Science says that Bill Clinton was right

"Getting Democrats organized is like herding cats"

- Bill Clinton

 Science supports our ideological stereotypes.
According to a new psychology study published yesterday in Psychological Science titled "The Liberal Illusion of Uniqueness", we now have evidence that Bill Clinton was right when he said that getting Democrats to agree was like herding cats. The study now has data that shows that liberals tend to underestimate what they have in common with other liberals while conservatives over estimate their similarities to others in their political party.The liberal illusion of uniqueness.Liberals assumed they were more unique among party peers than they actually were. This “liberal uniqueness” perceptive bias could help to explain why it’s harder to get Democrats to fall in line than it is for Republicans.A post in Scientific American, which refers to the study, has an excellent quote, that is worth repeating:

Anyone who’s ever been part of a liberal counter-cultural clique will recognize this pressure to be unique, which can easily turn into an arms race. You’ve got a tattoo? Well, my skin is nothing but tattoos. You make artisanal pickles? Well, I make artisanal horseradish. You have a pet ferret? Well, I have a pet camel. And so on. But it’s this motivation to be unique – even among other liberals – that makes liberals alike. It’s a bit like the scene from Monty Python’s Life of Brian where a crowd of hundreds chants in unison: 'Yes, we are all individuals! Yes, we are all different!'

You can never go wrong with a Monty Python reference and it is always fun with science supports our ideological stereotypes.Read the entire study: Psychological Science.