Democrats (49%) express this view, down from 58% three years ago. A large majority of Republicans (77%) continue to say hard work pays off for most people.

Democrats are divided by education and race in their views of hard work and success. White Democrats and those with higher levels of education are less likely than nonwhite Democrats and those with less education to say that hard work leads to success.
Other important findings

Partisan antipathy remains extensive. The shares of Republicans and Democrats who express very unfavorable opinions of the opposing party have increased dramatically since the 1990s, but have changed little in recent years. Currently, 44% of Democrats and Democratic leaners have a very unfavorable opinion of the GOP, based on yearly averages of Pew Research Center surveys; 45% of Republicans and Republican leaners view the Democratic Party very unfavorably. In 1994, fewer than 20% in both parties viewed the opposing party very unfavorably.

Big house, small house. Our studies of political polarization and partisan antipathy both found that the disagreements between Republicans and Democrats go far beyond political values and issues. They also have markedly different preferences about where they would like to live. Most Republicans (65%) say they would rather live in a community where houses are larger and farther apart and where schools and shopping are not nearby. A majority of Democrats (61%) prefer smaller houses within walking distance of schools and shopping.

Deep differences over factors for nation’s success. About half of Americans (52%) attribute the country’s success more to “its ability to change,” while 43% say the nation’s “reliance on long-standing principles” has been more important. Most Democrats (68%) link the nation’s success more to its ability to change, while 61% of Republicans point to its reliance on principles. In addition, there are wide age differences, with young people far more likely than older adults to say America’s success is mainly linked to its ability to change.


1. Partisan divides over political values widen

The gap between the political values of Democrats and Republicans is now larger than at any point in Pew Research Center surveys dating back to 1994, a continuation of a steep increase in the ideological divisions between the two parties over more than a decade.

The subsequent chapters explore Americans’ attitudes across individual political values and policy issues, in most cases including data dating back to the late 1990s or early 2000s. In nearly every domain, across most of the roughly two dozen values questions tracked, views of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and those of Democrats and Democratic leaners are now further apart than in the past.

While the overall partisan gap across a variety of political values has steadily grown, the dynamic underlying the growing gap differs across issue areas. In some cases, the gap has grown because the parties have moved in different directions, with growing shares of Democrats taking liberal positions and increasing shares of Republicans taking conservative positions. But in other areas, shifts are greater among one set of partisans than another.

In a few issue areas, notably views of homosexuality and of immigrants, public opinion in both parties has clearly shifted in a more liberal direction over the past several decades. Nevertheless, the partisan gaps on both of these values have gotten wider over the past two decades, as the long-term shifts are more pronounced among Democrats than Republicans.
Overall partisan gap widens over two decades

The 10 political values questions shown above have been asked together in surveys seven times since 1994. On average, there is now a 36-percentage-point difference between Democrats and Republicans across these questions. The current gap represents a modest increase in the partisan divide over the past two years (from 33 points in 2015), but it is substantially wider than two decades ago (the gap was just 15 points in 1994).

Looking at the identical set of items over more than two decades provides a picture of a growing partisan divide. While this analysis is limited to questions consistently asked together going back to 1994, other political values and policy questions that have long trends show a similar pattern of growing partisan divides.

For example, a question about whether Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its followers is not included among the 10 measures asked since 1994 (it was first asked in 2002). But partisan differences in these attitudes have increased steadily over the past 15 years. What was an 11-percentage-point difference on this question in 2002 now stands at 40 percentage points.

And a question about whether it is more important to control gun ownership or protect gun rights – first asked in 1993 – shows a similar trend of widening differences.

It is important to note that while members of the two parties have grown further apart over the past two decades, this does not necessarily mean there has been a rise in politically “extreme” thinking among either Republicans or Democrats, as Pew Research Center’s 2014 study of political polarization found.
Other societal divisions less pronounced than partisan differences

The extent of the partisan divide across the 10 political values far exceeds divisions along basic demographic lines, such as age, education, gender and race. Even so, some of these divisions also are somewhat wider than in the past.

For instance, on average, there is now a 10-percentage-point gap between Americans ages 50 and older and younger Americans on these questions. That average difference was 6 points in 1994.

And the average gap between those who regularly attend religious services and those who do not has roughly doubled over the past few decades, from just 5 percentage points in 1994 to 11 points today. To some extent, the growing gaps within these demographic groups reflect the increasing degree to which these demographics are associated with partisanship.
Ideological distance and partisanship

Using these 10 questions to create an ideological scale provides another way of illustrating changes in the public’s political values, and a growing divide along partisan lines.

Overall, although many Americans continue to hold a mix of liberal and conservative views across different issue areas, that share has declined over time.

At the same time, the center of the scale has shifted in a somewhat liberal direction over time. To a large extent, this is the result of the public’s growing acceptance of homosexuality and more positive views of immigrants, shifts that are seen among both Democrats and Republicans (GOP attitudes about immigrants are little changed over the last decade, but Republicans are substantially less likely to view immigrants as a burden on the country than they were in the 1990s).

What is the ideological consistency scale?

Reflecting the growing partisan gaps across the 10 questions (even those where both parties have shifted in the same direction), Republicans and Democrats are now further apart ideologically than at any point in more than two decades, a continuation of the trend Pew Research Center first documented with these measures in 2014. For instance, overall, on this scale of 10 political values, the median (middle) Republican is now more conservative than 97% of Democrats, and the median Democrat is more liberal than 95% of Republicans.

By comparison, in 1994 there was substantially more overlap between the two partisan groups than there is today: Just 64% of Republicans were to the right of the median Democrat, while 70% of Democrats were to the left of the median Republican. Put differently, in 1994 23% of Republicans were more liberal than the median Democrat; while 17% of Democrats were more conservative than the median Republican. Today, those numbers are just 1% and 3%, respectively.