Does air conditioning make people vote Republican?

Salon.com ^ | August 21, 2008 | Edward McClelland

[libstripper]

Aug. 21, 2008 | When I moved into my apartment, in May, the first thing I did was tear out the air conditioners. I don't need air conditioning: My front window is 50 yards from Lake Michigan, and, as any Chicago weatherperson will tell you, "It's cooler by the lake." I can't afford it, either: Three window units can add serious dollars to one's monthly electric bill. But those aren't the real reasons I got rid of the A/C.

Air conditioning offends my sense of Northern pride. They have a saying in Maine: "If you can't stand the winters, you don't deserve the summers." But the air conditioner allows Arizonans to enjoy a cool, lakelike breeze in the comfort of their living rooms, without ever having to buy snow tires. As one who has seen firsthand how the Sun Belt created a poor Yankee cousin called the Rust Belt, I blame the air conditioner for the decay of Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo, N.Y. I blame it for the decline of the American labor movement. And I blame it for the election of George W. Bush, as well as the fact that we haven't elected a Yankee president in nearly 50 years. Honestly, I don't want something like that in my house. Especially if I have to pay for it.

[wbill]

If I were to visit one place in Maine, where would you recommend?

Depends on what you're looking for. Regardless of where you go, I'd recommend going in September. The summer people have cleared out, mostly, and the leaf-lookers haven't arrived yet. Weather is generally good, or as good as can be expected in Maine.

If you want to be a tourist, then just land in Maine, start at Kittery (southernmost point on the coast) and work your way up Route 1 to Acadia National Park. Hit the Old Port in Portland, LL Bean in Freeport, and just about any "folksy coastal town" along the way. You'll see everything that everyone else talks about and will have a good time. You'll also deal with mobs of tourists, and pay through the nose for everything.

If the outdoors is your forte, Moosehead Lake + Baxter State Park (central northern part of the state) are great, and a little more off the beaten path. The Appalachain Trail starts in Baxter. If you REALLY want to get lost, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (far northern part of the state) is a good week or two in the woods. I would only recommend this if you're pretty experienced, woods-wise, though.

If you want to tour around Maine, see some great stuff, and NOT be a tourist.... I recommend the Western part of the state (where my family is....) There's plenty of state parks, hiking, fishing, and gorgeous scenery. Not a whole lot of folks from away, particularly if you go in September. Rangeley and the surrounding area, in particular, is beautiful. Don't expect a lot of nightlife, restaurants, and clubs to go to though. The streets roll up pretty early. A wild night out may consist of sandwiches picked up at the local general store, eaten on a picnic bench overlooking the lake. Maybe icecream from the dairy bar, and a good book before going to bed.

[Politicalmom]

No kidding. I left my lawn mower out for a few hours once, because I couldn’t get it started and was waiting for my husband. I got an HOA letter complaining that I was “storing” my lawnmower in front of my house.

[PotatoHeadMick]

I used to compromise on that, I lived in an apartment and the aircon condenser unit sat on the balcony, when I did a wash I simply put all the laundry out on a clothes horse in front of the unit while I sat inside in my nice cool room; all the clothes would be dry within thirty minutes at no extra cost to me.

[laotzu]

Well said, & very helpful. Thanks. You represent Maine well.

[wbill]

No problem. Enjoy your trip.

[AceMineral]

The thing that is never asked is why where the widget factories of 1880-1920 built around the Great Lakes instead of the South. Were there no men in Alabama or Mississippi in 1896 to work in a factory? They only appeared in 1966?

[Joe 6-pack]

"The writer is an idiot. It gets plenty hot and humid up north too."

Damn straight. In Maine, it gets both hot and humid in the summer months.

Thanks to global warming. < /sarcasm>

[No Truce With Kings]

George H. W. Bush is a Texan who happened to be born in Connecticut.

He moved here after honorable service in WWII, and except when serving his country, has lived in Texas ever since.

He made his fortune in Texas.

He raised his family in Texas.

