The media like to portray Trump voters as mouth breathing ignorant troglodytes.

My buddy Keith and I were driving back home the other day from a golf course that royally kicked our keesters. Well, me more than Keith, but that’s just another day.

Headed home, tail tucked between our legs, we avoided discussing golf any further for the day.  The conversation turned to politics, which I am prone to do. Somewhere in the conversation Keith professed to me he was an Independent.

This surprised me. I replied to his proclamation by using a cliché I often use to get the goat of Democrats –  “you know, there’s a belief that an Independent is just a person who votes Democrat but is embarrassed to admit it.”

Naturally, Keith was taken aback but then challenged me about the claim. You can call Keith a lot of things, but not a Democrat. Researching it later, it turned out neither of us had all the facts needed in order to have that conversation. That too, is usually just another day. Our wives would certainly agree.

According to a 2019 Pew Research Center report, 38% of Americans claim to be Independent. However, only 7% of voters are actually really true Independents. When I read that statistic, the first thing I thought to do was text Keith and give him a giant “I told you so.” I’m wont to do that also.

But then I read further, you know, past the first paragraph. Turns out, of the 38% claiming to be an Independent, 17% of them nearly always vote Democrat. In full disclosure, I thought this number would be much greater. But then, it occurred to me, why would anyone admit they voted for Biden? He supposedly won with 81 million votes, but it is nearly impossible to find anyone that admits to voting for Biden.  

But that left 13% that usually vote Republican – another surprise to me. (I must be easily surprised) At 13%, it was a much higher number than I thought it would be. You suppose those folks voted for Trump but didn’t want anybody to know about it? Bet they do it again though! I can’t blame them, the media like to portray Trump voters as mouth breathing ignorant troglodytes.

Pew did another poll in 2021 on the subject, but my eyeballs crossed trying to understand it. The poll showed there are actually 9 different voter groups calling themselves Independents. In case one is confused where their views place them in their spectrum, they included a handy-dandy 16-question poll to see where one might fit on the political spectrum.

Even though I don’t claim to be an Independent I took the test anyway. Bet some readers out there think I finished somewhere in the middle of a right-wing nut job category. Before seeing the questions, I kind of figured that’s where I’d be. But that wasn’t the case at all. I placed two sections to the left of the right-wing nutjobs. What I’m calling a right-wing nutjob,  Pew calls a “Faith & Flag Conservative.” I was devastated that I wasn’t a Faith & Flagger.

Labeling me a populist right voter is how they put me in their little box: “Populist Right” voters are very conservative and overwhelmingly Republican; they stand out for their intensely negative views of immigration. Unlike other GOP-oriented groups, they are highly critical of large corporations and banks and say the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. They express strong support for former President Donald Trump; a majority say he should run for president again in 2024.”

“Like the other two conservative groups, us Populist Right voters are overwhelmingly White. However, in contrast with these groups, a majority are women. Populist Right also have less formal education than most other groups; just two-in-ten are college graduates.”

Ya know what – that did pretty much fit my views. Except the woman part, color me guilty as charged. There should have been a question to measure just how MAGA people are too.

I’m gonna have to get Keith to take that test, especially since he claims to be an Independent. It will give us something to argue about to take our minds off bad golf.

If you’re interested in knowing where you are on the political spectrum, just click on the link below:

I wonder how long it will take for the FBI to turn up at my door now.