Posted on 10/17/2006 10:28:59 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
Families are Red, Singles are Blue:
Marriage, Fertility, and the Mid-Term Elections
After the 2000 election, the terms "Red state” and ‘Blue state” became a popular shorthand for describing the political and cultural divide that separated Democrats and Republicans. The flawed but useful metaphor implies that idealogical leanings and political affiliations are clustered around geographic areas. But a recent analysis by Census data by USA Today reveals a pair of factors that are even more determinative of political affiliation than race, income, education or geography: family and fertility.
In fact, when it comes to Congressional representation, marriage and parenthood are the key indicators of whether a district is Democratic and Republican. Republican House members, for instance, overwhelmingly come from districts that have high percentages of married people and lots of children. Democrats' districts, however, are stocked with people who have never married and have few children.
The demographic data shows a remarkable divide:
* Republicans control 49 of the 50 districts with the highest rates of married people.
* Democrats represent all 50 districts that have the highest rates of adults who have never married.
* Democrats represent 30 districts in which fewer than half of children live with married parents. Republicans represent none.
* Republican Congress members represent 39.2 million children, about 7 million more than Democrats. In fact, Republicans represent an average of 7,000 more children per district.
* Children in Democratic districts are far more likely to live in poverty and with single parents than kids in GOP districts.
The "marriage and fertility” gap may be the most useful predictor of the mid-term elections. Four of the five Republicans who have the lowest rates of married people in their districts (Steve Chabot (OH) 48.3%; Heather Wilson (NM) 51.1%; Deborah Pryce (OH) 51.2%; J.D. Hayworth (AZ) 51.6%) are in tight races with a Democratic challenger. Rep. Melissa Bean (IL), on the other hand, a Democrat whose district has a high marriage rate, faces a strong challenge from a Republican. Altogether, 27 of the 38 Republican districts considered vulnerable in the mid-term elections have fewer married people than found in the average GOP district.
If you want to understand the political divide in the U.S., take a hard look at this "marriage and fertility gap” and ponder why the GOP is preferred by voters with traditional family structures. It's about time we set aside the simplistic Red State/Blue State. For when it comes to politics, what really matters is the state of the family.
This single isn't blue.
Neither is this one! :)
I was single for a long, long time and I was never blue either. I worked with a lot of singles and I don't think any of us were blue. But we were conservative. In the state of Maryland, no less!
Same here!
those are some eye-popping statistics. I think they reflect more than just marriage and fertility rates. Dems represent more gays, who are generally (for now) unmarried, and don't (for now) usually have children. Dems also represent most (all) majority black districts, which are rampant with family disintegration. The difference in the number of children represented is amazing. Interesting stuff.
I am single and my blood and my vote are still RED.
I am single. I would not vote democratic. no chance in hell.
I think single women tend to be very liberal for some reason. I dont know why.
Because many buy into all of the "We are victims" garbage the lefties spout.
True. A God fearing woman is hard to find these days. esp around my age. Some of these girls on a college campus think the world revolves around the right to have an abortion, and that all christians are closed minded ! sad. I would not date a woman who supported abortion.
I'm not blue either. Well not politically. I suppose I could be blue about singleness but that's a different thread.
I think this article is telling us to Focus on the Family ( sorry, can't help but had this wise crack :)
Rush is single, no kids.
This was intentional misdirection to confuse voters about the meaning of "red". Don't fall for it!
I was always told to never mess with a woman who wanted to keep her own last name after marriage.
The "blue" people don't play well with others. Hence the "single" classification.
Folks,
I can appreciate your pointing me to yourselves and to Rush and to this person or that person as single and voting like a red stater, but these are supposed to be STATISTICAL DATA, not an indicator that says NO SINGLE PERSON will vote red.
In fact, I am under no illusion that someone who consistently votes Democrat is going to suddenly vote Republican when he/she gets married.
Let's not lose the forest while concentrating on the trees.
This article simply paints THE BIG PICTURE. Which is -- married people tend to vote Republican, and people who have larger families tend to vote Republican EVEN MORE.
This simply indicates the STRENGTHS of one party vs. the other and tells you where the MOST SOLID BASE lies.
In southeast Ohio that's what they think? I can't say that I'd have thought that at all...
You need to get reneg on the Buckeyes and pull for the SEC! Doesn't get much better than an Ole Miss or Tennesee gal, either. ;)
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