BS, suburbs are not increasingly voting DEM.. you should go look at the 2000 and 2004 blue/red breakdown maps.. you’ll see quite obviously that blue areas DECREASED and have been for many cycles.
National elections are not the same as state wide, sorry, you can think they aren’t, but they are.
I don’t think votes are entirely single issue, but I do know that Casey goes and votes in an open vote with no cover for abortion, partial birth, stem cell, he’ll likely not go back next cycle, and Casey stuffed shirt and all knows it as well.
He’s didn’t vote principle, he voted practicality. When a SCOTUS confirmation comes up, he’ll have cover, because he can reject for any reason he can make up, even when its Dems opposition to their abortion stand that will be at the heart of a matter.
Presidential elections have completely different dynamics than state elections. I’ll also tell you this much about PA and 2008.. if Hillary is the Dem nominee, PA won’t even be in play. She’ll lose this state big time. She is absolutely hated here, even among live long democrats.
so how did Gore and Kerry win PA then? Its the Philly suburbs that decide it, and these metro suburbs are going increasingiy Dem in many of the populated states. the NYC suburbs, the DC suburbs in northern Virginia (that was where Webb won it). How did McCaksill win Missouri?
http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=42&year=2004&f=0&off=0&elect=0
see the voting breakdown here - the metro suburbs are where Kerry won it. Of course, we expect the urban areas to go solidly Dem. But its what happening in the metro suburbs, the ones just outside the metroplxes, where republicans are losing their edge. and its not just in PA, its everywhere.
PA used to be a solid R state, then it was a swing state, now its becoming a solid Dem state. Virginia is sliding towards being a swing state. North Carolina will be next. Republicans have got to do better in these metro suburbs, and the social litmus test issues (alone) are not the answer to accomplishing that.