Gallup, Pew find greater Patriotism on the Right
[Posted by Karl]
Both Gallup and Pew released polls for the Independence Day weekend on the state of patriotism in the United States. Gallup finds one in three Americans now say they are “extremely patriotic,” up from 26% in 2005 and 19% in 1999:
The increase in the overall percentage of Americans calling themselves “extremely patriotic” is driven largely by seniors, Republicans, and conservatives — all of whom are significantly more likely to say so than they were in 2005. Republicans’ relatively higher identification with the “extremely patriotic” label is particularly intriguing when one considers that Democrats are currently far more likely than Republicans to say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country (41% vs. 7%, respectively). Still, the majority of Americans in each of these subgroups say they are “extremely” or “very” patriotic.
Similarly:
A new national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted June 24-27 among 1,001 adults, finds that more than eight-in-ten (83%) say they are either extremely proud (52%) or very proud (31%) to be an American. Just 14% say they are moderately proud (8%) or have little or no pride (6%) in being an American.
***
Those who give Barack Obama the lowest job ratings – predominately Republicans and independents who lean Republican – also are more likely to say that they are extremely proud to be an American than are those who give the president more positive ratings.
Gallup found 58% of GOPer’s calling themselves “extremely patriotic,” as opposed to only 20% of Democrats so identifying. The numbers were a bit closer in the Pew poll, where 69% of Republicans called themselves “extremely proud” to be an American, and 43% of Democrats answered the same.
On one level, the general results should not be surprising. After all, the Right more likely to view America in terms of preserving the core principles that make it great, while the Left is more likely to be fixated on its foibles and failures (both real and imagined). But what explains the increase in patriotism on the Right, particularly from 2006 to the present, when Democrats and progressivism has been on the rise? My hypothesis would be that the current version of the Democratic party, and the Obama administration in particular, has transformed big government into a cultural issue. The harder the Left pushes for a Eurosocialist makeover of America, the more the Right will view their opposition and their attempt to preserve what makes America great as a manifestation of patriotism.
–Karl
In the recent past, and it seems currently, any criticism of Leftist policy prescriptions brings forth the response that the VRWC is quesioning their (the Left’s) patriotism, completely ignoring that the criticism is directed against their policy specifics and judgement; which is normal I suppose when dealing with a preponderance of lawyers –
What’s the old saw: When faced with bad facts, argue the law, when the law’s against you….
The Left lives in their little dream world, and cannot abide to have it challenged, for that would require them to actually have an intellectual discussion with themselves, which more and more they seem incapable of as, it is above their pay-grade.
So, to sum up, it seems that not only do they have a lessor feeling of patriotism (this in a group that is all about feelings), but they seem to be deficient in intellectual ability too.
AD - RtR/OS! (6e3949) — 7/5/2010 @ 12:24 pmthis is certainly both unexpected and unprecedented.
obviously, the pollsters are racists.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/5/2010 @ 12:41 pmProbably sexist and homophobes too. Maybe even Birthers.
Horatio (e2e328) — 7/5/2010 @ 12:52 pmThe right is more patriotic than the left?
In other news, the sun rose in the east this morning . . .
Ken McCracken (98dfdd) — 7/5/2010 @ 1:28 pmThat’s a lie – my favorite progressive website told me the sun rises elsewhere and the designation of cardinal directions is purely Euro-centric and racist. How can I not believe them?
Horatio (e2e328) — 7/5/2010 @ 2:06 pmDemocrats prefer the Euro secularist model… call ’em the John Lennon “Imagine” Democrat-Socialists.
GeneralMalaise (9cf017) — 7/5/2010 @ 2:07 pmPatriotism is overrated anyways.
“Woah, I was born in a certain geographic location! I am so proud of that.”
AJB (d64738) — 7/5/2010 @ 2:25 pmYou could have been born in Zimbabwe and be a white guy too – How cool would that be?
Horatio (e2e328) — 7/5/2010 @ 2:33 pm“Woah, I was born in a certain geographic location! I am so proud of that.”
Only partially correct… it’s pride mixed with humility and gratitude.
GeneralMalaise (9cf017) — 7/5/2010 @ 2:47 pm“Patriotism is overrated anyways.”
