Is Austin really a liberal bastion? (Houston, Dallas: appointed, neighborhoods, college)

[D-town 720]

I have heard that Austin, TX is a very liberal city. But after viewing the voting records for Travis county (64% Obama) and looking at a study listing Austin as the 93rd most liberal city I have my doubts. Is it that Austin is a liberal city by Texas standards?


Where have Seattle's lefties gone?

Some cities that voted 75% or higher for Obama according to CNN:

SF, Denver, Seattle, Chicago, NYC, Philly, STL, ATL,

[MimzyMusic]

maybe only compared to the rest of texas. i wonder if they oppose the death penalty.

[Moonlady]

Yes, Austin is liberal by Texas standards, but you are correct that it doesn't stand up there with the more liberal cities overall (it's still in Texas, LOL).

[TexasTheKid]

Suburbs tend to be more conservative than the city proper, and man, Austin is full of the 'burbs.

[centralaustinite]

There are some deep blue precincts in the central city but yes, we are liberal for Texas not the US as a whole. i.e. you can be a meat-eating, gun-owning, church-attending democrat here and not raise eyebrows. You can be a pacificist, vegan too but that won't be your only option.

And Texas remains a low-tax, low service state that prides itself on being friendly to "bidness"

[ATXIronHorse]

Austin is liberal as in it has a lot of college kids. I don't want to oversimplify things but the liberal notion really comes from dominance of UT downtown, with a few musicians and aging hippies in the mix.

Once you're away from UT, south congress, and a few of the artsy/musician neighborhoods, Austin is fairly conservative. The suburbs are much more conservative and the counties adjacent are deep crimson red.

Based on voting results from recent elections Austin is just a bit more democrat-leaning than Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and the border region. For example, I think Obama won Dallas with 60% vis-a-vis 64% in Austin.

Therefore, if you're thinking of moving here expecting a hippie commune, you'll be really disappointed.

[artsyguy]

They are politically democratic yet socially conservative people (go figure on that one). There are no hippies, major art scene, or out gay scene. Minorities tend to be socially conservative too.

[guffb]

I would say Austin is more a middle ground town compared to a liberal one. Especially in regards to the in your face left wing Liberalism that such places as Berkley are known for. Someone in a separate forum said it perfectly:

"You can express your conservative opinions in a leftist coffeehouse and you won't feel like everyone wants to kill you. And you can say something liberal in a conservative place and you will probably be just as safe."

I think Austin has a true type of tolerance that left wing liberals think they have (as long as you see things their way) and that right wing conservatives pride themselves on not having.
Come as your are be it blue or red or god or darwin gay or straight and accept that there is more than one way to see things in life.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by guffb

I would say Austin is more a middle ground town compared to a liberal one. Especially in regards to the in your face left wing Liberalism that such places as Berkley are known for. Someone in a separate forum said it perfectly:

"You can express your conservative opinions in a leftist coffeehouse and you won't feel like everyone wants to kill you. And you can say something liberal in a conservative place and you will probably be just as safe."

I think Austin has a true type of tolerance that left wing liberals think they have (as long as you see things their way) and that right wing conservatives pride themselves on not having.
Come as your are be it blue or red or god or darwin gay or straight and accept that there is more than one way to see things in life.

VERY well said! That's it exactly.

[brattpowered]

Another thing to remember is that newly annexed conservative suburbs are counted as Austin proper along with the dense/urban/democratic parts of the city. Older and more geographically constrained cities like Seattle, Chicago, NYC, Philly, STL and San Francisco are proportionally more dense/urban/democratic than Austin.