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Massachusetts seems to be the ideal place. Vermont is routinely voted #1 for education but despite their primarily left-leaning laws they have some of the most lenient gun-control laws in the country. Massachusetts is usually #2 for [public lower] education and is obviously also well-known for private higher ed. Massachusetts is the birthplace of public education, the birthplace of America, and the most "democratic" state in the country.
I've thought of MA for a long time but with the recent elections going Republican it worries me that their laws will start to change. Although, Arizona had a brief bout with a Democratic gov. and that didn't last long as it is mostly a red state. Maybe the same will hold true for MA.
I'm so use to a red state that I thought it would be nice to try a state that shares my political views instead of being unhappy in a state that does not. I wonder if it will make a difference? It's time for a change so I would like to try it.
Thats what I've been hearing, is that because of it's large Latino population?
At the risk of oversimplifying, yes. But I think you'll have trouble meeting these two requirements from your original post in those areas of south Texas.
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have the most gun control laws and services? Education is a top priority?
Thats what I've been hearing, is that because of it's large Latino population? Hard to picture Texas going Democrat. lol But I've heard this as well.
I think that's precisely the reason. Because of the influx of Latino population into Texas, I wouldn't be surprised to see Texas vote Democrat on a presidential level in 10 years. If you examine the counties that border the Rio Grande, their town councils, state and federal reps are all Democrats. On a Presidential election level, Brooks County Texas is one of only 2 counties ever to vote Democrat every single election. Starr County Texas is one of the poorest counties in the nation, it awards its votes, presidentially, to Democrats, on about a 90-10 scale, comparable to the black vote, actually. Webb County, Presidio County, Maverick County, Zapata County, these are all reliably Democratic. It's one of Texas's secrets, with regard to voting stigma. Most associate Texas as Republican when you leave Travis, Dallas, Harris or El Paso Counties. However, the southern cone of the state is about as 'blue' as it gets.
I've thought of MA for a long time but with the recent elections going Republican it worries me that their laws will start to change. Although, Arizona had a brief bout with a Democratic gov. and that didn't last long as it is mostly a red state. Maybe the same will hold true for MA.
I'm so use to a red state that I thought it would be nice to try a state that shares my political views instead of being unhappy in a state that does not. I wonder if it will make a difference? It's time for a change so I would like to try it.
Do be aware, however, that Oregon is not an anti-gun state.
New Jersey is now considered solidly blue. I know that we just elected a Republican governor, but don't forget, Mass. has elected Republicans recently too. Therefore, I do not think that we should overlook New Jersey.
On social issues we have civil unions for gays, we almost had gay marriage. According to the Brady Website, we have the second toughest gun control laws (if you exclude DC because it is not a state). Only California's are stricter.
As for education, I know that our universities (with a few exceptions like Princeton) are not so famous and well respected. However, if you look a the percentage of the population with PhDs, we are definetly above average.
On Politics, yes we elected a Republican governor. However, this was due to the unpopularity of his predescessor and the state of the economy. On national politics, New jersey is solidly in the Democratic camp. I had no doubt tht bama would win New Jersey. In fact, I believe that NJ went for the Democrats in all the presidential elections since 1992.
While I am sure that Massachusetts might be a little more "democratic" than New Jerey. New Jersey is definetly far behind. However, I am surprised it has been so overlooked in this discussion.
Note: Maryland is becoming more and more "democratic." It is just a little behind New Jersey due to the population growth in the DC metro area.
There are small counties in Southern Texas that haven't gone for a Republican since Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt. (Not a joke, I think it's Duval County that went for Teddy Roosevelt but no Republican since him.)
However as Bowie indicated I kind of think it wouldn't fit what you want. Texas as a whole is not that Democratic and I think South Texas is fairly Mexican so possibly the "progressives" are more of a "La Raza" or "Cesar Chavez" bent than the kind you mean.
I've thought of MA for a long time but with the recent elections going Republican it worries me that their laws will start to change. Although, Arizona had a brief bout with a Democratic gov. and that didn't last long as it is mostly a red state. Maybe the same will hold true for MA.
I don't think the overall political feel of Massachusetts has changed. There has always been a range of opinions although the democratic party has dominated and will continue to do so. The Democratic party of Mass is so powerful that many people voted for Brown because they did not one party completely dominating. Others voted for him because Mass already had universal health care and people did not want to pay for the rest of the country to have what we already have. Others, of course, just agreed more with his ideas. There is a range of reasons why that election happened the way it did, but Massachusetts turning into a "red state" is definitely not one of them.
Since 1928, Massachusetts has only voted for 2 republican presidents: Eisenhower and Reagan. We are also the only state to vote for McGovern over Nixon in '72. The Mass house of reps has a larger democratic majority than any state house or senate except Hawaii's senate (Wikipedia also says Rhode Island's house has more but it appears that is no longer true). There are 144 democrats and 16 republicans in the Mass house of reps, giving the democrats 90% of the house. The Mass senate has 34 democrats and 4 republicans, giving the democrats 89.5% of the senate.
I apologize if I made this post too political. I did my best to keep personal opinions out of it. I think republicans and democrats alike in Mass would agree it is a "democratic state."
Last edited by TheWereRabbit; 04-26-2010 at 03:08 PM..
Iowa is a pretty democratic state at the moment. Democrats control the statehouse, the governorship, most of the state offices, and three of five representatives. There's legal same-sex marriage, a smoking ban and a good education system. The gun laws are kinda middle of the road.
The governor's seat is likely to turn over this year, though, because the current Democratic governor is...well...a clod. But that's the breaks, you know?
Iowa doesn't get a lot of credit, but it is the state that got Obama started, too.
Except for the "L" (that's the row of rural counties that abut the southern and western borders of the state), MN has long been a Democratic stronghold. Things have changed a bit in the last decade, though, as the Mpls/St Paul north metro suburban counties have tended more conservative. Not sure how permanent this may be.
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