Not to patriotic people.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/5/2010 @ 3:00 pmAJB is obviously overrated, except maybe in what passes for his mind.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/5/2010 @ 4:23 pmSir Walter Scott
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/5/2010 @ 4:23 pmHoratio at the gate:
I’m beginnin’ to like this Horatio guy. The Romans said, “nomen est omen,” or your name is an omen. The shoe fits.
ropelight (010199) — 7/5/2010 @ 4:24 pmAh well, my liberal friends told me that it was morally, financially and ethically imperative that we pass Obamacare.
Don’t know about the moral or ethical efficacy of Obamacare, but financially it appears to be a “pipe dream”–even dare I say it, a “hash pipe” dream.
Mike Myers (3c9845) — 7/5/2010 @ 4:33 pmThat opponents of Obama are patriotic is no surprise. With the possible exception of Aaron Burr and Jefferson Davis, no major American political figure has had less devotion to the country than Obama.
Ken Hahn (729dd4) — 7/5/2010 @ 6:21 pmBTW, the more I think about this, the more interesting it is. After all, the Left was / is quite fond of asserting that they are all about patriotism, e.g., “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism,” patriotism means believing in ideals subverted by the Bush administration, etc. But apparently, when Gallup calls, they give a different answer.
Karl (45e11e) — 7/5/2010 @ 8:52 pmKarl – I hope Gallup didn’t spend too much money confirming the obvious.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/5/2010 @ 9:03 pmWell, Gallup isn’t necessarily known for paying attention to its own data when providing commentary on its polling.
John Hitchcock (9e8ad9) — 7/5/2010 @ 9:19 pm#16 Karl:
as long as they don’t have to do it, because that would be like jingoistic and icky and stuff.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 7/5/2010 @ 9:37 pmI can only go from experience in expressing an opinion on this poll, so this is completely anecdotal.
Almost all of my friends are Democrats. Most lean left, but a good many tend to be more independent on social issues. That’s neither here nor there.
So, on the rare instances when we actually discuss politics, the results are always the same. I can argue about almost any policy from taxation to defense to immigration to federal regulation and almost always get them to agree with me.
They love the country, they love their neighbors, they love the troops, they love their church. They understand economics and the Constitution. They are not dumb.
What I find interesting about their political inclinations — and the chief disagreement in our political views — comes down to one simple notion:
Government is good, except when someone they don’t like happens to be President.
Without exception, though, the Presidents they don’t like are Republicans.
From this I can only derive two conclusions: People my age really, really didn’t like Nixon; and the Democrat Party has done a world-class job at establishing itself as the party that cares regardless of specifics.
That second conclusion is pretty hard to beat.
Ag80 (363d6e) — 7/5/2010 @ 9:43 pmropelight – “For the ashes of my fathers and the temples of my Gods” (Sorry can’t give you any more, I’m operating strictly from memory.)
Have Blue (854a6e) — 7/5/2010 @ 9:45 pmComment by Ag80 — 7/5/2010 @ 9:43 pm
Liberals feel; Conservatives think!
AD - RtR/OS! (6e3949) — 7/5/2010 @ 11:03 pmWow, someone who believes patriotism is defined by where a person is born.
Guess my immigrant wife who flies the flag and sends the troops candy and cards will have to stop immediately.
Oh, and those who I served with that were not born in the US, guess according to the genius AJB, they too cannot be patriotic.
Pure genius, AJB (congrats, you have the mentality of a leftist — bigoted and not too bright).
Pons Asinorum (771370) — 7/5/2010 @ 11:24 pm@ AJB
…and probably spoiled and not too grateful for the sacrifice of those better than you.
You missed it, don’t get it and probably never will. To make such an ignorant statement, AJB you are so lost.
American Patriotism has almost nothing to do about place of birth, but you cannot comprehend that so don’t worry about it.
Pons Asinorum (771370) — 7/5/2010 @ 11:29 pm@ AJB
…you owe an apology to millions of American, but you probably don’t get that either.
Let me guess — you voted for Obama.
Pons Asinorum (771370) — 7/5/2010 @ 11:31 pmHeh, when I went through USMC basic training over 20 years ago, the platoon guide was a citizen of New Zealand, and as such, could not serve in various aspects of the USMC. And he got a promotion straight out of boot. Go figure.
John Hitchcock (9e8ad9) — 7/5/2010 @ 11:53 pmDon’t know about the moral or ethical efficacy of Obamacare, but financially it appears to be a “pipe dream”–even dare I say it, a “hash pipe” dream.
