Survey: Far More Conservatives Than Liberals

The Gallup organization today announced that surveys done so far this year find 40 percent of Americans consider themselves politically conservative, with 35 percent moderate and 21 percent liberal (4 percent had no opinion ... one might wonder what those folks are thinking!). This represents a slight increase in conservatism.

Party affiliation paints a different picture that might surprise some readers.

Centrism is growing, with Independents gaining a slight edge in party affixation this year, a Pew Research Center survey found. Party affiliation now looks like this:

• Independents: 36 percent
• Democrats: 35 percent
• Republicans: 23 percent

If you're wondering why there are so many conservatives and so few Republicans, coupla things:

1. Surveys can't always get at the truth, especially when you ask people to explain themselves or their views. Someone who is quite liberal on many topics might, for example, see themselves as conservative, or vice-versa. Party affliction, on the other hand, is a pretty hard statistic.

2. However, there's something else. Quite frankly, as Gallup sees it, a lot of Democrats lean away from pure liberalism, more so than Republicans lean away from strict conservatism.

While 73 percent of Republicans call themselves conservative, only 38 percent of Democrats call themselves liberal, Gallup found.