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What I am saying is that Austin has the Image of being liberal. It especially did when it was more of a college town. And as far as College Towns go it wasn't even that liberal.
What makes Texas so conservative is the Sea of small towns surrounding the bigger cities. So when you have a blue dot surrounded by a sea of red that blue dot stands out more prominently.
As for Houston and Dallas, the cities are more liberal than Austin. The inner loop of Houston would give Austin a run for its money, but the suburbs of Houston (except some in Fort Bend) tend to lean conservative.
Also Dallas and Houston has a history of prominent politicians and the recent ones were Republican, so that kinda skews Houston and Dallas's image towards the conservative side. So although LBJ lived and taught in Houston, Its George Bush the first that everyone remembers. To make it worse George the 1st national convention in 1992 was in Houston. On the Dallas Side, George the Second's Ranch is just outside Waco near Dallas. And he chose to retire in Dallas. But just because the man likes Dallas does not mean that Dallas is all that conservative.
As for the Austin Lefty you are talking about, he is Not a Texan or a southerner. He would only feel at home in Austin. They will try and tell you that Austin is more like Portland instead of anywhere else in Texas, but that is BS. Austin is not at all like Portland. It is more like the inner loop of Houston or certain areas in Dallas. Don't try comparing Austin to ATL. Remember this is all in the heads of Austonians. When you tell them you are from [insert anywhere that is not Austin from the south here] their reply is aww, I am sorry for you.
As for your critical mass argument, that is not what I am saying at all. Austin's liberals are not very liberal at all. I am not talking about this place having more or less, I am just saying that they are only perceived as being liberal, as a holdover from the college town days. Austin is more "funny" than weird. It is funny as in the weird look that Hank Hill has when anyone on King of the Hill mentions Austin. The big local debate in Austin is not about Taxes or spending, or welfare programs, it is about who is gonna run Eeyore's Birthday party this year.
There is no critical mass of liberalism in Austin, just a lot of weirdness. They have a homeless transvestites person who runs for mayor every term and they think that makes them liberal.
I have no time for your childish Nonsense. You know Austin people like to blow a lot of hot air but it does not come close to living up to the hype. Austin is NOT Liberal as you guys would like to think. See the rest of the country and then come back and talk.
I disagree. I think Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta are just as socially liberal as Miami.
Really? Care to explain that? Miami has had a Human Rights Ordinance that protects Gays from discrimination in housing & employment since 1998. Miami also has a indegent healthcare sales tax since 1991 that covers the poor as well as a transit tax since 2002. Obama carried all three of the counties in the metro area. I don't understand the perception that somehow Miami is a conservative metro.
Did Obama carry every single county in the Dallas, Houston or Atlanta metros?
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