Compromise Versus Stand on Principle (February 2023)
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Respondents were asked, "In general, in the face of political or policy conflicts, is it more important for government officials to compromise or to stand on principle?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 78% | 52% | 39% |
| Stand on principle | 22% | 48% | 61% |
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Respondents were asked, "In general, in the face of political or policy conflicts, is it more important for government officials to compromise or to stand on principle?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
| Category | Lean Democrat | Not very strong Democrat | Strong Democrat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 86% | 74% | 77% |
| Stand on principle | 14% | 26% | 23% |
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Respondents were asked, "In general, in the face of political or policy conflicts, is it more important for government officials to compromise or to stand on principle?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
| Category | Lean Republican | Not very strong Republican | Strong Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 40% | 42% | 38% |
| Stand on principle | 60% | 58% | 62% |
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Respondents were asked, "In general, in the face of political or policy conflicts, is it more important for government officials to compromise or to stand on principle?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
| Category | Liberals | Moderates | Conservatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 77% | 60% | 40% |
| Stand on principle | 23% | 40% | 60% |
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Respondents were asked, "In general, in the face of political or policy conflicts, is it more important for government officials to compromise or to stand on principle?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
| Category | Lean liberal | Somewhat liberal | Extremely liberal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 79% | 81% | 71% |
| Stand on principle | 21% | 19% | 29% |
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Respondents were asked, "In general, in the face of political or policy conflicts, is it more important for government officials to compromise or to stand on principle?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
| Category | Lean conservative | Somewhat conservative | Extremely conservative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 55% | 39% | 31% |
| Stand on principle | 45% | 61% | 69% |
| Category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 55% | 68% | 56% |
| Stand on principle | 45% | 32% | 44% |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 54% | 60% |
| Stand on principle | 46% | 40% |
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Respondents were asked, "In general, in the face of political or policy conflicts, is it more important for government officials to compromise or to stand on principle?" Community type is based on the following question, " Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
| Category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 60% | 58% | 50% |
| Stand on principle | 40% | 42% | 50% |
| Category | 18-29 | 30-44 | 45-64 | 65+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 59% | 56% | 56% | 58% |
| Stand on principle | 41% | 44% | 44% | 42% |
| Category | No HS | High school graduate | Some college | 2-year | 4-year | Post-grad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 58% | 50% | 62% | 49% | 60% | 64% |
| Stand on principle | 42% | 50% | 38% | 51% | 40% | 36% |
| Category | Extremely important | Somewhat important | Not very important | Not at all important |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 47% | 59% | 58% | 74% |
| Stand on principle | 53% | 41% | 42% | 26% |
| Category | The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word. | The Bible is the word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word. | The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God. | Don't know. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise | 44% | 58% | 72% | 54% |
| Stand on principle | 56% | 42% | 28% | 46% |
