What city in TN would be described as the most liberal in the state? (Memphis: best, cities)

[Central Illinois 1]

Tennessee is a very nice state and, no offense to anyone, but when I think of liberal areas, Tennessee is not the first place that comes to mind. However, I have been around UT a few times and it seems to have some of that liberal flavor. The same thing is true for Vandy.

[Michi_B]

I definitely don't see Tennessee as 'liberal,' either, and that's perfectly fine. I guess my concern was whether the majority of Clarksvillians are accepting people who will just go about their business and let you go about yours. I never go out of my way to bother people or push my views on them, and I only want the same courtesy. As long as I can get that from the majority of people who live there, I'm sure I'll like it there just fine.

Normally I wouldn't have even asked about it, but I read some other things on the Internet about how Tennessee was not welcoming to people who weren't ultra-conservative Christian and Republican. I don't really think people should make a blanket statement about a whole state like that, and that's why I asked about Clarksville. I'm coming up for a visit next week anyway, so I'll be able to see for myself.

[jabogitlu]

Nah, most *native* Tennesseans (we have some fruit loops here from other places) are the kind that don't give a damn what you think, and don't want you to give a damn what they think, either.

[Michi_B]

Perfect! That's exactly what I'm looking for!

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Nah, most *native* Tennesseans (we have some fruit loops here from other places) are the kind that don't give a damn what you think, and don't want you to give a damn what they think, either.

[creeksitter]

Maybe you mean Libertarian rather than Liberal? Tennessee is pretty libertarian, though not in an organized way.

I think of Clarksville as a military town and to me that means more of a conservative/authoritarian mindset, but I've never been there so that's just speculation. May be decades old image of the military, too. Why did you pick Clarksville?

[Michi_B]

Price of housing, overall look of the town, city data research information, other Internet research information, weather, distance from family....I'm sure there were other reasons, that's just off the top of my head.

Originally Posted by creeksitter

Maybe you mean Libertarian rather than Liberal? Tennessee is pretty libertarian, though not in an organized way.

I think of Clarksville as a military town and to me that means more of a conservative/authoritarian mindset, but I've never been there so that's just speculation. May be decades old image of the military, too. Why did you pick Clarksville?

[BlueCuzco]

I think the city of Chattanooga actually went for Obama, though it was tight and Hamilton County as a whole went for McCain. Ethnic politics may have played a role in that, though, so I dunno what conclusions one might draw.

As a non-evangelical, very non-"Southern" Christian and a more "international" opinion about politics, I often feel on the defensive, but overall things are split reasonably closely. The atmosphere as a whole is not at all liberal, though, and you have to be careful before ranting against the horrors of Sarah Palin or creationism.

[Michi_B]

I generally don't rant against the horrors of too many things, so I should be fine. Thank you for the information, though. From the comments that have been made it doesn't look like I'll have a problem in Tennessee overall. Thanks, everyone, for the information, and thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

Originally Posted by BlueCuzco

I think the city of Chattanooga actually went for Obama, though it was tight and Hamilton County as a whole went for McCain. Ethnic politics may have played a role in that, though, so I dunno what conclusions one might draw.

As a non-evangelical, very non-"Southern" Christian and a more "international" opinion about politics, I often feel on the defensive, but overall things are split reasonably closely. The atmosphere as a whole is not at all liberal, though, and you have to be careful before ranting against the horrors of Sarah Palin or creationism.

[nevergonnaleavetn]

"The atmosphere as a whole is not at all liberal, though, and you have to be careful before ranting against the horrors of Sarah Palin or creationism."

We prefer to rant against the horrors of Barack Obama, socialism and big government.

[jabogitlu]

We prefer to rant against the horrors of Barack Obama, socialism and big government.

This is the kind of thing you'll run into here more often than not. People being snarky about socialism or Barack Obama without really having any idea of the basic tenets of different kinds of government or even what true conservatism, liberalism, socialism mean.