Atlanta Metropolitan area grows 95,000 people...Fulton County passes 1 million residents

[honeyinhouston]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Why Texas always be beatin' us...

Things are bigger and better in Texas!...

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by honeyinhouston

Things are bigger and better in Texas!...

Bigger? maybe+yes.

Better? hell-to-the-no.

[Saintmarks]

CW and Born, not quoting all your posts but I see you arguing a point that I think you are both making. The fact that Cobb entered its suburban heft a couple of decades prior to Gwinnett is probably the reason it has been more identified with conservative politics and the label for better or worse holds to this day. Look at the anti-Cobb bias on many of the posts here on the Atlanta page. Click-bait titles. Bringing up Chattahoochee Plantations borders to keep Atlanta at bay five decades ago. No Marta. Well, Gwinnett has no MARTA and has a county between it and Atlanta so no need to worry about any perceived Atlanta expansions.

My point is that they are very similar on many fronts, just that Cobb being closer in got in on the suburban metro thing earlier than Gwinnett. To me, that is the biggest difference. But Cobb got labeled as this right wing bastion when Gwinnett at the same time and place is probably just as right. Both are much less right than they were, but what I hear Born saying is the negatives that come with the label more often get thrown at Cobb than Gwinnett because of the perceived bias.

You are two of my favorite posters here. I don't think you are disagreeing on any points, just the shading of details.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Why Texas always be beatin' us...

economic steroids if you will, aka O&G

[Shakeesha]

But Atlanta's city population though.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

You're very first argument was that Cobb was more politically,socially, and culturally self-defined than Gwinnett County.

All of your following points to support your main argument after that was discussing at great lengths Cobb's love-affair with the Republican party in a homogeneous way.

The political bent and homogeneity of the population isn't enough to make your main argument.

I said that Cobb seemed to be much more politically, socially and culturally self-defined than Gwinnett County. That's my analytic opinion of one of the main differences between Cobb and Gwinnett counties, that does not necessarily mean that it is an absolute fact.

I'm sure that someone who is politically active in the still-very-robust-but-not-quite-nearly-as-robust-as-it-used-to-be Gwinnett County Republican Party scene and/or the still somewhat very robust Gwinnett County conservative grassroots political scene might disagree with me on that statement.

My analytic opinion of Cobb County's notable history of Republican Party growth and conservative movement advancement is based on the county's well-known historical reputation of being an early launching pad for the eventual Republican Party takeover of a Georgia and a Southeastern political scene that was historically dominated by conservative Southern Democrats.

I mean, the former Speaker of the U.S. House (Newt Gingrich) who successfully led a wave election takeover of Congressional politics (a wave takeover that eventually spread throughout the entire Southern U.S.) got his start in Cobb County....And the main highway through Cobb County (major intercontinental superhighway I-75) is named after a notably ultraconservative former congressman and president of the ultraconservative John Birch Society (Larry McDonald)....It's very difficult to find someplace that is more politically, socially and culturally defined than that in that way.

In addition to often being known as "The Center of the Republican Universe", Cobb County even has a term to describe its own unique brand of conservatism when people in Northwest Metro Atlanta political circles reference "Cobb Conservatism" (for better and/or sometimes for worse).

Though it should be noted that just because Cobb County has this proud history of being this legendary Republican/conservative county does not mean that the every resident in the county fits the stereotype of being an affluent conservative white suburbanite who blindly supports Republican Party in every political instance.

Cobb's reputation as ground zero of the late 20th/early 21st Century Southeastern Republican revolution is closely tied with its history as an homogenous outer suburban county that was the right-wing suburban answer to the city of Atlanta's late 20th Century left-wing urban political/social/cultural bent.

Back in 1980, when Cobb County had a population that was 94% non-Hispanic white, the county likely could have been described as being homogenous in its support for conservative/right-of-center politics. But today with a population that is only about 54% non-Hispanic white and with many minorities, moderates and progressives continuing to move into the county, Cobb County's political scene and population can no longer be described as being homogenous.

Cobb County may not feature the diversity that Gwinnett County has become known for, but Cobb County is a still an increasingly diverse community in its own right.

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Gwinnett's multicultrialism is a part of our identity, that is sadly being looked over because we aren't as homogeneously white rabid Republicans. It is just an off argument to make.

That might be Cobb's identity, but just because another place doesn't share their identity in the same way doesn't dilute what their own identity is.

No one has ever said or even implied that Cobb's strong (and often outspoken) political/social/cultural identity takes anything away from or overshadows Gwinnett's identity, image and reputation.

If anything (like Saintmarks touched on), Cobb's strongly-pronounced history and reputation as a bastion of outspoken right-wing politics tends to overshadow Cobb County's growing diversity.

Heck, Gwinnett County's reputation as an increasingly ultra-diverse suburban county with a great school system often seems to overshadow the county's continued (but seemingly less-pronounced) right-leaning bent of its political scene.

I assure you that just because I mentioned Cobb County as having a stronger political/social/cultural identity that stems from the county's well-documented history as a national hotbed of suburban Republican/conservative politics, does not mean that Gwinnett County is being overlooked on this board, in this online forum or in the real world.

Gwinnett has a strong identity of its own as a solid ultra-diverse suburban community with excellent parks and excellent schools. There is no way that Gwinnett would be attracting people from all over the world and have a population of almost 900,000 people if the county did not have a great national and international reputation.

Gwinnett County also has a reputation as being a suburban hotbed for high school/prep sports and college athletic recruiting (especially in the sport of football, but also in the sports of basketball and baseball), much more so than Cobb.

Gwinnett County is frequently and abundantly recognized as a dominant powerhouse suburban county that has become an indispensable part of the Atlanta metro area and brings quite a bit to the table (including some of the best suburban/post-suburban public schools in America, an increasingly ultra-diverse population, etc).

It's just that Gwinnett County obviously does not always seem to get the attention that a Cobb County might get because Cobb County seems to be much more politically outspoken than Gwinnett County and most other suburban counties in America.

When many people think of Cobb County, they instantly think of things like "Republican politics", "often always at odds with the City of Atlanta (over MARTA, the Braves, etc)", etc....While some of the older folks on this board (like myself, I guess, lol) when they think about Cobb County they think of "anti-gay resolution that got the county banned from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics", "conservative white suburbia", etc...

Gwinnett County just does not necessarily seem to have that type of sometimes highly-controversial image and strong self-identity that Cobb County continues to have for better or for worse.....Which isn't necessarily a bad thing because Gwinnett County (even though it has more than its fair share of issues) does not have the same historical baggage (and sometimes adversarial history with Atlanta) that Cobb County seems to have.