Of course, that's an awful graph (the Y-axis really should be at zero to see the relationship, but that would also indicate that we're taking a relatively small shift here).
That said, my guess would be less that liberals are gaining popularity (more vocal, perhaps) as much as conservatives are losing popularity, as the current clown-car of presidential candidates and menagerie of GOP state legislatures keep fighting social battles that most people think should be over.
Not that I wouldn't like to see a significant shift back to the Left in this country, but right now I think it's more a gradual flight from the Right.
Liberals Make Big Comeback in 2015, Poll Analysis Finds
A new analysis of Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll data finds a marked increase in the share of registered voters identifying themselves as liberals, and an even bigger drop in the share saying they are conservatives.
Without error bars it doesn't mean much of anything.
Anyone can draw a graph.
Typical banana republic propaganda
Why are liberal leaning articles always and exclusively being "Recommended for me" by Google Plus?! I'm sick of it and want it to stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They know I am a conservative, so are they trying to influence me?!!!!!!
Funny how you guys dismiss that which you don't like.
+Harry Fulkerson And apparently anyone with an internet connection can say stupid shit…Harry.
+Tim Mohn It's from the Wall Street Journal you idiot. It isn't left leaning, you just don't like the conclusions.
I don't agree with any of this shit. Bernie Sanders is on fire right now and he can't even make the evening news.
+Eric Silverman …right you are, on both accounts! 🙂 BTW, it wasn't the question, but go ahead and vent. Lord knows I did,! 🙂
Whether or not you like the graph is irrelevant. IT IS A BAD GRAPH because the y-axis has been cropped to make to change look bigger, and there are no error bars or other information that would tell us if the change is meaningful.
I think it's time I started following 538.com again.
+Eric Silverman …one more thing, Eric. Do not call me an idiot again. That was uncalled for. I don't know you and neither do you know me. Perhaps we can have a beer summit some time, eh?! 🙂
On the other hand, no matter how contentious the comments above, the comments in the WSJ article make them look like the model of civil discourse.
Some source info on the poll (though no margin of error or raw data): http://pos.org/2015/06/an-unexpected-shift-in-a-typically-stable-measure/
Interestingly, the polling data did not indicate a substantial shift in party identification.
Yep, the 2014 elections proved this graph to be…. untrue
+Brian Rohan How does an election with no liberal candidates and the lowest percentage voter turnout in US history prove anything?
Liberal propaganda from a liberal.
+lee hanson Well, that certainly explains everything.
+Joe Skelton no liberal candidates? Where did you get that from, the Jokes For The John book?
Ha ha ha!!!!!!!!
It's more like "liberals make big cum-back"
+Tim Mohn it's his make believe world, we are just Invaders.
And right on cue, 538 chimes in.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/there-are-more-liberals-but-not-fewer-conservatives/
+Dan Eastwood So we'll see how future such surveys track out.
538's conclusion (this WSJ/NBC poll is an outlier — liberal identification is up, but being taken from moderate/independent rather than a shift away from conservative) could have a variety of reasons, if correct. My personal one is that it's not just polarization, but the entry of Bernie Sanders into the race, which has revitalized some of the liberal ideas the Dems have largely marginalized for quite some time, and made it a bit more chic to lean Left.
+Dave Hill I think you might be right on that.