43% vs 11%

The Portland Tribune's Tuesday, March 4  front page article was on the differences between the attitudes and beliefs of Portlanders vs the rest of the region and the rest of the state.  If you ever felt  at odds with Portland's fast-moving trends and youthful, urban political philosophies, you have good reason to be.  It makes one question, who speaks for the rest of us?  Use the link above to read the entire article.

How liberal is Portland? 

This ain't 'Portlandia' but it sure feels like it, according to a survey highlighting the Rose City's very lefty political leanings.

Excerpts:

Everyone knows Portland is more liberal than the rest of the region and the state. People joke that a Republican can't be elected dog catcher in Portland, and that business support is the kiss of death for any politician in the city.

Conventional wisdom holds that the only conservatives live in far east Portland, and they are vastly outnumbered by everybody else in town.

Guess what? It's not a myth.

A major statewide poll conducted last year, the 2013 Oregon Values and Beliefs Survey, shows that most Portlanders are vastly more liberal than people living in the rest of the tri-county region and Oregon. Differences are dramatic on issues ranging from the economy to the environment and the proper size and role of government.

Turns out IFC’s “Portlandia” TV series is more documentary than comedy.

Results from the 2013 Oregon Values and Beliefs Survey have been presented publicly before, including at a Portland City Council work session. But the Portland Tribune asked the Davis Hibbitts and Midghall Research firm to run the numbers again, this time separating Portland from the rest of the region and the state. Those results show just how large the gap has grown between Portland and its suburbs, as well as the rest of the state.

An obvious example from the poll: far more Portlanders describe themselves as liberals on both social and economic issues.

According to the poll, a statistically astonishing 43 percent of city residents consider themselves to be “very liberal” on social issues, compared to just 11 percent of the rest of the region and 13 percent of the rest of the state.  Another 31 percent of Portlanders consider themselves to be “somewhat liberal” on social issues, compared with 24 percent of the rest of the region and 23 percent of the rest of the state.

In other words, a substantial majority of Portlanders — 74 percent — consider themselves to be liberal on social issues, compared with 35 percent of the rest of the region and 36 percent of the rest of the state.

The breakdown on economic issues is even more dramatic. Although just 19 percent of Portlanders consider themselves very liberal on economic issues, that's far more than the 6 percent in the rest of the region and state. A larger 35 percent of Portlanders consider themselves somewhat liberal on economic issues, compared with 22 percent in the rest of the region and 19 percent in the rest of the state.

Really a Red State?

Still, in delving into the statistics, it becomes apparent that without Portland in the mix, the suburbs and the rest of Oregon would be a red state, not blue.

For example, when Portland is included, 41 percent of the state is liberal on social issues. When Portland is excluded, the number falls to just 23 percent.

The same thing happens on many issues covered in the poll. When Portland is excluded, support drops for government programs, sometimes dramatically, in the region and state.