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OP, I will try and give some info about the political climate in Iowa. Our state has perhaps a little over 1/3 German immigrant ancestry, and doubt that much over half of those are catholic, and those that are catholic are more concentrated in the eastern part of the state. We certainly are not the least populated state in the midwest, if you consider ND, SD, NE & KS to be midwestern.
The western 1/3 of the state is very conservative, this is Steve King territory and he will rule the roost there until he retires from politics. The eastern 2/3 leans democrat, but many of those people are not on the same page as the party leadership, whom has always wanted us to be more like MN, WI and IL. We never had the population and tax base to support that agenda. The democrats most always choose the most liberal candidates when they should pick moderates, they push leftist social values and public worker unions, and have the local media outlets in their pocket, they always want higher pay for state workers and social programs, even if the funding is not there.
Iowa has had 2 very effective republican governors that have been in office for most the period since 1969, Robert Ray and Terry Branstad. They both, especially the latter, have had a good understanding of the farm economy and been fiscally responsible with the budget, not being afraid to say NO, when the dems come a knocking for more money. Branstad got a balanced budget amendment passed in the 90's, and he retired from politics for a decade and for a decade we had democratic governors, a strong one followed by a weak one, Tom Vilsac became Sec of Ag for Obama and Chet Culver took over for one term. There were a series of scandals during his term and he let the liberal wing of the party do all the things they like to do, raise teacher pay with no funding, pass smoking bans and triple the tax on tobacco, push for gay marriage which really wasn't all that popular, the judges pushed that. Lots of little scams with public funds, CIETC scandal, Film production scandal, rising debt. Then the recession hit, and state revenues declined 10% and it all went sour.
Terry Branstad came back in 2010 to save us from that, and we are back on track now, even with the farm economy in slight decline as of late, from lower grain prices. Tom Harkin, a powerful democratic senator retired back in 2012 and almost every representative for the house and senate (federal) have been replaced with republicans. They are a very refreshing lot, and Chuck Grassley is the grandfather looking out for them, with our head of state, Terry Branstad looking out for our state as a whole, the media attacks him relentlessly, to spite him being the best governor we have ever had, and longest serving governor in the US, over 21 years service.
The big squabble now is over the Bakken Pipeline and the protesting. Farmers that pollute the water and kill bees and butterflies are protesting the oil company that might spill a few drops of oil on their land and pollute it. The protesters all arrive at the sight of protest on 2 dollar a gallon gas provided by the bakken oil fields in ND, which has to be trucked to the refineries because some stupid protesters are slowing down the much more efficient transport of oil via a pipeline that's not finished yet for some reason.
Iowa's population is mostly German Catholic, Indiana's White population has both German Catholic and lots of people with White Southern heritage, the later tends to be a big supporter of the GOP.
Bingo! It's the Kentucky Effect. That's why so much of southern Ohio is hard right conservative. Kentuckians and West Virginianians came north for the better jobs, and Indiana was a huge recipient.
It's no coincidence that the KKK was huge in Indiana....the only northern state where they gained that kind of traction.
Perhaps. Most of Indiana hates the area in the upper NW part of the state near Chicago and pretend like it isn't part of IN.
That has nothing to do with it. The only cities in that area with a halfway decent population are Gary, Portage, Valpo, Mishawaka, Elkhart and South Bend. And Gary itself has lost half its population after the mills closed down.
If Indianans have any issues with their urbanites, it should be with Indianapolis if anything.
That said, Indiana is no different than any other state in that way. Rural vs urban is the current American battleground in every state.
You're correct, of course. Darn letters are right next to each other and I have sausage fingers.
I've got the same problem with these darn keyboards. I can spell pretty well, but I'm the world's worst typist. Those microscopic virtual keyboards on smart phones are the worst.
The Upper Midwest - Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa - share Scandinavian heritage and a long history of progressive politics. These states are also known for excellent public education systems and generous welfare.
Indiana has a bit more Southern influence, and probably has more in common with Kentucky than Iowa. It's in the Bible Belt, not as much emphasis on education or welfare. Oh, and Indiana was a hotbed of the KKK at one time in its history.
So how do Ohio and Illinois relate with Indiana? I have a hard time believing that the two states that border it don't share a lot of similar values and the same sorts of people.
That has nothing to do with it. The only cities in that area with a halfway decent population are Gary, Portage, Valpo, Mishawaka, Elkhart and South Bend. And Gary itself has lost half its population after the mills closed down.
If Indianans have any issues with their urbanites, it should be with Indianapolis if anything.
That said, Indiana is no different than any other state in that way. Rural vs urban is the current American battleground in every state.
Indianapolis: 2 million metro
Fort Wayne: 450k metro
Evansville: 330k metro
South Bend: 320k metro, 520k if you include neighboring Elkhart
Muncie: 130k metro
Bloomington: unsure on metro, but city is 90k.
And you still have Terre Haute, all of North Western Indiana, Jeffersonville, and Lafayette.
Perhaps. Most of Indiana hates the area in the upper NW part of the state near Chicago and pretend like it isn't part of IN.
I grew up in NW indiana and we never thought of ourselves as hoosiers, I never knew the name of our mayor, when some would ask I just said 'daley"--the mayor of chicago.
Bingo! It's the Kentucky Effect. That's why so much of southern Ohio is hard right conservative. Kentuckians and West Virginianians came north for the better jobs, and Indiana was a huge recipient.
It's no coincidence that the KKK was huge in Indiana....the only northern state where they gained that kind of traction.
as a former hoosier, indiana is the most northern state in the country, it really belongs down there with alabama.
as a former hoosier, indiana is the most northern state in the country, it really belongs down there with alabama.
ouch!!! That was a little harsh, don't ya think?
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