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I spend most of my time in the city proper. I live in a suburb, but a lot of the things I hear about Obama come from people within the city. Some of those people live in the city, usually East Memphis.
Memphis is decidedly a Democratic city no question--Obama won 62% of the vote in Shelby County--so obviously East Memphis is a conservative part of the city and doesn't represent the dominant political ideology at all.
What do you mean about this? It doesn't die off well before you reach the parish line.
Texas is very diverse. SE Texas is culturally akin to Louisiana and East Texas is deep south.
I personally think the deep south ends around the I-45 and the southern region as a whole ends around I-35, with the Hill Country being a transition zone into the west.
Even if Austin and SA do feel more western, they both did have plantations in the antebellum days, plus there is an abundance of live oaks in the area, which also feel very southern.
The Balcones fault geographically divides the the flora of the state, and most of it runs around the I-35 corridor.
Texas is considered "south west", but really it means the "Western South", because even out in Midland/Odessa, southern culture is quite prevalent. It's not the "Southern West" like Arizona and New Mexico ar.
So, the map below shows the election results from the last several decades, not based on county or state, but on the number of votes cast from a particular area. This is helpful because it reveals where large metros are, their growth, and which areas have voted consistently "democratic" over the longest period of time as a proxy for being "liberal."
Source: University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service
Here is the 2008 map frozen.
From this, you can clearly see that Miami, despite the huge Cuban influence, is perhaps the largest metro to vote majority liberal most of the time, and over a consistent period. For consistently "blue" areas, you can also see New Orleans, Atlanta, Austin, the Virginia metros, and ironically the Memphis area(?).
Generally, it looks, as expected, that the large metro areas of the South tend to vote liberal, especially in recent times (with obvious demographic shifts taking place). In many of these states; however, there are still more rural areas than large metros. And of course, it's probably a bit dubious to equate liberal voting patterns with open-minded lifestyles, but it does help paint a realistic picture of what's actually going on.
What a chart like this doesn't tell you is how fast changing many of the fast growing sunbelt counties have been since 1980. Wake County (Raleigh), as an example, was just over 300K in 1980. In 2012, Wake was more than triple that size (952K), much more diverse and much more educated.
Memphis is decidedly a Democratic city no question--Obama won 62% of the vote in Shelby County--so obviously East Memphis is a conservative part of the city and doesn't represent the dominant political ideology at all.
If you read my other posts, I know that Memphis votes primary Democrat, but there is a difference between voting liberal and being liberal. Most of that 62% votes D to keep benefits and the like, not because they are liberal. I have lived here for 13 years and I can tell you, the city is liberal in some aspects, but a lot of those liberals are more conservative than you think. They push religion, they disagree with abortion, they don't like gays, etc etc. Voting D is not being liberal.
I personally think the deep south ends around the I-45 and the southern region as a whole ends around I-35, with the Hill Country being a transition zone into the west.
Even if Austin and SA do feel more western, they both did have plantations in the antebellum days, plus there is an abundance of live oaks in the area, which also feel very southern.
The Balcones fault geographically divides the the flora of the state, and most of it runs around the I-35 corridor.
Texas is considered "south west", but really it means the "Western South", because even out in Midland/Odessa, southern culture is quite prevalent. It's not the "Southern West" like Arizona and New Mexico ar.
I think the Deep South ends at highway 287 and then a line north to Athens to Greenville to east of Sherman. Just a boy more west and the trees get shorter and more sparse before you even get to 35. You are already in the transition zone once you get to 45. The land becomes wide open and the accents and demeanor changes. Still southern, but what most think if Texas Southern.
If you read my other posts, I know that Memphis votes primary Democrat, but there is a difference between voting liberal and being liberal. Most of that 62% votes D to keep benefits and the like, not because they are liberal. I have lived here for 13 years and I can tell you, the city is liberal in some aspects, but a lot of those liberals are more conservative than you think. They push religion, they disagree with abortion, they don't like gays, etc etc. Voting D is not being liberal.
A+ post.
I will never understand those who automatically think Democrat = Liberal or Republican = Conservative.
New Orleans and Miami probably. Houston's metro didn't seem very liberal at all when I lived there. The city did but not the suburbs, they felt like typical southern politics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilly Gentilly
Definitely New Orleans
Orleans and St. John are the only parishes in the metro that went for Obama. The majority of the New Orleans area is overwhelmingly conservative. Not at all close to being one of the most liberal southern metros.
I lived in Tampa for seven years and found the whole metro to be very liberal and tolerant. Only a couple of times did I ever experience any type of harassment for being gay. I just moved to Atlanta yesterday and it feels very liberal but I know that is just because I am living in midtown. I hear that burbs can be very conservative. I wouldn't call Tampa's suburbs conservative.
Can you name for me a predominantly white suburb of New Orleans where more than 40% of the population voted for Obama?
I was under the impression that the person I quoted was talking about the edge of New Orleans proper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nairobi
Orleans and St. John are the only parishes in the metro that went for Obama. The majority of the New Orleans area is overwhelmingly conservative. Not at all close to being one of the most liberal southern metros.
You don't have to vote D to be socially liberal.
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