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I was looking at Massachusetts, for example, still one of the Whitest states in the country. In 1980, you had about 1.1 million people there voting for Reagan when he won a plurality. In 2008, McCain also got that same 1.1 million. But the difference here is that Carter got also around 1.1 million but the False Messiah got 1.9 million. It's like our numbers stayed absolutely static while theirs doubled.

Pennsylvania is another. Reagan got 2.3 million in '80, McCain got 2.7 million. Carter got 1.9 million, the False One got 3.3 million. In 1980, Carter carried just 10 counties, 7 of which were in the SW part of the state. The False Messiah got just 18 counties (but enough for a win), and he carried virtually every county in the Philadelphia Metro Area (in '80, Carter won ONLY Philly itself). But McCain won 6 of the 10 counties Carter won 28 years later, all in the declining SW (where only Pittsburgh's Allegheny & Johnstown's Cambria - which only barely went Dem by just 456 votes !).

I worry, too, about the potential trend even in the South of rich/upper middle class suburbs towards the Dems. It hasn't happened yet, but I start seeing alarming incidents like our own Mayoral race. The lone district in my county that sends a Republican to the legislature (the wealthiest in the county) is the one that went heavily for the moonbat lib. Williamson County, the wealthiest county in the state, and heavily GOP, would likely be the first to start showing signs of a potential flip, though aside from the bizarre 2006 Gubernatorial race when EVERY county went for the Dem incumbent (the GOP nominee was a State Senator from Williamson, and he didn't even carry his own county, the worst showing for a GOP Gubernatorial candidate in ages).

Another example, however, was that in the late '60s-early '70s, Georgia sent two Republicans to Congress, one from adjacent Atlanta districts. The city of Atlanta itself, in fact, and DeKalb County. Today, those districts are moonbat Democrat and Black (DeKalb being Cynthia McKinney's turf). But the flip of those was more racial as opposed to Whites themselves ideologically realigning. However, Barone made a comment about the DeKalb based seat at the time that they simply had a habit of voting against the tide of the rest of the state. Then, they were trending to the GOP, opposed to the heavily Dem rest of the state. Now that Georgia is GOP, they vote opposite today.

I worry, too, about the potential trend even in the South of rich/upper middle class suburbs towards the Dems.

It's already beginning to happen, at least a little bit. Take Texas. John Culberson in TX-7 has began to run into strong challenges, getting 59% in 2006 and 56% in 2008, even though he's one of the most conservative members of the Texas delegation; he represents northwest Harris County, which is very affluent, and used to be George H.W. Bush's old House seat. Same thing may be happening to seats held by Michael McCaul (54% in 2008) and Kenny Merchant (56% in 2008), though McCaul's problem is that he's got some of Austin in his district. Even Pete Sessions' district is, you'd have to admit, not as solid as most of the other GOP seats.

Plus you've got areas of Florida like that, though a lot of them are transplants and not native. Still, the Orlando metro area took a wild swing away from the rock-ribbed GOP lean it once held, even though, as I look at the stats, Orange County is still 69% white and Osceola County is 77% white, plus I'm sure not all the Hispanics there are Democrat. Also, Sarasota County's taken a jog to the left, even though we still managed to hold that House seat in 2006, but it was the other counties in the district that had to vote GOP for us to keep it. Maybe Pinnelas County is another example. Plus the Gold Coast is more Democrat than it used to be; Bush 41 actually carried Broward and Palm Beach County in 1988.

I know there's no Democrat trend in the affluent Louisiana suburbs. Jefferson Parish (my home) actually increased the Republican vote from 61% in 04 to 63% in 08, and St. Tammany north of N.O. went up a point. The swing was even bigger in the Baton Rouge suburbs.