Forgive me if this has been asked: Which city is more liberal, and which has more transplants: Columbia or Greenville? (Charleston: home, school)

[g-man430]

Just remember which city has Maurice's BBQ and the confederate flag flown downtown.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by gsupstate

Richland went for Obama because of the much higher black population in Richland. This says nothing about being being a true liberal, it just shows the votes were along racial lines.

There is no true liberal city in South Carolina.

Approximately 40% of registered voters in Richland County are African-American, which means the white vote was about evenly split in Richland County. Obama got 64% of the vote in Richland, 37% in Greenville County.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by g-man430

Just remember which city has Maurice's BBQ and the confederate flag flown downtown.

The confederate flag is flown by the state, not by the city. Maurice is an idiot for sure, but he lives in Lexington County and his company is based in Lexington County. If we have to claim Maurice then Greenville has to claim the Redneck Shop.

[g-man430]

You know i'm just messing with you Waccamatt.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by g-man430

Just remember which city has Maurice's BBQ and the confederate flag flown downtown.

The Confederate flag is on state property--property that represents Greenville as well as Columbia. And I'd say that Maurice's BBQ and BJU cancel each other out. That just comes with the territory in good ol' SC. Those things say more about the state than the cities themselves.

As far as Richland County supposedly going for Obama due to the Black population in Richland and because Obama is Black, that explanation is quite inadequate. Richland County is a consistently Democratic county, no matter who happens to be the presidential candidate (and more Whites reside in Richland County than Blacks). Obama got 64% of the county vote in 2008, Kerry got 57% in 2004, Gore got 54% in 2000, and Clinton got 55% in 1996. I'm pretty sure there was an uptick in the numbers of Blacks voting in this election, but to pin Obama's performance in Richland County to the Black population alone is ludicrous. But even then if you want to look at something aside from racial voting patterns that might give an idea as to how liberal a place is, look at results of the state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that was on the ballot in 2006. Charleston County had the highest number of residents that voted to repeal the ban at 35%. Next came Richland County at 33%, Beaufort County at 29%, Horry County at 26%, and Lee County at 25%. I think that's one benchmark to look at in terms of how "liberal" certain places in SC are.

[gsupstate]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

Approximately 40% of registered voters in Richland County are African-American, which means the white vote was about evenly split in Richland County. Obama got 64% of the vote in Richland, 37% in Greenville County.

"Liberal" and "democrat" are not interchangeable terms. Look at California where 80% of the black population voted against same sex marriage. I know plenty of black people who vote democrat, but are FAR from liberal.

I travel a great deal and can name many liberal cities (Seattle, Burlington, Charlottesville, Austin, Boise, Madison, Portland, etc, etc)......Columbia is not one of that genre. Sorry.

[gsupstate]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

The confederate flag is flown by the state, not by the city. Maurice is an idiot for sure, but he lives in Lexington County and his company is based in Lexington County. If we have to claim Maurice then Greenville has to claim the Redneck Shop.

And what about Columbia's "Southern Patriot Shop"? They have a huge rebel flag flying for everyone at the I-26 / I-77 junction to see in the southern part of the city. Liberal????? I think not.

SPLCenter.org: 'Heritage' for Sale

[motonenterprises]

Boy you guys have me laughing. For the record, BJU is evolving and did you know black students attend the school and he apologized for past behavior? Maurice's didn't apologize for jack and the redneck shop is actually in Laurens and couldn't even stand in Greenville. They would be run out. Decision to fly the confederate flag came from government, which is in guess what city?

[g-man430]

Proof Greenville is diverse and has many transplants: Arab Americans march on Main Street to protest Gaza invasion | GreenvilleOnline.com | The Greenville News

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by motonenterprises

Decision to fly the confederate flag came from government, which is in guess what city?

Columbia is the state capital, and state government--made up of representatives from all over the state--made that decision, not Columbia city officials. That doesn't reflect on Columbia as a city; it reflects on SC as a state. When people hear about the Confederate flag flying on Statehouse grounds, it gives them a negative perception about SOUTH CAROLINA as a whole and its cities (including Greenville). Unfair, but reality.