Quote:So by what fact did you get that the military is disproportionately conservatives? It is mathematically impossible to gain a qualified sample to even suggest such. But hey! Let's look at a picture via the GALLUP(non scientific):
You missed something very obvious. The poll info you cited is a 'self-description' by all Americans. I've never argued that there is much of a gap between Party identification in the population at large.
The same Gallup organization supports my claim regarding the sub-group comprised of active serving and veterans. So, no, based upon those criteria, my claim is neither 'mathematically impossible' nor is it 'rubbish'.
My point stands, as corroborated here:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/118684/military-ve...lican.aspx
Quote:Military Veterans of All Ages Tend to Be More Republican
by Frank Newport
Political difference highest among younger veterans
PRINCETON, NJ -- Veterans are more likely to be Republican than are those of comparable ages who are not veterans. This Republican skew is at least minimally evident across all age groups, ranging from a 15-point difference in the percentage Republican between veterans and nonveterans in the 25-29 age group, to a 2-point difference in the 85+ group.
Political Differences
For the entire adult population, 34% of veterans and those currently on active military service are Republican, compared to 26% of those who are not veterans, while 29% of veterans identify themselves as Democrats, compared to 38% of those who are not veterans. (Thirty-three percent of veterans are independents, compared to 29% of nonveterans.
Different Patterns at Work?
It is difficult to establish the precise causal relationship between military service and Republican orientation. It may be that service in the military per se socializes an individual in certain ways that in turn lead to a more Republican viewpoint -- either at the time or in later years. On the other hand, there may be a selection factor at work, such that individuals already disproportionately Republican in orientation are more likely to join the military, meaning that the causal factor predates actual military service.
The latter explanation seems more reasonable for the younger age cohorts considered in this research. For the most part, Americans who are now aged 55 and under, as noted, volunteered to serve rather than having been drafted. Under these conditions, a reasonable hypothesis seems to be that more conservative/more Republican persons would be disproportionately represented in the ranks of volunteers, suggesting that the major reason for the observed veteran/nonveteran political difference lies in the backgrounds of those who choose to serve.
On the other hand, those who are now 56 and older were generally subject to the draft and presumably had a lot less choice in whether they served. That would be particularly true for Americans now 70 and older, among whom the majority are veterans. Here a more reasonable hypothesis may be that the socialization process that took place as part of military training and service, coupled with the impact such service has on an individual's reflection on politics and policy later in life, had a greater impact on the observed more Republican orientation among these veterans.
No doubt both processes are at work to at least some degree across the age spectrum. Whatever the cause, the data are clear: having served in the military is associated with a more Republican and less Democratic political identity.
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