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Certainly the bigger cities are not conservative when you talk about Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston so there would be minimal impact to a liberal living in any of those cities. If you live in a smaller city, most are usually conservative but still a minor impact to your actual lifestyle.
I'm Conservative Libertarian and live in a liberal enclave which doesn't bother me, I know that my vote in state elections and Presidential elections is essentially useless. At least in the case of Washington, the state is run conservatively when it comes to economic policy and liberal when it comes to social issues which is mostly a good mix for me.
I know what you mean here, but for the most part, this is because of more black people living in Charleston and Columbia. Voting is pretty polarized by race in South Carolina, even in the cities, albeit not as much as Mississippi or Alabama. I think the only majority white "liberal" neighborhoods are
Odd. How differently they vote from whites in Massachusetts, strange place down there.
To be honest, people didn't actually talk about religion so much, but they spouted their political beliefs all the time. Occasionally one woman at my last job would express an opinion that was seen as liberal (in reality it was usually just moderately conservative), and you would think she just urinated on a Confederate flag, judging by the reactions of the others. She was essentially ostracized, and the only reason she kept her job was because her mom was the owner of the company. As I found myself growing less religious and more liberal, I began to feel more and more like a outcast. Eventually I felt like I didn't have a friend in the world (which probably would have been true if I had ever been myself around them).
Oh, I could fake it well enough (if there's one thing I learned as a Southerner, it was how to fake it in order to fit in)
Pretty much this. Especially the fake it to fit in part.
As to the other poster listing Miami as part of the south I'd say most people don't consider FL part of the south. At least the southern part. Miami is easy if you're liberal, although there are other issues down there.
A majority of whites only vote Democratic in New England, New York, and Hawaii. But there were lots of states with white support in the 49%-35% range which Obama won through having a multiracial voting coalition.
A majority of whites only vote Democratic in New England, New York, and Hawaii. But there were lots of states with white support in the 49%-35% range which Obama won through having a multiracial voting coalition.
I've seen that before; one issue I had was it assumed non-white/non-black voters (mostly hispanics in most states) vote the same everywhere. That isn't true; hispanic voting patterns are influenced by the local political culture; hispanics in Texas vote less Democratic than hispanics in California. And Florida as well, though mainly from its large Cuban population. It also seems to assume the proportion of voters by race follows from the proportion of residents by race.
I've seen that before; one issue I had was it assumed non-white/non-black voters (mostly hispanics in most states) vote the same everywhere. That isn't true; hispanic voting patterns are influenced by the local political culture; hispanics in Texas vote less Democratic than hispanics in California. And Florida as well, though mainly from its large Cuban population. It also seems to assume the proportion of voters by race follows from the proportion of residents by race.
Yeah, it's not a perfect model. It does match fairly closely the exit poll information which I saw after the 2012 election though (which wasn't available for all states, and has since been scrubbed mostly from the web).
I do think there is an issue with slight under-representation of white Democratic support in some states for the reasons you outlined. But I think overall you can say with certainty there are big differences between how likely a white voter is to be a Democrat in New England, the Mid Atlantic, or the Deep South.
I know what you mean here, but for the most part, this is because of more black people living in Charleston and Columbia. Voting is pretty polarized by race in South Carolina, even in the cities, albeit not as much as Mississippi or Alabama. I think the only majority white "liberal" neighborhoods are
Columbia: University Hill, Wales Garden, Hollywood, Shandon (most of which are adjacent to USC)
Charleston: French Quarter, Ansonborough, King Street Historic District, Harleston Village, Radcliffborough - white areas of the peninsula, excluding South of Broad, which is pretty conservative.
I'm defining white liberal here to mean neighborhoods which are more than 60% white where Obama won. Still in many cases, Obama's percentage in 2008 was only in the 56%-68% range - which would make them pretty conservative for northern urban areas.
Racial composition is certainly a significant part of it, but Columbia and Charleston are truly moderate/slightly left of center. I remember reading that when SC put the gay marriage referendum on the ballot several years ago when Sanford was still governor, a majority of Charlestonians against voted against it (although it passed in Charleston County). And one measure you can use to roughly determine how liberal these cities are is using the HRC's Municipal Equality Index which measures local government support for the LGBT population in different areas. In the latest rankings, Columbia scored the highest in the Carolinas and Charleston wasn't very far behind.
Everyone's experiences will be difference because they'll inevitably be around a wide variety of people on a daily basis. I lived in what is essentially a suburb of Nashville for the first 32 years of my life, and once I was old enough to form my own opinions on religion and politics, I made sure to keep them to myself. To be honest, people didn't actually talk about religion so much, but they spouted their political beliefs all the time.
I get the opposite in Kentucky - not much talk about politics, just gog, god, god, godgododgodgod and more god. In the town I live in, fundamentalists stand on the corner and march around on the sidewalks on weekends with big signs warning me about how much I'm going to hate hell. People put menacing religious signs in their yards ("God is coming - how will he judge you?"), they even put giant billboards up on the roadsides. People say grace at Burger King, and if you don't shut up and observe a moment of silence while they do it, you get the glares and the mutterings.
I hear people talking to one another about the "dangers of education," and then everyone nods solemnly and says, "praise god." We've got snake-handlers in this town, although nobody really talks about it that much. Every now and then the state police break them up, or more often their snakes get loose and people find them. When someone kills a 4-foot western diamondback in Central Kentucky, you know it didn't get there on a Greyhound. Someone brought it here, and it got away.
It's downright spooky, like a Stephen King novel or something. Every time I drive past the courthouse, I half expect to see someone burning a witch or something. And I won't be the least bit surprised if someday they do.
I get the opposite in Kentucky - not much talk about politics, just gog, god, god, godgododgodgod and more god. In the town I live in, fundamentalists stand on the corner and march around on the sidewalks on weekends with big signs warning me about how much I'm going to hate hell.
Things that the south says you can go to hell for should be a drinking game.
Just be careful where you play it, because selling alcohol is still illegal in many counties down here.
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