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Except are traditional Oregonians really reflective of the state that much? When I visited it seemed the majority of the people had moved from elsewhere. Felt like that created a very different attitude than New England, where most have had family in the area for generations.
About 55 percent of Oregonians were born out of state, however something like 18 percent of those 55 percent were born in California or Washington, so most people there are still at least West Coast natives.
Definitely the PNW. Outside of Seattle, Portland, the "artsy communities" and the college towns, the states are pretty conservative. Seattle and Portland have the biggest population base so in the state elections the more rural conservative areas practically have no say.
It would make sense to limit the thread to the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascades. There's nothing liberal about the Pacific Northwest east of the Cascades
It wouldn't make a difference. My answer would be the same.
I would agree that most of urban New England is quite traditional. But even so, there are still plenty of cities that are just plain liberal as hell, such as Burlington, Northampton, New Haven, Portland and of course, Provincetown.
Another important distinction--people in the Pacific Northwest are lot more liberal, progressive, and open-minded than people in New England, who are still very conventional, traditional, and parochial by comparison. Lots of narrow-mindedness in New England--most people don't travel much, don't stray too far from home, and tend to live in the same town or even the same home for their entire lives. For those reasons alone, the Pacific Northwest--even the inland areas--*feels* less "conservative" than New England, at least in my perception.
As compared to say, California where they are more totalitarian and have laws for everything?
Another important distinction--people in the Pacific Northwest are lot more liberal, progressive, and open-minded than people in New England, who are still very conventional, traditional, and parochial by comparison. Lots of narrow-mindedness in New England--most people don't travel much, don't stray too far from home, and tend to live in the same town or even the same home for their entire lives. For those reasons alone, the Pacific Northwest--even the inland areas--*feels* less "conservative" than New England, at least in my perception.
Clearly you're confusing New England Libertarians with the Tea Party which are completely separate entities. There is not "lots of narrow-mindedness" in New England as anyone familiar with the area will tell you of it's "Live and Let Live" mindset in general.
Another important distinction--people in the Pacific Northwest are lot more liberal, progressive, and open-minded than people in New England, who are still very conventional, traditional, and parochial by comparison. Lots of narrow-mindedness in New England--most people don't travel much, don't stray too far from home, and tend to live in the same town or even the same home for their entire lives.
Exactly.
New England is "liberal" on a political map, but in terms of behavior they are very traditional. When asked questions about politics and society they give very "politically correct" answers, but when it comes down to real life application I don't see much of a difference in compared to the supposedly more "conservative" townspeople in Pennsylvania, for example.
Except are traditional Oregonians really reflective of the state that much? When I visited it seemed the majority of the people had moved from elsewhere. Felt like that created a very different attitude than New England, where most have had family in the area for generations.
Which parts of Oregon did you visit? How many people do you know in Oregon? I know Oregon families who not only have lived in Oregon for many generations but some who can trace their families back to coming over from back East on the Oregon Trail.
I don't think of Oregon as more progressive than most other states although some of its major cities are more liberal than others within that state.
Oregon voted against same sex marriage and even changed its constitution to ban it when more liberal Portland allowed it for a short period of time in 2004. It's up again in November's election and is being supported by the many transplants from the East and California but polls have shown that the natives are now saying that they might change their minds because it's the way the tide is turning and voting against it might be hurting tourism in the areas that depend upon it.
Meantime, look at all the Eastern and Midwestern states that have allowed it.
Oregon was also last in creating a workable healthcare bill to go along with the Affordable Healthcare Act while spending millions on incomprehensible TV ads and a signup system that did not work. Neither were sent out for bidding, instead the traditional "good old boy" political cronyism reminiscent to me of my days in Chicago and its political machine was used to award the contracts. This resulted in Federal investigation.
Many newcomers complain that the one for profit newspaper in Portland is too conservative which is probably why the free paper has gained so much popularity amongst newcomers.
Just a visit to the cities will reveal more transplants because those who were born in the state don't tend to go to the tourist hangouts just in like every other city. I lived in Portland for quite a few years before I was accepted by any natives. They can be pretty darn wary of transplants.
While you will find the larger Oregon cities filled with more transplants, the more rural areas are where more of the native born Oregonians will be. All together they form a more traditional and provincial majority. Now having said that, friends I know who live in these areas do tell me this is slowly changing as more people from other parts of the country manage to settle into the smaller Oregon towns. It's a hard life in many of these places so any of these changes will take place slowly but they will probably come.
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