Red/Blue

[DanS]

The US used to be a lot more liberal leaning, including in rural areas. The left has since run off the rails to the left and given the right some wedge issues that play particularly well in rural areas. This leaves the right with the field of political battle in the rural areas. I think the cities have pretty much always been left-ish.

The situation in the suburbs is more complicated.

[RGBVideo]

People in the cities are more likely to be sucking on the government ***, and therefore more likely to vote for the party that keeps the milk coming.

You're accusing people in blue states of taking goverment pork money more than people in red states?

You live in a dream world, Lancer.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by VJ

You're accusing people in blue states of taking goverment pork money more than people in red states?

You live in a dream world, Lancer.

Just what I was going to say. Right now US Income tax functions as a scheme to redistribute the wealth of the blue states to the red states.

[Lancer]

I got the whole solution to this complex question. I was working in construction and am about to work in a casino.

[Sprayber]

I can't speak for other rural parts of the south but where I grew up you couldn't expect to win any election as a Republican. All the local elections were decided in the primarys between the Democrats and the odd Independent every now and then. Only safe place for Republicans back in the day was Northwest Arkansas. It's mostly still like that today with a few exceptions. The current governor is republican but he is only the second since reconstruction and he was the one that took over for the corrupt Jim Tucker (Clinton's Dem LT Gov).. The Dems Just dont translate well on the national scene as of late.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Sprayber
I can't speak for other rural parts of the south but where I grew up you couldn't expect to win any election as a Republican. All the local elections were decided in the primarys between the Democrats and the odd Independent every now and then. Only safe place for Republicans back in the day was Northwest Arkansas. It's mostly still like that today with a few exceptions. The current governor is republican but he is only the second since reconstruction and he was the one that took over for the corrupt Jim Tucker (Clinton's Dem LT Gov).. The Dems Just dont translate well on the national scene as of late.

Southern Dems were always conservative; the only reasons they were Dems was because the GOP was the party that won the Civil War. Now they're realigning. Part of what's killing the Dems -- aside from all the usual stuff, like being a party of disorganized, accomodationist, feckless losers -- is that they've lost their party's most conservative members, but haven't picked up the GOP's most liberal members -- the "Rockefeller Republicans" of the Northeast, who are ideologically closer to the Dems. For example, just as Zell Miller no longer belongs in the Democratic Party, Lincoln Chaffee is no longer a Republican in anything but name.

[mrmitchell]

The US used to be a lot more liberal leaning, including in rural areas. The left has since run off the rails to the left and given the right some wedge issues that play particularly well in rural areas. This leaves the right with the field of political battle in the rural areas. I think the cities have pretty much always been left-ish.

The situation in the suburbs is more complicated.

Two things that shall rise again, the South and the Left.

I can't speak for other rural parts of the south but where I grew up you couldn't expect to win any election as a Republican. All the local elections were decided in the primarys between the Democrats and the odd Independent every now and then. Only safe place for Republicans back in the day was Northwest Arkansas. It's mostly still like that today with a few exceptions. The current governor is republican but he is only the second since reconstruction and he was the one that took over for the corrupt Jim Tucker (Clinton's Dem LT Gov).. The Dems Just dont translate well on the national scene as of late.

Sprayber puts up a lot of good points. Locally, at least in AR, Democrats run very well. Nationally they're not so hot lately except for Bill Clinton (and maybe Al Gore if he wasn't cheated but that's another thread.)

As far as the governorship goes, Huckabee will probably be the last Repub for a long time. What's the Republican field in 2006? Win Paul Rockefeller, Hutchinson both likely candidates (if they haven't already came out and announced running). I don't remember which Democrat is the "likely candidate" but I'm pretty sure it would go down like this, Democrat > Rockefeller > Hutchinson.

Re NW Ark, people talk about everything South or East of Little Rock as losing political, economic power, but the only thing I can give to parts up north insofar as how they contributed to the image of Arkansas is the Ozarks and Wal-Mart. Call them latecomers to the scene.

Oh, and about the original topic: It may not be the case among the learned of us here, but in realistic experience I really do see a kind of trend: those who are acquainted with poverty, the problems of cities, etc. vote Dem, those who have either been better off or have never been in a city to begin with vote Repub.

Of course, as something a saying will one day say, it ain't just that simple. Every single tiny region of the US, from a neighborhood to a side of the train tracks to a multiple county area to states to the nation as a whole has its own history and quirks that produce totally unique political characteristics for it. There's no easy way to judge American politics + elections.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia


i would dispute that.

I wouldn't