A lot of liberals believe that good intentions are the key to everything. That good intentions outweigh a lack of common sense and absolve people and situations of idiocy and failure. They hear the phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” and go “huh?!!” Or they happily respond by saying “that’s the risk we have to take, and that’s the price we have to pay!”
the Democrat Party has done a world-class job at establishing itself as the party that cares regardless of specifics.
Left-leaning political groups throughout the Western World and in most of the Third World tend to pull on the heartstrings of a large percentage of people. It’s analogous to the way most of us, at least as kids, reserved a soft spot for mommy, while treating daddy with wary respect or guarded curiosity. Mom was good for a kiss on the cheek and feel-good pats on the head, while dad was the disciplinarian who prevented excessive levels of household laziness and chaos.
In order for liberalism to not bring down the house of cards (ie, a society), it had better be attached to a large percentage of inherently skilled, orderly, talented, self-starter type people. But if too much of a populace of a nation is below that level — and certainly noticeably below that level — and much of that populace is into sociopolitical leftism, that can easily become like a household full of conniving, delinquent-prone brats who take advantage of their clueless parents.
Mark (411533) — 7/5/2010 @ 11:54 pmIs it surprising? One learns how much he or she truly loves their children when they are in danger of dying, one learns how much he or she loves life when they are told they have a potentially terminal illnesss, and one is faced to confront their love for this country when they see her being destroyed by people in charge of her. I wonder if this was “meant to be”? All the stars aligned and the heads of Congress were left wing liberal nut jobs that somehow managed to be in control. Then we elected a President that was more intelligent yet more radical, who for all intents and purposes, doesn’t like this country very much except when she is being used for his own benefit or the benefit of his pals. Congress was packed with a bunch of mealy mouthed cowards that were too afraid to speak out and they all sold out. They did so while exposing to the American people who they really were. Even some weakling Republicans were exposed. Maybe we all needed this to step back and re-evaluate how much we love this Constitutional Republic and our Country but we had to see her in distress, we had to see groups of people that we have given a pass to in the past exposed for what they truly were and what they truly believed, and we had to see how bad it could get. We had to see the evil of the “race card” and race baiters revealed and exposed before we could confront it. We had to see how Unions have become an abomination to the country and to their own members. Perhaps we had to see, firsthand, a smooth talking charismatic politician in action when he undermines our Country so that we could see the danger of placing our trust in individuals in government as opposed to our Constitution. We had to see with our own eyes American children marching lockstep chanting their admiration to Obama, Black Panthers threatening voters and our elected officials squashing it, and Acorn in action. We had to be exposed to what was actually going on inside America’s version of “medrasas” in some of the black churches and how an entire race of Americans could could be brainwashed into foresaking the only country in the world where they stand a chance to succeed on their own talents. We had to hear people in Detroit standing in line telling us they were waiting for “Obama cash” before we could believe the level of ignorance poor people have been forced into by our government and liberals. It’s like one day we were complaining about trash being thrown on our lawn and the next worried that our children might die; it put things into perspective for all of us.
Dave B (015195) — 7/6/2010 @ 12:31 amThey do not feel patriotic because Teh Won has yet to re-make America into something they can truly be proud of for the first time in their adult lives.
Icy Texan (4fa53c) — 7/6/2010 @ 1:48 amWhy should anyone love the country, when the country is not perfect?
Icy Texan (4fa53c) — 7/6/2010 @ 3:56 amWhy settle for anything less than perfection, when perfection IS achievable?
To settle for anything less is to accept mediocrity.
How can one love something that is mediocre?
To do so is to set the bar too low.
The bar MUST be set to Utopian heights!
Then we MUST — all of us — collectively help each other over the bar.
No sacrifice made in this effort will be too great.
All must give their all, so that all may be made to receive all that there is.
Equal portions for all. Those that sacrifice the most . . . they will get their fair share as well.
Those that contribute the least . . . will be rewarded for their continued existence.
If you try, but fail, you will be aided.
If you fail to try, well . . . who are WE to judge?
When that day comes — the day when ALL are healthy, happy and content,
THEN . . . then it will be acceptable to say that you love your country.
When “being the best you can be” means being as good as the next guy,
THEN we will be living in a “just” nation.
It simply isn’t right; the big guy always wins, the little guy always loses.
