Federal Government in Washington Is Divided Along Partisan Lines vs. Works Together (October 2012)

Federal Government in Washington Is Divided Along Partisan Lines vs. Works Together (October 2012)

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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues."
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categorycolumn-1
Is too divided along partisan lines86%
Can usually work together to address issues5%
Don't know9%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." 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.
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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Is too divided along partisan lines86%75%91%
Can usually work together to address issues7%4%4%
Don't know7%21%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
Is too divided along partisan lines91%85%93%
Can usually work together to address issues1%5%6%
Don't know8%10%1%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
Is too divided along partisan lines99%93%77%
Can usually work together to address issues0%0%12%
Don't know1%7%11%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." 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.
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categoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
Is too divided along partisan lines93%78%91%
Can usually work together to address issues5%4%6%
Don't know2%18%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
Is too divided along partisan lines91%96%82%
Can usually work together to address issues5%2%16%
Don't know4%2%2%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
Is too divided along partisan lines91%97%83%
Can usually work together to address issues7%0%14%
Don't know2%2%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
Is too divided along partisan lines88%92%89%
Can usually work together to address issues6%5%5%
Don't know6%3%6%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." Race is calculated according to the RACE1 variable.
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categoryWhiteBlackHispanic
Is too divided along partisan lines89%73%85%
Can usually work together to address issues4%10%5%
Don't know7%17%10%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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categoryMaleFemale
Is too divided along partisan lines89%84%
Can usually work together to address issues5%5%
Don't know7%11%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." Location is based on the following question, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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categoryUrbanSuburbanRural
Is too divided along partisan lines82%86%92%
Can usually work together to address issues7%5%4%
Don't know12%9%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Is too divided along partisan lines OR Can usually work together to address issues." Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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categoryNo high schoolHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
Is too divided along partisan lines67%82%88%90%89%96%
Can usually work together to address issues3%6%4%6%7%0%
Don't know30%12%8%5%4%4%

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