Can We Guess If You Identify More as a Democrat or a Republican?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Can We Guess If You Identify More as a Democrat or a Republican?
Image: Hill Street Studios/Blend Images/Getty Images

About This Quiz

These days, hyper-partisanship has threatened the ability of the American government to function, as  increasingly narrow groups of voters select increasingly extreme candidates - who, thanks to gerrymandering, voter suppression, apathy and media Balkanization, are increasingly hard to dislodge once they become incumbents. One surprising fact is how much distance there is between the parties, considering that the USA is the only major developed economy that has never had a strong, mainstream, leftist party; by global standards, today's fairly corporate-oriented Democrats sit squarely in the center of the political spectrum, while most metrics position their opponents far to the right of this. While there are glimmers of socialism, they remain just that for now. Meanwhile, labels like liberal and conservative get slapped on a grab-bag of policies that aren't necessarily either.

It was not always like this. Back in the time of Dwight Eisenhower and before him, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the two parties were more similar, suffering from similar diseases (albeit to differing degrees) - racism, misogyny and so on - while sharing much of the same vision - democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech and so on. New Deal Democrats and Eisenhower Republicans are where each party's true soul historically belonged, and as polls show on issue after issue after issue, that's where most Americans still are. Hyper-partisanship is fun for TV and for politicians, but it's not an accurate reflection of the people.

This quiz is thus not about measuring how much you like yelling at and demonizing some ghoulish cartoon of "them". It's about measuring where you are in relation to the reasonable heart of each party. Hopefully, remembering that such a place exists will help us to push back against the noise, and remember the values most of us hold dear.

How do you feel about American military might?
I'm for it, with qualifications.
Yay! Go America!
I have reservations but accept the necessity.
I hate it.

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What's your view of unions?
They're awesome!
They're the devil!
They're good but get corrupted easily.
I do not know about unions.

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How well paid should teachers be?
75K
45K
65K
Over 100K

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Is health care best when it's connected to employment?
Nope, but that's what we've got for now.
Yes! Everyone knows jobs are for life, everyone's able to work, and marriages never break up, so it's a great system.
No, that is a totally stupid system, it should be personalized.
It's actually worst when it is like that.

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What president do you especially like?
FDR
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Teddy Roosevelt

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How do you feel about gun ownership?
Totally fine with it given reasonable laws like registering them and storing them safely.
Having a gun means freedom.
There should be heavy restrictions but it should be allowed.
I hate it.

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Should the government tell people who they can marry?
Nope!
Yep!
Yes, it should definitely prevent fake marriages just for visas!
Marriage is bad and should not exist.

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How fervent are you about property rights?
Pretty fervent
Diehard fervent
Not very
As a libertarian those are the only rights I recognize.

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What is the biggest threat to the USA?
Failure of institutions
Communism and foreigners
Climate change
Capitalism

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Who is America's enemy?
Russia
China
Iran
Nobody

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Who is America's best friend?
Germany
Britain
Canada
Mexico

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What should the top tax rate be?
47%
12%
50%
98%

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At what income level should the top tax bracket kick in?
Over 250K
Over 550K
Over 200K
Over 100K

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How much more should a CEO make than the worst-paid worker in their company?
10-40 times
At least 400 times
Up to 20 times
2-3 times maximum

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How do you feel about the minimum wage?
It should be $15.
It should be abolished.
It should be $18.
It should be $25.

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What's your position on legal immigration?
For it - it's great for the economy.
Broadly OK with it.
It's bad, I think.
Borders should be open; we are all world citizens!

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Should illegal immigrants have a path to citizenship?
Yes, if they obey the law, have jobs and pay taxes.
Nope!
Sure, if they prove they contribute.
There's no such thing as illegal immigrants.

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How do you feel about gerrymandering?
I would like it if it ever worked for me.
I love it because it works for me!
I hate it for disenfranchising me.
Worrying about that is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic; the whole system needs to come down.

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Do you worry about voter suppression?
Yes, all the time.
No, not everyone should vote.
Yes, it bothers me in an abstract way.
Voting is participating in an evil system. Don't vote!

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What sort of infrastructure do we need more of?
Schools
Roads
Hospitals and small clinics
Houses

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What underrated investment can we make in the future prosperity of our nation?
Educate girls
Tax cuts, obviously
Carbon tax
Teach men to stop being so awful to women.

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How should the energy market be regulated?
Remove subsidies for fossil fuels and they're more expensive than renewables. So, that - but carefully so as not to crash the economy.
It shouldn't.
Carbon tax!
Everyone should get a small wind turbine.

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Which ideology is the most damaging?
Fascism
Communism
Corporatism
Capitalism

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What's your position on capitalism?
It's great!
It is what God wants.
It's good.
It's evil.

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If someone is poor, what is the most likely reason?
Bad luck
They're lazy.
Systemic injustice like racism
They're oppressed.

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Should unlimited donations to political campaigns be permitted?
No, there should be limits.
Yes
No, money in politics is poison.
No, there should be no politicians.

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How do you feel about very public displays of patriotism?
I like them!
I love them!
I go along, but they are a bit much.
They are fascistic and creepy.

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Which country should America definitely NOT be like?
Iraq
Venezuela
Somalia
There should be no countries.

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Which country is a good role model from which America might learn something?
Sweden
Norway
Germany
All countries are inherently injust and should be abolished.

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Should coal plants be allowed to dump waste into the rivers?
No, that's insane.
Yes, that's fine.
No and there should be heavy fines.
Only if the rivers want them to.

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You Got: