Data: Athletes are more conservative than non-athletes

I would expect athletic people, on average, to be more conservative than non-athletes. The culture of sports and the types of individuals drawn to it are competitive and disciplined, and are likely to attribute their athletic success to their own hard work.

The General Social Survey asked participants to rate themselves athletically. This question was asked in 2004, so to look at voting patterns, we have to rely on a question about whom the respondent voted for in the 2000 presidential election. Here are the results listed by race and sex (sample size = 1,439):

Percent who voted for Bush in 2000

Whites
Athletic  63.1
Non-Athletic  53.0  
Relative risk  1.2

Blacks
Athletic  22.2
Non-Athletic  10.7
Relative risk  2.1

Men
Athletic  53.0
Non-Athletic  48.5  
Relative risk  1.1

Women
Athletic  55.1
Non-Athletic  45.9 
Relative risk  1.2

The data support my hypothesis for both race and gender.

It makes sense for conservatives to actively encourage as many kids as possible to be involved in sports. Or perhaps I should say competitive sports. A trophy for every kid is a liberal idea. 

My kids and I go to our first Trump rally

Some of my kids and I were able to attend our first Trump rally. It was a blast -- the President is obviously a talented man -- but I pretty much know his routine, so my main focus was on the crowd. 

Frankly, I love these people. They are my father multiplied by 10,000. Ordinary Americans. People who fix things. The backbone of the country. I didn't see very many business-looking types. I didn't see many intellectual types. 

They were polite and friendly but tough. We were packed in like sardines. Animal behaviorists would have predicted several fights, but I didn't hear an unkind word. I was worried that my kids would hear a lot of bad language, but there was very little. 

Some really responded to the opening Christian prayer; others didn't seem religious at all but were respectful. Respect again and obvious pride when the Pledge of Allegiance was said and the National Anthem was sung. 

If journalists see fascism in these people, they are liars. These are the descendants of pioneers. Love of freedom is in their blood. They are wary of government and despise tyranny. They are not Fascists, they are Americans.

UPDATE: Two points on race: 1) Crowd applause rose and fell. I was one of the only people in my area who said "Yay!" when Trump said Hispanic unemployment was at an all-time low. Working-class whites seem pretty focused on their own situations. Don't expect them to show up in droves to vote for you if your main message is that other groups are benefitting from your policies. 2) I did not see a single white nationalist. I know folks might blend in and look like everyone else, but as for proud, visible WN's, none. 

Focus on money by political orientation

In his wonderful political novel The Possessed, Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote that socialists obsess about their own money more than anyone. Anecdotally, the flaming lesbian socialist professor whose office is next to mine is constantly on the phone with someone talking about her investments. (I can see why she worries. She has a lot more money than the rest of us. Her salary is 20 percent higher than any faculty I know.)

The General Social Survey asked respondents who is in charge of family finances (sample size = 208). This might not be the perfect measure of concern for money, but it's the best one I could find.

Twelve percent of liberals compared to 24 percent of conservatives said their spouse takes care of the money. (Gender is not a factor. Also--most couples share the responsibility.) So, by this measure, twice as many conservatives don't focus on money.