The Pew Research Center did one of their deep analyses into the political attitudes of the American public. It’s voluminous and well worth taking some time to read it through. I thought I’d just take a quick look at the Republicans:
The Republican coalition
The Republican-aligned groups in the political typology are united by shared preferences for a smaller role for the federal government, a strong U.S. military and a rejection of the view that the country needs to do a great deal more to address racial inequities. But when it comes to several other issue areas – particularly views of economic fairness, immigration and foreign policy – there are stark differences between several groups under the GOP umbrella.
Although GOP-oriented groups generally are united in placing importance on securing U.S. borders, groups within the coalition hold starkly different views about the extent to which illegal immigration is a problem in the country, as well as over the nation’s approach to legal immigration. And there is a cleavage in the coalition around views of the economic system itself: Two typology groups who both hold highly restrictive views about immigration – Faith and Flag Conservatives and Populist Right – differ over corporate power, economic inequality and taxation of large businesses and wealthy individuals.
Ambivalent Right, the youngest GOP-oriented group, diverge from other groups in the coalition in both their weak attachment to the party and their more moderate views on social issues like samesex marriage, abortion and marijuana legalization. At the same time, Faith and Flag Conservatives, one of the oldest segments of the party coalition, are characterized by a strong Christian affiliation, extremely conservative social views and a view that government policies should bolster religious values and beliefs.
Still, GOP-oriented groups are more united than divided over issues related to race and gender: For example, majorities across the Republican coalition say that the country has made a lot of progress on addressing racial and ethnic inequality over the last 50 years and that, looking forward, little or nothing more needs to be done. Similarly, most reject the contention that White people in America benefit from societal advantages that Black people do not have. In the same vein, majorities across GOP-oriented groups say that “people too easily taking offense to things others say” is a major problem for the country, while far fewer think that “people saying things that are very offensive to others” is a major problem.
The most deeply conservative group in the political typology – Faith and Flag Conservatives – make up 23% of Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party, making them one of the two largest groups in the GOP coalition. Conservative across the board, they are one of the most politically engaged typology groups. Fully 88% of Faith and Flag Conservatives say their political views are conservative, including 35% who describe themselves as “very conservative.” They are overwhelmingly White and Christian and stand out for their views on the role of religion in public life. They are among Donald Trump’s strongest supporters – both while he was in office and today. Most say Trump definitely or probably is the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, despite official counts showing that Joe Biden was the legitimate winner. And 79% say there has been too much attention paid to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Committed Conservatives are one of the two smallest groups in the political typology; they constitute 15% of Republicans and Republican leaners. They are loyal Republicans with probusiness views and are staunch advocates of limited government; most (73%) identify as conservative. However, they differ from Faith and Flag Conservatives and Populist Right in prioritizing U.S. relationships with allies in foreign policy and in taking a less restrictive approach to immigration. While they hold positive views of Trump and nearly all voted for him in 2020, they are not nearly as enthusiastic about the former president as the two other conservative groups. And when asked to name the best president of the last 40 years, they are much more likely to say Ronald Reagan than any of his successors.
Populist Right – 23% of Republicans and Republican leaners – are one of the two largest groups in the GOP coalition, along with Faith and Flag Conservatives. They also are deeply conservative and reliably vote Republican. Yet they differ from Committed Conservative on two key dimensions: They hold hard-line immigration views and are highly critical of the economic system. They are the sole Republican-oriented group in which majorities say the economic system in the country unfairly favors powerful interests, that businesses in this country make too much profit and that taxes on household income over $400,000 should be raised. Like Faith and Flag Conservatives, Populist Right strongly support Trump, and most (81%) would like him to remain a prominent political figure, including 57% who say he should run for president in 2024.
The other Republican-oriented group in the political typology – Ambivalent Right – also are the only GOP coalition group in which most do not identify as politically conservative. With their combination of political values, they are cross-pressured politically: While they hold nearly down-the-line conservative views about the size of government and the economic system and lean more right than left on issues of race and gender, they are far more moderate on immigration and on social issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization. Only half of Ambivalent Right say the GOP represents them well. Reflecting this cross pressure, a quarter of Ambivalent Right identify as Democrats or Democratic leaners.Still, Ambivalent Right make up 18% of all Republicans and Republican leaners. They are considerably younger than those in other GOP-oriented groups and less politically engaged. They are much less likely than other groups in the coalition to say the Republican Party represents them well or to feel like they have options to vote for political candidates who represent their views. And, unlike those in other GOP-oriented groups, they have more negative than positive feelings about Trump, with 63% saying they would prefer he not remain a major national political figure.
Stressed Sideliners, despite not having a clear partisan tilt, make up small but significant shares of both the Republican and Democratic coalitions (15% of Republicans and Republican leaners, 13% of Democrats and Democratic leaners). This group is financially stressed and relatively unengaged with politics. They generally have attitudes that place them near the center of overall public opinion, tilting more conservative than liberal on some social issues and more liberal than conservative on economic issues. And while they vote at significantly lower rates than other typology groups, 43% of them cast ballots in 2020 – with roughly half of them voting for Trump.
It’s hard for me to see much of a difference between the Faith and Flags and the Populist Right. It’s clear that the F&Fs don’t really care about their religious teachings of patriotism. And I doubt they care much about corporations either just as the Populsts hate corporations to the extent they think of them as “elites” and that translates in all their minds as “liberal” or “woke.” I think they are essentially the same people.
The others are more interesting. The Committed Conservatives are a vanishing breed and it’s hard to see any revival on the horizon. It’s the Ambivalent Right where opportunity lies with Democrats. They are younger and, I would guess, identifying as Republican mostly doe to family and community ties. They might just be gettable with the right message.
There’s much more analysis at the report and it’s fascinating. For instance, we’ve all been fretting about the Hispanic vote moving toward the GOP and this is what they found:
Hispanic Republicans are more likely to be Stressed Sideliners than they are to be Faith
and Flag Conservatives or Populist Right. About a quarter of Hispanic Republicans (27%) are Stressed Sideliners, while just 16% are Faith and Flag Conservatives and just 14% are Populist Right; 12% are Committed Conservatives, roughly the same as the overall share of Republicans in this group, while 21% are Ambivalent Right.
I’m not quite sure how to interpret that except to say that religion and populism don’t seem to fully explain it.
I’ll take a look at the Democrats later. It’s equally interesting.