But if there was no more “big guy”, THEN the little guy would surely win — everytime.
For, after all, the big guy ALWAYS has enough to take care of the little guy.
Therefore, the big guy cannot be allowed to hold onto what he has.
He MUST be made to share. Robber barons MUST subsidize the rest of us.
It will only be when none of us outshines one another,
That ALL of us will truly shine.
Why is it such a surprise when those on the right consider themselves to be more patriotic? I mean, we’re so bitter and clingy.
Dmac (93e7cb) — 7/6/2010 @ 7:18 amPatriotism is “Love of country.”
I’m always amazed at how leftists claim to “love their country.”
They love their country, and so they always keep their country’s faults and misdeeds in the front of their mind: slavery, bigotry, unjust wars, Indian policy, etc., etc., etc,. And they never stop talking about how this country doesn’t always live up to the high ideals of our founding principles.
Would they love their mother, or their spouse, or their children in the same way? Would they constantly inject the imperfections and sins of their loved-ones into every conversation, constantly remind them of their wrongs and the bad things that they have done?
Is this how you define “love”, as constantly harping on someone’s faults?
That is not how I define love.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.”
It’s the same with love of country as it is with the love of your fellow man.
Pious Agnostic (291f9a) — 7/6/2010 @ 7:44 amI should add, the results of these surveys do not surprise me at all.
Leftists are unlikely to feel patriotic because they don’t love their country unconditionally.
Pious Agnostic (291f9a) — 7/6/2010 @ 7:49 amropelight – To expand on my twenty-one.
27
217 Then out spake brave Horatius,
Have Blue (854a6e) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:33 am218 The Captain of the gate:
219 “To every man upon this earth
220 Death cometh soon or late.
221 And how can man die better
222 Than facing fearful odds,
223 For the ashes of his fathers,
224 And the temples of his Gods,
Seems like a weird thing to care about. I’d probably answer “moderately proud” or “a little proud,” but I pay my taxes, do my jury duty, and vote in every single election (even the random ones).
That one does one’s duty to the nation is all that counts; if one wants to wear US flag headbands and shout to the hills about how patriotric one is, fine, but it’s meaningless without doing one’s duties.
jpe (742b63) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:46 amJingoistic bitter clingers, the whole lot of you. Except jpe, who is just a better person than the rest of you.
JD (fbeb58) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:48 am@ JD: I am better than the rest of you, but that’s unrelated to patriotism. It just strikes me as weird thing to care about either way. As long as you do your duties to god, family, and country, the extent to which one is proud of being American is just irrelevant. It has zero moral bearing on anything. Except fashion, where it generally is a detriment.
jpe (e31238) — 7/6/2010 @ 12:15 pmI was patriotic before patriotic wasn’t cool, to the left.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/6/2010 @ 12:36 pmSo, JPE tells us that as long as we do out ‘duties’ to the country [which to him includes voting in elections he’s so ignorant of they strike him as “random” (and of course, he’s a party line voter whether he admits it or not)], it’s irrelevant how devoted to our country we are (devotion to one’s country is the definition of patriotism).
And nothing about why the USA is special, which is why patriotism in the USA is a lot different from patriotism in Germany or Russia or wherever. USA’s patriots love concepts such as all men being created equal, with rights. It’s not just because our flags look cool.
The incoherence is because he’s a troll, I realize.
But I get the feeling his judgment of how everyone here is worse than him in sincere. Hardened liberals have a need to demonstrate their imagined superiority. They don’t dot heir duties to God or their family or their country in proportion to the general population. We all know that. Deadbeat criminals who never served in the military and give only Obama or Biden percentages of income to charity: mostly those folks are loudly democrat.
That’s what they are proud of. That’ why jpe thinks a patriotic symbol isn’t fashionable… it’s not attempting to show superiority so it doesn’t compute in his pointy little low wattage head.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 12:40 pmSome people are obviously confused about what it means to be “patriotic.” It is not surprising that most conservatives and republicans think they are more patriotic than everyone else, waving their flags and cheering. They also think they are smarter, have better morals, and know more about “real life” than other people. Of course they are full of crap, and only tricking themselves, but if you ask them…
Chris Hooten (d63ded) — 7/6/2010 @ 7:54 pmBTW when did being patriotic become “uncool,” Dustin? I must have missed that. I do see less Chinese-made flags on gas-guzzling SUV’s but I don’t associate that with people being less patriotic, just less hypocritical and douchy.
