by Libby Hyde

The difference between liberal and conservative views is one of many determining factors of elections in America, such as the upcoming presidential election this November.

According to Student Daily News, the heart of the argument between liberal and conservative views lies in their opinions on how to achieve freedom, prosperity and healthy living, as well as other goals for America. Liberals generally believe in “government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all,” while conservatives believe in “personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.”

According to a poll conducted by Gallup Politics in 2011, 40 percent of Americans described their views as conservative, 35 percent considered their views as moderate and 21 percent as liberal.

According to a Rasmussen Reports poll performed in August 2012, 44 percent of voters view President Obama as very liberal, while 30 percent of voters describe Presidential candidate Mitt Romney as very conservative.

Sophomore Gracie Fleming said she thought she identified more with liberal viewpoints. She discussed the biggest issue for this upcoming election to be health care.

Fleming pointed out that she thought liberals tend to fall within the Democratic Party, and conservatives in the Republican Party. Senior Hannah McCausland agreed, saying that she feels Romney is more conservative, and Obama is more liberal.

McCausland discussed her views on federal versus state government.

“Conservative is more following states rights, while liberals want a stronger central government,” McCausland said. “I consider myself conservative because I think the rights should remain with the states because it is closer to a smaller entity and can focus more on what people want. Too much central government is not what our constitution is based on.”

Fleming discussed the differences between liberal and conservative views in issues involving money and taxes.

“Liberals feel taxes should be higher on the top 2 percent, so the middle and lower class don’t have to pay more,” Fleming said. “On social issues involving wars, gun rights and health care, those [issues] seem to be split as well.”

Fleming said she generally identifies with Obama more so than Romney.

”I have a more liberal standpoint on money issues,” Fleming said. “Also, I tend to favor Barack Obama’s policies on healthcare and social issues.”

Fleming said conservative and liberal labels can seem very extreme, and the biggest issue is that there is never a medium; rather, she said many Americans consider themselves extremely liberal or extremely conservative.

“We’re not going to get anywhere if we don’t make a compromise,” Fleming said. “We need to compromise as a nation while we have our different views, because some views are very extreme on both sides.”

Fleming also discussed the reasons for her liberal views as well as how those viewpoints came to be.

“I consider myself liberal because I was raised with mainly liberal [family], but I do disagree with my parents on some issues,” Fleming said. “I was raised in a family where everyone talked about politics, and we were all very educated about it.”

According to McCausland, America is leaning farther toward liberal than conservative for this election, though she identified that the majority seems to switch between conservatives and liberals every few presidential terms. She said she would not be surprised if Obama won this upcoming election.

Fleming also said that she thought that this generation is headed in a more liberal direction, because when people are at a young age, they tend to follow their parents views, but when they get to college, their views tend to become more liberal.