Why are some Midwest areas Democratic but some very similar ones are blood red? (2014, attorney)
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Why is there a state-sized circle between Minneapolis and Missouri where Romney lost about every county but all the farmers between West Illinois and East Ohio seem to hate Obama? The 3rd county south of Chicago is especially red, as is a slug of counties on the central OH-IN border (strangely enough, only the Ohio side even though Indiana's so racist that even in the north of the state in the 30s they broke a black man's arms cause he was trying to untie himself while hanging. And sledgehammered the jail open to get him and no white person was ever arrested. You have to have a trial people, and no strangling and torture and lynch mobs and public executions). What makes the rural Wisconsin-Iowa border a magic Republican repellant like when you put a drop of penicillin on a Petri dish and bacteria can't grow within a certain distance of it? Why do the Milwaukee suburbs hate Obama?
Why is there a state-sized circle between Minneapolis and Missouri where Romney lost about every county but all the farmers between West Illinois and East Ohio seem to hate Obama? The 3rd county south of Chicago is especially red, as is a slug of counties on the central OH-IN border (strangely enough, only the Ohio side even though Indiana's so racist that even in the north of the state in the 30s they broke a black man's arms cause he was trying to untie himself while hanging. And sledgehammered the jail open to get him and no white person was ever arrested. You have to have a trial people, and no strangling and torture and lynch mobs and public executions). What makes the rural Wisconsin-Iowa border a magic Republican repellant like when you put a drop of penicillin on a Petri dish and bacteria can't grow within a certain distance of it? Why do the Milwaukee suburbs hate Obama?
The Midwest is sharply divided between its rural and urban cultures. These states also may lean blue but are usually very socially conservative. One of the states fighting gay marriage in the supreme court was Michigan, a so called blue state. Guns and hunting are also very big in most Midwest states in spite of the democratic leaning. The Midwestern politics are very complicated. Farm subsidies, auto unions and college towns bring the region into the blue state realm, but the values of the place are awful red in most places. Its a very conflicted place.
The Midwest is sharply divided between its rural and urban cultures. These states also may lean blue but are usually very socially conservative. One of the states fighting gay marriage in the supreme court was Michigan, a so called blue state. Guns and hunting are also very big in most Midwest states in spite of the democratic leaning. The Midwestern politics are very complicated. Farm subsidies, auto unions and college towns bring the region into the blue state realm, but the values of the place are awful red in most places. Its a very conflicted place.
In Michigan, that was because of a Republican Governor that was catering to his base. It in now way represented the majority of the opinion of Michiganders. In fact, when the Governor discovered that most of the Republicans in the state did not appose gay marriage, he distanced himself from the Attorney General's case.
Most of Michigan's population is very progressive and July 9th was a huge day of celebration throughout the state.
You all are missing the point. The OP is talking about the counties of the Driftless Area which vote democratic despite being rural and mostly white.
One theory I've heard is that because the region is very hilly it is not conducive to large scale agribusiness. Farms in the Driftless tend to be small, and owners of such farms are more likely to feel that their interests are better represented by the Democrats. The other predominantly white rural area that votes Democrat (New England) is similar in terms of the way their agriculture is structured.
You all are missing the point. The OP is talking about the counties of the Driftless Area which vote democratic despite being rural and mostly white.
One theory I've heard is that because the region is very hilly it is not conducive to large scale agribusiness. Farms in the Driftless tend to be small, and owners of such farms are more likely to feel that their interests are better represented by the Democrats. The other predominantly white rural area that votes Democrat (New England) is similar in terms of the way their agriculture is structured.
I'd agree with this. I don't know much about the area you are discussing, but I know a lot of small farm operators where I live in the Flint Hills, which sounds like it may be similar to the driftless area, around Lawrence, Topeka, and Manhattan, Kansas there are many left leaning "hobby" farmers. These are mostly middle age to older people that grew up in urban areas and decided they wanted a slower paced life. While in Kansas they are not blue areas, you can tell they are lighter red because of their influence, also because of universities and the urban areas. Small farm operators do tend to lean Democratic, but most are not overly liberal from my experiences. Both sides of my family owned small farms, and we would go to farmers markets a few days a week. Most of those people are not conservative, but not really liberal either.
You all are missing the point. The OP is talking about the counties of the Driftless Area which vote democratic despite being rural and mostly white.
One theory I've heard is that because the region is very hilly it is not conducive to large scale agribusiness. Farms in the Driftless tend to be small, and owners of such farms are more likely to feel that their interests are better represented by the Democrats. The other predominantly white rural area that votes Democrat (New England) is similar in terms of the way their agriculture is structured.
That Driftless area is interesting. Northwestern IL, northeastern IA, southwestern WI and Southeastern MN have evolved into a pretty Democratic area in presidential election years. Still very agricultural, but the farms are smaller, and there might be some outlying influence radiating from college towns like Madison and Iowa City, along with Minneapolis and Chicago.
You all are missing the point. The OP is talking about the counties of the Driftless Area which vote democratic despite being rural and mostly white.
It's worth noting that while the Driftless area is an anomaly, it's not really that different from the rest of the rural upper Midwest politically.
Look at Wisconsin as a whole. The most right wing portions of the state are not rural areas, but the Milwaukee suburbs. Most "Republican" areas in the North Woods and Fox Valley only voted somewhere between 50% and 55% for Romney. That's Republican enough that Democrats won't win local elections, but it's still pretty moderate compared to rural areas elsewhere in the country.
The same basic pattern can be seen in Minnesota, Michigan, and portions of Iowa and northern Illinois. Rural counties tend to be either light red or light blue, as opposed to heavily conservative like areas further south in the Midwest.
The Midwest is sharply divided between its rural and urban cultures. These states also may lean blue but are usually very socially conservative. One of the states fighting gay marriage in the supreme court was Michigan, a so called blue state. Guns and hunting are also very big in most Midwest states in spite of the democratic leaning. The Midwestern politics are very complicated. Farm subsidies, auto unions and college towns bring the region into the blue state realm, but the values of the place are awful red in most places. Its a very conflicted place.
Well, those are some nice, sweeping generalizations for you. End the thread, guys, we have our answer!
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