Good points.
Some with an obvious agenda encouraged the broader MSM to pervert the usage of the word red, in the context of politics. The corruption, which offends most clear thinking Americans tends to allow traditional reds that wish to do so, to hide in plain sight. Further it allows certain residents to avoid confronting the fact their beloved state has developed socialist tendencies.
Perhaps the way for us to reclaim the historical political meaning of red is for each of us to encourage those we know, including influential national writers and media personalities, to use the terms socialist red states and true blue states. For example, can there now be any doubt that NY is a socialist red state?
I propose socialist rather than commie because the left seemed successful earlier in dodging the latter label. With so many out of the closet socialists now active at the state level, it is doubtful they would be able to dodge the socialist label.
Problem is, we’re well past that. The Republican Party (or at least the establishment and leadership) is Socialist. They seek to manage, often gleefully so, the policies and initiatives of the Democrat Party. The Democrats ? They’re already clearly Communist-Totalitarian. All things run by the government, dictated by the government, with no dissent to be tolerated. Christianity is the enemy.