Homestar Runner Wiki Forum

So we've all seen the map of states carried by Kerry and states carried by Bush in 2004.



My question is: why does the map look like this? What is it about the coasts (highly populated areas) that attract liberals? What is it about.. um... everywhere else that makes it attractive to conservatives?

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I always figured it had to do with how people living in largely and densely populated areas were more open-minded (one of the definitions of "liberal"), because their chances of coming in direct contact with someone very different from them (in any way) is much higher than someone living in rural areas. I also read a statistic somewhere that of the roughly 7% of Americans that actually own passports for travel to other countries, nearly all of them are liberals.

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The meaning of life is 'bucket.'

FOR PONY!!!

I don't know about the rest of the Blue States but my area, the Northeast, has always been a liberal haven ever since colonial times.

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Huh, interesting thought. I didn't know that the original colonists designated themselves as liberal or conservative. In fact, when did those terms even start getting used? Hmm.



So if I understand correctly, conservatives are conservative because they live in a bubble.

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Wait, I thought that New England was a predominantly Federalist region for a long time, which was considered a conservative party in its day. I dunno, I might have gotten it wrong, but I am pretty sure it goes the other way.

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GENGHIS KHAN!!!!!

I'd almost agree with you, Pianoman, but I've encountered plenty of liberals who were just as closed-minded and bigoted as any conservative.

If anything, it just goes to show that people in general tend to be susceptible to influence of the culture around them.

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A lot of conservatism is defined by prejudice. Conservatives voted against integrated schools for Black people. Conservatives vote against gay rights. Conservatives voted against Women's Suffrage. Prejudice is the product of ignorance. So yes, I'd say that many conservatives are conservative because they live in a bubble of ignorance.



Very true. The Animal Liberation Front is a wonderful example of such close-minded extreme liberalism. I'm not trying to apply a stereotype that all liberals are open-minded and all conservatives are close-minded. That'd be foolish and fallacious. However, I see more liberals voting for progressive movements than conservatives--movements that are sparked by a feeling of injustice at inequality and oppression of individuals and groups.

Conservatism, by its very definition, seeks to keep the status quo--conservation. Conserve. People who seek to retain the status quo are generally those who are benefiting from it--or at least, those who are not being harmed by it. The alternative, liberalism, is reinforced by those who feel that they are the victims of injustice and inequality. But if people are more isolated and are not seeing and experiencing the harm directly, they feel no obligation to vote for a liberal motion. They might even see it as a nuisance--a threat to their ordered (or so perceived) world. When people see no reason for change, they tend to be suspicious of it.

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The meaning of life is 'bucket.'

FOR PONY!!!

Well they didn't, but there ideas were considered to be very liberal for the times.

No, remember one of the MOs of the Democrats is more strength to the Federal Government. The Federalists were in favor of a strong Central government. So they would be Democrats in today's world.

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Hm, I suppose. I always thought of the Federalists as a more conservative party, but Dem's support of federal government does identify with the Federalists.

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GENGHIS KHAN!!!!!

You have to realize that liberal and conservative are such ambiguous terms in the first place, when you look at it. You can be socially liberal while being fiscally/economically conservative (as an idea, not a behavior).

Also, even though I am so far to the left that it's scary, I've met closed minded idiots on both sides of the tracks. Blinded by their own zealotry (whether it is from the church or some other source). Some self-proclaimed liberals support censoring video games, but trust me, not all of us... actually most liberals disagree with this since it is advocates censorship. Most of my friends are either liberal or center, and we all agree on this saying.

"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."
~Voltaire

Not only is it poignant and respectful to certain people, it also allows us the right to laugh at people who use their right to make fools of themselves.

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Colorado's actually fairly purple, atlhough we have more unaffiliated voters than Democrats.

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Except for the "Peoples' Republic of Boulder", we're moving toward the center as a whole.

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I think it's due to the fact that most of the CO population is from outta state, so we have all sorts of people mixing together. I was born here, and I'm going to stay here for college.

And register Independent.

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I don't know. It must be... A CONSPIRACY!

A more reasonable answer is that Republicans like to live in the less populated areas, away from the coasts, so that they can write uncited blog entries in peace. Democrats, on the other hand, want everyone to hear their whining, so they move to more populated areas.

Then again, I don't like either party, so I probably have some sort of bias.

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(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(") This is a bunny. Copy and paste him to aid him in his quest to take over the world.

I just find it amusing that so many people think that democrats and liberals are the same thing. Such isn't true. Case in point... Joe Lieberman.

