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I might have thought New Hampshire was more fiscally conservative than that. Wisconsin and Minnesota come out more economically right than I'd expect. Louisiana comes up highly conservative on both measures, but still has a fair amount of Democrats.
A fair amount of Appalachia comes out as "socially-conservative/economically moderate-to-liberal." I've become interested in this group as journalists are almost never members of it and so the *"New Dealers" tend to be under-reported. The reverse, libertarian views, are fairly well reported because they tend to be more affluent or educated on average so are more in newsrooms.
*One word I remember describing them. It represents that they largely stick to both the social and economic values of the FDR/Truman era. Or that they are traditional, in looking back to values of the past even if not FDR specifically, but the tradition they are of is economically to the Left.
I might have thought New Hampshire was more fiscally conservative than that. Wisconsin and Minnesota come out more economically right than I'd expect. Louisiana comes up highly conservative on both measures, but still has a fair amount of Democrats.
A fair amount of Appalachia comes out as "socially-conservative/economically moderate-to-liberal." I've become interested in this group as journalists are almost never members of it and so the *"New Dealers" tend to be under-reported. The reverse, libertarian views, are fairly well reported because they tend to be more affluent or educated on average so are more in newsrooms.
*One word I remember describing them. It represents that they largely stick to both the social and economic values of the FDR/Truman era. Or that they are traditional, in looking back to values of the past even if not FDR specifically, but the tradition they are of is economically to the Left.
I am very familiar with the Great Lakes and Appalachia. You have to be a student of history to know the general economic development patterns of this part of the country. Many jobs in the early to middle part of the 20th century were heavily industrial or factory based. This has always been a heavily unionized area compared to other parts of the country as unionism in the past brought better wages/working conditions for first generations immigrants, impoverished people coming from rural areas, etc. You will find a lot of evidence of a multitude of people from Appalachia moving to Detroit for auto factory jobs just like African Americans from the South via the Great Migration. Also, you have the Ohio River rust belt zone which is an eclectic mixture of Midwest, South, and Appalachia- a true cultural melting pot. This area is a blue dog Democrat area with a lot of social conservatives and fiscal liberals. This part of the country has a much higher concentration of people who truly believe in the "buy US label products." The Appalachians have a similar political culture, but one affiliated with mining and all of its associated impacts. Unions are important in that area due to MINE SAFETY and safe working conditions for miners. Mine strikes were common in some areas of the Appalachians in the earlier part of the 20th century, and workers demanded better working conditions and wages. The big dividing issue in Appalachia today is one that involves statism (traditional underground mining) or exploitationism (mountaintop removal).
Another oddity of the region (lower Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Appalachia) is that they all share a common negative economic theme over many decades, (non-farm employment declines, out-migration, population aging in place, infrastructure declines, loss of taxbase revenue, resource exploitation, etc). Some areas have now diversified their economies to be based more of services ranging from: healthcare, technology, education, research, etc. An example of this diversification is found in places such as Pittsburgh, Morgantown, Cincinnati, etc.
It does not surprise me at all that WV is socially conservative, as in Right-to-Life, "Guns made America great." and resistive of civil rights (Byrd was reputedly once a Klansman), and fiscally liberal, adept at getting Federal money. Wisconsin, former home of Donna Shalala, of course is socially liberal but surprisingly fiscally conservative.
It does not surprise me at all that WV is socially conservative, as in Right-to-Life, "Guns made America great." and resistive of civil rights (Byrd was reputedly once a Klansman), and fiscally liberal, adept at getting Federal money. Wisconsin, former home of Donna Shalala, of course is socially liberal but surprisingly fiscally conservative.
I have a hard time "buying" this graph... I'm from WV... I'm gay, pro-choice and as far liberal as you can pretty much get and I've never encountered any problems here. A few arguments with some older people with one foot in the grave now and then..... but I don't believe those results for a minute.
I'm fairly certain the results are nothing more than assumptions/stereotypes/ and prejudices.
Oh yeah, thanks for all those tax dollars guys! We lovvvveeee our new highways, schools, and defense contracts!!!
I have a hard time "buying" this graph... I'm from WV... I'm gay, pro-choice and as far liberal as you can pretty much get and I've never encountered any problems here. A few arguments with some older people with one foot in the grave now and then..... but I don't believe those results for a minute.
I'm fairly certain the results are nothing more than assumptions/stereotypes/ and prejudices.
Oh yeah, thanks for all those tax dollars guys! We lovvvveeee our new highways, schools, and defense contracts!!!
Maybe that just means that even in the most socially conservative states people tend to be tolerant and respectful of others different from themselves.
A find it a little surprising how economically conservative Louisiana is on here. I remember readng somewhere that it has one of the worst business environments in the country.
I also would have thought New Hampshire is more economically conservative. Illinois both more economically conservative and socially conservative than New Hampshire?
I think Illinois has more conservative areas than people think. Ogle County, Illinois (main town Rochelle) has never been won by a Democratic Presidential candidate so far as I can tell. Before the Republicans existed Ogle went for the Whigs in Presidential elections. Ogle hasn't went for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in decades either, but it has gone for Democratic Senators several times. In Illinois it looks like Bush did very well in 2004 outside of Chicago and Peoria. Obama did very well in 2008, but that might be a "home state advantage" effect.
Still I'm a bit skeptical Illinois is both more economically and socially conservative than NH. Although I did hear NH has moved to the Left a great deal in the last decade so who knows.
The graph is two years old, and reflects pre-recession attitudes. I think some have changed, especially economically. That said, I'm not surprised that CO is very economically conservative.
The graph is two years old, and reflects pre-recession attitudes. I think some have changed, especially economically. That said, I'm not surprised that CO is very economically conservative.
Economically conservative often means economically exploitative and not conservationist- particularly in Colorado. The Republican party has often seemed to forget the meaning of the word "conservation." One can have decent levels of economic growth while conserving natural resources and areas at the same time. NH is a very good example of this as land conservation is emphasized much more than other parts of the country. The tourist economy is also another key why conservation is important.
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