[magellan]

Originally Posted by Sparrow_temp

I'd say the more appropriate word would be devolving since we're talking about a moral decline.

Who's talking about a moral decline? People were just talking about which areas were the most "conservative".

I'll stick by my term "evolving".

[Mathemagician]

If your looking for evangelical churches I recommend talking to some people at Great Lakes Christian College. They have a website, it's a good place to start.

[kpy85]

I've just been doing some election research, going state by state, county by county, looking at voting trends and it appears I've found a voting block that is as automatic for the Republican party as Mormons......and that is DUTCH Americans!

Not only is Ottawa county extremely Dutch and extremely Republican but a few days ago I came across an outlier county in Iowa.......Sioux County. Most counties in Iowa are somewhat moderate but Sioux County voted 86-14 in favor of Bush in 2004. I wanted to know why this county was so Republican and it took me a long time but finally I looked at Ancestry, and I noticed the county was 61% Dutch!

I guess I totally had the wrong interpretation of the Dutch. When I think of the Netherlands I think of Amsterdam, rolling the Dutchie, and passing the spliff..........basically the polar opposite of conservative republicans.

[dutchinnd]

Well, as third generation Dutch american, my classmates and I used to say, and only half in jest, that the Netherlands today is known for its tolerance because all the intolerant people emigrated to the US.

[Coldjensens]

You will probably be fine anywhere except Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ferndale. That is all I can think of. Most of Michigan is pretty conservative except for those three cities.

[snoopygirlmi]

The easy answer to that question is Grand Rapids/Holland area. Very Dutch/Christian Reform/Christian. A Jewish friend of mine had a saying when he lived in the area "if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much" because of the conservative, christian culture in the area. (And he/his family weren't christian/conservative, so it was hard for them to fit in to the culture there) But the Dutch are good people, just tight-knit.

Ottawa County is the place to be if you are a Republican in the state....candidates compete over how pro-life they are, not IF they are pro-life.

Kalamazoo County went for Kerry in 2004, but it was the only blue county in West Michigan.

Macomb County, by contrast, is socially conservative, but pretty moderate/liberal when it comes to politics. Northern Macomb county is solid Republican, South of M-59 is either moderate or more liberal as you get closer to Detroit. Very mixed and hard for Republicans to win. Sander Levin is the US Rep for South Macomb - huge Dem and brother of Carl Levin. Candace Miller is the US Rep for North Macomb - Republican powerbroker/matron of the area. Same county, two different political realities....

Also, West Bloomfield has a lot of money, but very liberal politics. Same with a lot of the Detroit suburbs in Oakland County. Oakland is now a battleground county whereas before it was solid Republican. The US Rep (District 9) Knollenberg has been targeted this cycle/the past cycle by the Dems as a potential pickup for them.

Conservatives on this side of the state look like moderates/liberals in places like Grand Rapids/Holland.

However, we do have (more than, it seems) our fair share of mega-churches...Woodside Bible, Kensington - complete with multiple locations if you don't live to the central church....

But Michigan is a fairly conservative state overall. Take a look at the Red/Blue map from 2004 and you will see that for the most part - we are a Red state, despite going for Clinton/Gore/Kerry in recent presidential cycles.

More conservatives are always welcome to move to the Detroit Metro area to help get our numbers up and get the libs out of office. 8-)

Oh- Macomb/Oakland counties get a lot of visits from presidential candidates during the cycle - a few weeks ago, I went to see McCain/Palin at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights - you get few of those chances in other parts of the state.

[Alt Dach]

Originally Posted by dutchinnd

Well, as third generation Dutch american, my classmates and I used to say, and only half in jest, that the Netherlands today is known for its tolerance because all the intolerant people emigrated to the US.

Thats a widely held opinion in the Netherlands itself.
Throughout Europe its a generally held opinion that only
the riff-raff immigrated to the US. It used to make me angry
but lately........

[magellan]

Originally Posted by snoopygirlmi

The easy answer to that question is Grand Rapids/Holland area. Very Dutch/Christian Reform/Christian. A Jewish friend of mine had a saying when he lived in the area "if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much" because of the conservative, christian culture in the area. (And he/his family weren't christian/conservative, so it was hard for them to fit in to the culture there) But the Dutch are good people, just tight-knit.

Ottawa County is the place to be if you are a Republican in the state....candidates compete over how pro-life they are, not IF they are pro-life.

Kalamazoo County went for Kerry in 2004, but it was the only blue county in West Michigan.

Macomb County, by contrast, is socially conservative, but pretty moderate/liberal when it comes to politics. Northern Macomb county is solid Republican, South of M-59 is either moderate or more liberal as you get closer to Detroit. Very mixed and hard for Republicans to win. Sander Levin is the US Rep for South Macomb - huge Dem and brother of Carl Levin. Candace Miller is the US Rep for North Macomb - Republican powerbroker/matron of the area. Same county, two different political realities....

Also, West Bloomfield has a lot of money, but very liberal politics. Same with a lot of the Detroit suburbs in Oakland County. Oakland is now a battleground county whereas before it was solid Republican. The US Rep (District 9) Knollenberg has been targeted this cycle/the past cycle by the Dems as a potential pickup for them.

Conservatives on this side of the state look like moderates/liberals in places like Grand Rapids/Holland.

However, we do have (more than, it seems) our fair share of mega-churches...Woodside Bible, Kensington - complete with multiple locations if you don't live to the central church....

But Michigan is a fairly conservative state overall. Take a look at the Red/Blue map from 2004 and you will see that for the most part - we are a Red state, despite going for Clinton/Gore/Kerry in recent presidential cycles.

More conservatives are always welcome to move to the Detroit Metro area to help get our numbers up and get the libs out of office. 8-)

Oh- Macomb/Oakland counties get a lot of visits from presidential candidates during the cycle - a few weeks ago, I went to see McCain/Palin at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights - you get few of those chances in other parts of the state.

Obviously you're an Eastsider making those characterizations. The City of Grand Rapids has voted Democrat overwhelmingly in the last 5 - 6 presidential and congressional elections. Kent County voted for Bush in 04, but just over the majority at about 55% (which was close to the national average). Ottawa County went 71% Bush.

The whole "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much" is an OLD saying in the Dutch community. Your friend didn't coin the phrase.

[jrmontag]

Anywhere except metro Detroit, A2, and maybe Traverse City.

Seriously, no mention of the UP, northeast LP (i.e. Alpena), central Michigan (i.e. Clare), the thumb?.....the word liberal probably doesn't exist in those areas

[Tyryztoll]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

You will probably be fine anywhere except Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ferndale. That is all I can think of. Most of Michigan is pretty conservative except for those three cities.

Sure aint conservative up here in Petoskey. I never heard so much hatred and ignorance spewed about conservatism in my life. This area is packed with Bush/McCain/Palin hating, Obama loving lemmings. Of course, none of them can tell you exactly WHY they like Obama so much, other than he just happens to be the democratic candidate on the tail end of the Bush presidency....

....and as far as Detroit being the most liberal city in the country, whoever made that claim has obviously never been to L.A., San Francisco, New York, Seattle or Boston. Not even close.