Whether you’re talking to a right-wing nut or a left-wing zealot, they will insist that their opinions are in the mainstream. No one ever thinks that they are somehow out of touch with everyone. They’re not extreme. Everyone else is – particularly those who disagree with them.

Who, exactly, is the arbiter of far left or far right? The answer is: Everyone else. By definition, you’re a right-wing or left-wing extremist if your positions on various issues are in conflict with the views of the majority nearly all the time.

Occasionally I’ll get some email from someone insisting I’m a right wing extremist (and sometimes I get accused of being a liberal nut).  But statistically, I’m pretty much in the middle. A little right of center overall. What makes people react to what I write is because I tend to intentionally make use of terms and words to incite a reaction out of readers – if everything I wrote was mild and politically sensitive my articles would get pretty dull.

But how do you judge whether you’re out of the mainstream? Depends on where you are.  In the United States there are a few stats I can think of the top of my head (stats from various national polls). Score yourself:

1)      Are you religious?

a.       Yes (90% of people are)

b.      No, I’m an atheist or agnostic (10%) (L:5)

2)      Are you in favor of capital punishment?

a.       Yes in certain cases (70%)* (C:2)

b.      No, it’s always wrong (30%) (L:4)

*Watch for statistic manipulation on this issue, you can find stats where it’s nearly 50/50 but it depends on where the poll was taken and how it is phrased. Most Americans support capital punishment in at least certain circumstances.

3)      Do you support the right for women to choose to have an abortion?

a.       Yes in all cases (20%)* (L:5)

b.      In some cases (60%)

c.       No, it’s always wrong (20%) (C:5)

*Watch for statistic manipulation on this issue, you can find stats where it goes the other way but it depends on where the poll was taken and how it is phrased. Most Americans support capital punishment in at least certain circumstances.

4)      Do you think the US should have gone to war in Iraq even now?

a.       Yes (65%) (C:1)

b.      No (35%) (L:2)

5)      Do you support the US “War on Terror”?

a.       Yes (80%) (C:1)

b.      No (20%) (L:3)

6)      Do you think Bill Clinton should have been impeached?

a.       Yes (40%) (C:2)

b.      No (60%)(L:1)

7)      Do you think the US should drop out of the UN?

a.       Yes (10%) (C:5)

b.      No (90%)

8)      Do you feel about US social policies?

a.       We should cut all federal social programs (5%) (C:6)

b.      We should cut most federal social programs (10%) (C:4)

c.       We should keep it about the same

d.      We should provide universal healthcare (20%)  (L:3)

e.       Agree with D. and We should put cap on how much income one can make with additional income taxed at greater than 70%) (L:6)

9)      Do you think there should be prayer in school?

a.       Yes (25%) (C:5)

b.      No (75%)

10)  Do you support tax cuts that are equal for all income brackets as a percentage?

a.       Yes (55%) (C:1)

b.      No (45%) (L:2)

This isn’t scientific and the polls are not exact percentages (as you can find polls to back up whatever finding you want to have). Take it for what it is.

So here’s the table:

The range is 28 on the liberal side to 28 on the conservative side.

My score came out to be Conservative 6 points. That's because I'm conservative on fiscal issues and somewhat liberal on social issues. As we work on The Political Machine, we'll have a much better handle on people's views on these issues and I'll try to put something together that's a bit more useful.

This is just something I whipped up for fun in a few minutes. It’s not conclusive and it’s possible to be a radical and have a low score since some people are radical in just certain issues.