Posted on 03/30/2011 9:12:45 PM PDT by curth
That conservatives outnumber liberals nationally is not exactly news. But this is: according to a new poll from Gallup, even traditionally liberal states are drifting rightward.
Business Insider explains that Conservatives now outnumber liberals in deep-blue bastions like Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Oregon.
Some specifics:
Mississippi is the first state with more than 50% conservative identification, with Idaho, Alabama, Wyoming, and Utah approaching that level, and Arkansas, South Carolina, North Dakota, Louisiana, and South Dakota (the rest of the top-ten conservative states) 45% or higher. Conservatives outnumber liberals in even the most liberal-leaning states (excluding the District of Columbia): Vermont, (30.7% conservative to 30.5% liberal), Rhode Island (29.9% to 29.3%), and Massachusetts (29.9% to 28.0%).
What explains this trend? Some might point to a conservative backlash against Obamas liberal policies. And while that certainly may be part of it, Richard Florida, an urban theorist writing in The Atlantic, has a different theory. His explanation is economic:
Conservatism, at least at the state level, appears to be growing stronger. Ironically, this trend is most pronounced in Americas least well-off, least educated, most blue collar, most economically hard-hit states. Conservatism, more and more, is the ideology of the economically left behind. The current economic crisis only appears to have deepened conservatisms hold on Americas states. This trend stands in sharp contrast to the Great Depression, when America embraced FDR and the New Deal.
Interesting food for thought.
remarkable considering Mississippi is nearly 40 percent black....that means nearly 90% of whites consider themselves conservative..no wonder Hollywood hates us so much and lives to make films that revile us
my take on this poll is that more and more folks are starting to associate the word liberal as wacky rather than conservative as wacky and answer that way when asked which...some of those states listed have way more folks who said neither one which tells me most of those lean left
actual conservatives are unequivocal when asked
it breaks down like this as proven by stats when voting:
whites...55-60% GOP
hispanics...70%...Dem
orientals....65% Dem
blacks.....92% Dem
largest GOP blocks:
white men....
white women with children
throw in Christian with both of those and you have the trifecta
most reliable Dem block:
unmarried women with children..especially blacks
northern Union members
blacks..obviously..90% is a lock in this world
all those trends have been with us for a long time...the unmarried women block is fairly new since that demographic used to be scorned and tiny
hispanics and orientals used to not matter except in a few local wards or Miami
anyone can look at these trends and think about immigration and birthrates and realize where we are headed..warm and fuzzy polls notwithstanding
My point was that most of those “moderates/centrists” are really libs, but due to the skewed worldview in MA, they think they’re not libs and don’t self-identify that way. The real confusion comes from this article not clarifying whether they are talking about voters’ self-identification, or registrations, or actual voting patterns. If it is self-ID, then the numbers for MA are meaningless, as I personally know several people who think they’re moderates, but would be considered radical leftists in most other parts of the country. Yes, it’s anecdotal, but the pattern holds across the state.
Yippee for Mississippi bump!
I love seeing Oregon in there, too. Our governor may still be a ‘rat after many days counting the votes (it was that close), but the ‘rat legislature took a real beating.
I have hope...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.