Federal Government in Washington Honest vs. Corrupt (October 2012)
| category | column-1 |
|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 70% |
| Is mostly honest | 15% |
| Don't know | 15% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 52% | 73% | 87% |
| Is mostly honest | 28% | 7% | 6% |
| Don't know | 20% | 20% | 7% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 89% | 79% | 88% |
| Is mostly honest | 5% | 10% | 5% |
| Don't know | 6% | 11% | 7% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 56% | 64% | 45% |
| Is mostly honest | 29% | 18% | 31% |
| Don't know | 14% | 18% | 23% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 52% | 65% | 83% |
| Is mostly honest | 33% | 14% | 8% |
| Don't know | 15% | 21% | 9% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." 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.
| category | Leaning conservative | Somewhat conservative | Extremely conservative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 82% | 87% | 76% |
| Is mostly honest | 8% | 9% | 4% |
| Don't know | 10% | 4% | 20% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." 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.
| category | Leaning liberal | Somewhat liberal | Extremely liberal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 57% | 45% | 54% |
| Is mostly honest | 29% | 37% | 33% |
| Don't know | 14% | 18% | 12% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." 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.
| category | Democrat | Republican | Tea Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 55% | 77% | 94% |
| Is mostly honest | 27% | 8% | 4% |
| Don't know | 18% | 15% | 2% |
| category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 78% | 40% | 63% |
| Is mostly honest | 10% | 26% | 27% |
| Don't know | 12% | 34% | 11% |
| category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 72% | 69% |
| Is mostly honest | 19% | 11% |
| Don't know | 9% | 20% |
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Respondents were asked, "Below are some pairs of opposite phrases, please tell me which one better describes your federal government: Mostly honest OR mostly corrupt." Location is based on the following question, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
| category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 58% | 72% | 82% |
| Is mostly honest | 23% | 13% | 8% |
| Don't know | 19% | 15% | 10% |
| category | No high school | High school graduate | Some college | 2-year | 4-year | Post-grad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is mostly corrupt | 85% | 68% | 67% | 75% | 72% | 72% |
| Is mostly honest | 4% | 14% | 17% | 15% | 17% | 13% |
| Don't know | 11% | 18% | 16% | 10% | 11% | 15% |