Furthermore, conservatives whine just as much as liberals.

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Or me. I'm a Libertarian that just happens to vote Democrat.

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Truth. Being conservative or liberal doesn't make you whiny. You can whine, no matter what your political beliefs.

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Conservatives are white soccer moms who like to live in freakin' small places with lots of likeminded white soccer moms and an easily ignorable amount of other types of people. Liberals like to have lives, socialize and don't prejudice against anyone. So there you have it.

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It's got something to do with big cities. I mean, look at SLC compared to Utah as a whole. The blue states are more generally metropolitan than the red ones. This doesn't explain NH for example, but a lot of culture up there is influenced by NY and Boston.

So what is it about big cities? PianoMan suggests the likelihood of meeting different people, and I don't think that's wrong. I don't think it's the whole answer, but I think it's part of it.

I saw a chart once that ranked income levels by a tendency to vote republican or democrat. What follows is an abbreviated version of that.

Really really rich <- Democrat
Really rich <- Republican
Middle class <- Tends towards republican, not as sharp as above though
Poor <- Democrat

I think that the states with big cities, Chicago, NY, LA have a much higher number of the top and bottom rungs of that ladder than more rural states in general. Smaller (population or size) states like Oregon and NH get their culture from areas like Seattle, LA, NY, and Boston, so that explains why they are blue, too. (Interestingly, places like Madison WI, Oregon, and NH can be even bluer than the nearby states I think due to the same "bubble" effect PianoMan referred to above. They are kind of isolated from other areas as well, and thus reflect back a stronger liberalness than the larger more mixed areas. My opinion.)

I've also heard that home/landowners are more likely to be republican, and big cities have a higher number of apartment dwellers. They had some argument based on how much help/interference you want from the government, which somehow correlated to land ownership. (Kinda weird since farmers depend on the government for handouts more than anybody, and they are mostly republican, but oh well.) I really don't know much about that to argue against or in favor, so don't call me on it, it's just something I heard.

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Thanks. So basically, conservatives are all close minded idiots who shun anyone who do not fit their description of perfection, and liberals are the cool kids on the block? Wow, I guess I am a total jerk.

I am sorry if that sounded a bit angry, but quite frankly, I think that was out of line. I know plenty of conservatives who are not racist in the least, but at the same time I know liberals who are just as bigoted as the conservative stereotype. There are definitely racist conservatives, but they to me seem the minority. The same goes for liberals.

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GENGHIS KHAN!!!!!

Totally...
I don't know if he meant it as "ALL CONSURVATIVES R DUM!", but it REALLY came out that way. While I cannot (and will not) deny that there are some close-minded conservatives, there are also liberals who are just as close-minded (and it seems that most of those are the ones that brag about being open-minded).

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If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.

He did put a little winky guy there, so at least consider that he might be joking.

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Obviously you didn't read the rule that stated that humor is outlawed from the R&P.

Oh wait...

Anyways, the geographical difference is obviously due to liberals liking the beach. And as we all know, if a conservative gets wet, it starts spouting off little evil furballs that cause all sorts of mischief. These are known as Rumsfelds.

Before all of you desensitized to any form of sarcasm decide to blow up on me, the above post does not reflect my actual opinion. I was making a joke. And a Gremlins reference.

Dude, I have a sense of humor. But sometimes humor crosses a line and just gets rude. If I said something rude about, oh say, your religion, but I said that it was a joke/sarcastic, I wouldn't think that would be very funny...

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GENGHIS KHAN!!!!!

Then you obviously can't laugh at yourself. If it were a funny joke, I'd laugh.

GET BACK TO WORK.

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My bad..
Didn't see the wink.

LOL

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If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.

...I suppose I didn't find the joke funny? And I love making fun of myself, my self esteem is nothing to me!

Now, toastpaint, please.

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GENGHIS KHAN!!!!!

There is a flaw in your reasoning. Namely half the Atlantic Coast and the entire Gulf of Mexico. Seems to me that Conservatives have more beach than the Liberals.

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Lol 'k.

According to wherever I found this, this is a red/blue map of the last Presidential election broken down by county. Appears to be much more Jesusland than Michael Moore thought. Of course, like the other map at the beginning of this thread, it doesn't take population densities and such into account. I just thought it was interesting.



EDIT: Wow, I just noticed that streak of blue that runs nearly the entire length of the Mississippi River. Very interesting.

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Listen to the Black Crowes.