Chris Hooten (d63ded) — 7/6/2010 @ 7:57 pm“BTW when did being patriotic become “uncool,” Dustin?”
It is very fashionable, in my opinion, but I was replying to someone who said it wasn’t. I have no idea, though. You could tell by how I dress that I just don’t understand coolness!
And you’re right, there’s a lot of hypocrisy in the most loudly patriotic. I do fly a beautiful flag, but I don’t think that’s where patriotism is made either.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 7:58 pmPious Agnostic:
You can’t love someone and give them constructive criticisms? I would argue that you can’t love someone and NOT give them constructive criticisms, in an attempt to better them. Ignoring flaws neither improves them or makes them go away.
Chris Hooten (d63ded) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:01 pmActually Hooten, the people who are confused are the ones who admit to being less patriotic. Those of the Left.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:03 pmWhat are you suggesting they are confused about?
Chris Hooten (d63ded) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:08 pmChris, the USA is exceptional. It’s not perfect. We have problems and always will and always have, but the idea of all being created equal before the law, the idea of liberty for individuals… that’s great.
Our troops didn’t swear to defend the President in and of himself. They swore to defend the Constitution. A piece of paper with ideas about human rights and government staying off of our backs.
Anyone who is unpatriotic is confused about how amazing this country is and they are especially confused about what it takes to keep up the fight and keep being actually progressive about liberty (I don’t mean progressive like Howard Dean is).
To me, patriotism isn’t just saying ‘damn, it’s pretty here and I am very happy with my country for various reasons’. It’s realizing just what freedom costs, too. And when I talk about that to some people, I see that either they or I am truly confused about the subject. Patriotism in this unusual country should come with resolve.
The NAACP used to have it. The ACLU often shows a lot of it. The Tea Party has it in spades too. A lot of liberals who seem kinda whacky to me otherwise show clarity on the fact that they have to stand up for human rights.
People who do this because they hate this country are confused. And people who may deny that many hate this country are wrong. A lot of people living here have no appreciation for how great this country is.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:21 pmI think Americans, in general, love their country, and are proud to display that affection, more than any other country. This idea that people on the left are a bunch of usa-hating dweebs is completely false. To say they are unpatriotic is also false. If you ask them, conservatives and republicans will tell you they are more patriotic. That doesn’t mean that they are, just that they think that they are.
Chris Hooten (d63ded) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:41 pmJust bear in mind that someone did ask them, hence the poll results.
Also, while I hate generalizations, there are people out there who actually like Reverend Wright. Who would have God damn our country. And there are people out there who actually say in public that they are proud, for the first time in their life, of this country only when it votes for their loved one. And there are people who would cheer and scream with joy at either of these extremely unpatriotic people.
These aren’t opinions. Those people really are numerous.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:45 pmHooten thinks that the poll numbers are skewed because those on the left answered truthfully and those on the right did not. IOW, he’s claiming moral superiority on the subject due to the “fact” that his side was more honest in their responses.
Icy Texan (5b976b) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:54 pm#43 Constructive criticism is terrific. When you are folding your small child in your arms and telling them how much you love them, and then say “But I wish you weren’t such a racist and a supporter of murderers…” that’s really sweet.
Nobody is talking about ignoring faults. Patriotism is loving your country unconditionally, regardless of its flawed history and sins. Unconditionally means “I love you now, regardless of your faults” not “I love you if you clear up these problems and until you do I will withhold my love.”
When you love your country you also love your fellow citizens even when they vote for socialists.
Pious Agnostic (291f9a) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:34 am—
—
Lost, Clueless and Confused.
Interesting to me that people born here, who do not live in poverty, who have had every advantage, have failed to understand.
Yet a man who lives in poverty, who has almost every disadvantage, completely understands.
This man was not “confused”, did not consider it a “weird thing”, nor did he do it because of birth “geographic location”. You three will not understand why this man did what he did, and why so many admire him for his actions.
Pons Asinorum (439c1e) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:48 amPons, that’s heart breaking and sweet. Thanks for sharing it.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:52 amThanks Dustin, found it on yahoo. My 12 year-old nephew brought it to my attention.
Pons Asinorum (439c1e) — 7/7/2010 @ 10:01 am