America’s fractured political landscape

NEWS AND OPINION:

Political division in the U.S. is no longer limited to disagreements between two political parties. An extensive new study released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center is intended as a “road map to today’s fractured political landscape” and reveals nine distinct partisan callings among Americans in general, spanning the ideological spectrum. Curious about this new typology?

Leaning farthest to the right are Faith and Flag Conservatives, followed by Committed Conservatives, the Populist Right and the Ambivalent Right.

In the middle we find Stressed Sideliners.

And at the opposite side of the political gauge is the Progressive Left — the most liberal of all, according to the pollster. In second place are Establishment Liberals, followed by Democratic Mainstays and finally, the Outsider Left.

“While partisan polarization remains the dominant condition of American politics, the gulf that separates Republicans and Democrats sometimes obscures the divisions and diversity of views that exist within both partisan coalitions — and the fact that many Americans do not fit easily into either one,” the study said.

The study succinctly identifies those who make up these categories — defining Faith and Flag Conservatives, for example, as deeply loyal to former President Donald Trump. They are “intensely conservative in all realms; they are far more likely than all other typology groups to say government policies should support religious values and that compromise in politics is selling out on what you believe in,” the study said.

And what about an example from the other side?

“The Progressive Left, the only majority White, non-Hispanic group of Democrats, have very liberal views on virtually every issue and support far-reaching changes to address racial injustice and expand the social safety net. Establishment Liberals, while just as liberal in many ways as Progressive Left, are far less persuaded of the need for sweeping change,” the analysis said.

Happily, the pollster has included a quiz to help people determine which category they actually fit into.

The 14-part study itself was compiled by a research and production team of 32 people. Find “Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology” at Pew.org, complete with the quiz and interactive features. The findings are based on a substantial poll of 10,221 U.S. adults conducted July 8-18.

CPAC 2022 AWAKENS

The next Conservative Political Action Conference — that’s CPAC for short — is up and running.

The American Conservative Union announced Tuesday that CPAC 2022 will take place Feb. 24-27 in Orlando, Florida. Preregistration is now open for this signature event which draws thousands of happy conservative warriors plus political and cultural luminaries, students, scholars, talk radio hosts, celebrities and media folk.

“Once again there is hope for America,” the organizers said in a statement, pointing to some substantial gains made by Republican candidates in the nationwide election on Nov. 2.

“Last Tuesday conservatives made major strides, winning in deep Blue states. We cannot stop. We must continue to push back against the negative, divisive, hate-filled, anti-American agenda of the Left,” they advise.

The event is actually the largest gathering of conservatives on the planet. Find all the details at Conservative.org.

MORE TEPID NEWS FOR BIDEN

A wide swath of surveys have been surfacing in the last two weeks indicating that Americans are becoming unnerved with the White House. Here comes another one.

“One year out from the 2022 midterm elections, 58% of Americans say President Joe Biden hasn’t paid enough attention to the nation’s most important problems, as a majority disapproves of the way he’s handling his job as President,” advised a CNN Poll released Monday.

“More than a third of Americans call the economy the most pressing problem facing the country (36%). Among the group that sees it that way, 72% say Biden hasn’t been attentive to the right issues. That dynamic is reversed among the smaller 20% who consider the coronavirus pandemic the nation’s top problem: 79% in that subset say Biden has had the right priorities, while 21% not,” the poll analysis revealed.

All told, “48% of adults approve of the way Biden is handling the job while 52% disapprove,” it noted.

See more numbers and the survey particulars in the Poll du Jour at column’s end.

FOXIFIED

As usual, Fox News dominated its cable news competition, earning 2.8 million prime-time viewers during the week of Nov. 1-8, according to Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC drew 1.1 million viewers and CNN 730,000. Fox News also aired 74 of the top 100 overall cable telecasts during the week, and 15 of the top 16 cable news shows.

Election Day last week was also a bonanza for the network; coverage peaked at 5 million viewers during prime-time, topping the number who tuned into MSNBC and CNN combined.

Meanwhile, Fox News late-night host Greg Gutfeld enjoyed his highest-rated week ever with 2.1 million viewers, defeating CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (2 million viewers), ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (1.4 million) and NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” (1.3 million).

POLL DU JOUR

• 52% of registered U.S. voters say their choice of candidates in the 2022 midterm elections is not intended to “send a message about Joe Biden”; 40% of Republicans, 64% of independents and 51% of Democrats agree.

• 26% overall say their vote is intended to send a message that they oppose the president; 59% of Republicans, 21% of independents and 2% of Democrats agree.

• 19% overall say their vote is intended to send a message that they support the president; 1% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 46% of Democrats agree.

• 2% don’t plan to vote in 2022; 0% of Republicans, 5% of independents and 1% of Democrats agree.

Source: A CNN/SSRS poll of 859 registered U.S. voters conducted Nov. 1-4.

Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.