He buried a child in Texas.

He ran for every political office he held as a Texas resident.

He set up his Presidential library in Texas.

He moved back to Texas after serving as President.

He has lived in Texas longer than Sam Houston. He has lived in Texas longer than Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and Buck Travis, combined.

We can argue the man’s politics, whether he was a good President, and whether or not he is conservative enough, but if Sam Houston is from Texas, then so is G. H W. Bush.

He may have been born a yankee, but he got to God’s Country as soon as he could and has been here ever since. Texas has always been less about where you were born, than about what you did afterwards.

[Citizen Blade]

The most destructive legacy of air conditioning is that it’s use has inflicted us with year-round Congress. BAC, Congress used to escape the confines of Washington during the oppressively hot summers. Curse you Willis Carrier.

DC used to be considered a hardship posting for diplomats before air conditioning made it livable.

I couldn't imagine living here in the summers without AC, though we're having an unusually cool summer this year.

[9YearLurker]

I think the explanation would be that before ac, you’d have too many workers shuffling along—if not outright keeling over—in the summer heat. Working in the fields was probably not as bad as an afternoon cooped up in a steamy factory!

[Citizen Blade]

absent the political tripe, i love articles like this. the advent of AC and how it led to a migration to the south is fascinating and something we rarely think about.

Look at FLorida- 2 million people at the end of WWII, 20 million now.

Before the AC, the South was kind of a backwater.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I want ocean front property in Maine with central air. No window unit spoiling the view.

[Citizen Blade]

The climate played a part, but the infrastructure made a difference, too. Up until recently, Southern infrastructure was heavily geared towards an agricultural econonmy- that is, the roads and rails were designed to ship agricultural goods from the farm areas to the ports for export. The North’s infrastructure was based around moving people and goods from, say, the coal mines of West Virginia to the steel mills in Pittsburgh, then to other cities for use in industry or to ports for export.

The South’s approach to infrastructure was one of their major problems during the Civil War, BTW.

[wardaddy]

that’s funny but no doubt, in those areas of the country that need AC most that non hispanic whites (and Cubers) definitely vote more GOP than not.

i think it’s a leftover of population demographics from slavery and plantocracies.

but that doesn’t explain why Rocky mountain whites who are not envirowackos vote GOP too and Indiana.

[Condor51]

When I moved into my apartment, in May, the first thing I did was tear out the air conditioners. I don't need air conditioning: My front window is 50 yards from Lake Michigan, and, as any Chicago weatherperson will tell you, "It's cooler by the lake."

Edward McClelland is a M-O-R-O-N.
Luckily this August has been decent (Hey where's that Global Warming?). But when we get back to normal and the temp and humidity both hit 90, he'll find those AC Units pronto. And all that "It's cooler by the lake." means is that its 92^o F there and 95^o at O'Hare.

Another amenity Edward will get from living 50 yards from Lake Michigan is a leetle thing in winter called Lake Effect Snow. He'll be getting dumped on with 12" of 'Global Warming' while those on Western Ave (2400 West) will get an inch or two.

(fricken Moonbat, he deserves what he gets)

[uvular]

Isn’t this the second dingbat ‘journalist’ to disavow air conditioning this year? Is Big AC going to be the next ‘evil SUV’?

[cowboyway]

Prescott Bush was an Ohioan.

GHW Bush was born in Mass and raised and educated in the northeast.

He’s a yankee.

[No Truce With Kings]

“GHW Bush was born in Mass and raised and educated in the northeast.

He’s a yankee.”

Tell ya what, hoss. Why don’t y’all from East Coast states let us Texans decide who is and is not a Texan.

George Herbert Walker Bush is a Texan.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

It’s cool today, but in July the temperature was in the 80’s and 90’s for quite a few days. Summertime temps in July and August in the 80’s and 90’s are not uncommon.

About 8 years ago, the temperature hit 100 degrees for 3 straight days in May, althouugh that was a fluke.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Reagan was born and raised in Illinois. He's not a Yankee?