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The evening nightly news has been showing preliminary maps of the U.S. shaded in either dark blue, light blue, dark red or light red as to where states are leaning. Colorado, Virginia, Ohio, and New Hampshire are the only gray states which are split down the middle for Romney and Obama. My question is, if Mississippi is generally a poor state, along with the highest African American population percentage-wise in the country, why is it dark red? Why don't the poor, and middle income people recognize Romney as another republican who's primary objective is to maintain low taxes for the rich? I live in MA and I will tell you that Romney is a pathological liar who will say ANYTHING to get elected.
There is apparently a direct correlation between church attendance and voting Republican and most Mississippians attend church at least once if not twice a week. The emphasis is on personal responsibility versus government dependency, strong defense, individual freedom including for businesses attempting to develop and grow, strong law enforcement, and opportunity through a booming economy.
The evening nightly news has been showing preliminary maps of the U.S. shaded in either dark blue, light blue, dark red or light red as to where states are leaning. Colorado, Virginia, Ohio, and New Hampshire are the only gray states which are split down the middle for Romney and Obama. My question is, if Mississippi is generally a poor state, along with the highest African American population percentage-wise in the country, why is it dark red? Why don't the poor, and middle income people recognize Romney as another republican who's primary objective is to maintain low taxes for the rich? I live in MA and I will tell you that Romney is a pathological liar who will say ANYTHING to get elected.
How many forums did you copy and paste this in? So far I've seen it in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Mississippi?
This is the way I see it. Most African-Americans nationwide have voted Democrat consistently. Mississippi is no exception. Look at the counties in Mississippi that are majority Black. Those counties voted for President Obama. The majority White counties voted for McCain. Mississippi is an analysis of how stark the divide there is when it comes to race and politics.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Mississippians are white, rural, middle-class, and religious. Generally that type of person votes the way their preacher tells them to vote(*), which means they vote for the party that is officially anti-abortion and against the party that is perceived to be pro-homosexual.
For those voting for economic reasons, they look around and believe they see all the lazy black folk down the road getting guv'mint assistance (ignoring all the white folk who are getting the same assistance, because the white folk are just down on their luck and the black folk are pure-D lazy), and they vote against the party they believe is taking their hard-earned money and giving it to the lazy folk.
Others listen to the venom and bile spewed across the airwaves by the likes of Rush (he's right, so he's gotta be right, right?) and Glen and such.
So the result is that hard-working Mississippians will go to the polls next Tuesday and vote for a man who would, without blinking an eye, buy up the company they work for, steal all the money out of the pension fund, send all their jobs overseas, and fire all of them.
(*) Note: I believe that a church cannot officially endorse any politician or political party and maintain a tax-exempt status (that whole separation of church and state thing). But preachers can talk to people from locations that aren't pulpits.
Coming from Illinois, I'm guessing most people can guess my leanings. I think that our current President has done an absolutely amazing job given the hurdles he was faced with. And, I thin that if he had been any other person he would have gotten credit for what he has accomplished so far. Fact is, though, he has not and this started me think along the lines of this thread. Not that I want to focus on Ms. in particular, but maybe it would serve as a kind of "lab" to answer this question. What does it take for a State to Lean Red. Here are some of my own thoughts.
a.) One thing I have noticed is that many of the Red Leaning States seem to have an Agricultural or Industrial foundation. Please don't confuse with the "agricultural" or the "industrial" of the 19th Century. I am talking about "agricultural" or "industrial" of the 20th Century. By this I mean that there is a very clear "ruling elite" who hold a reasonably tight rein on what is done and how it is done in their area. These folks like to talk about how they pulled themselves up by their own boot-straps, but a little scratching at the story and you find out that they got where they are because they knew people who knew people who knew people. They may have gone to a University, but not because they needed it to find a 6 or 7 figure income when they graduated.
b.) Another thing that I have noticed about Red Leaning States is that Critical Thinking is not a huge priority. Maybe the Schools suck. Maybe people don't have very high expectations for themselves. Maybe the community relies more on Faith than Information to address its problems, IDK. However, when I listen to a lot of these Red Leaning Commentaries there is a very definite reliance on appealing to Emotion than to Intellect.
c.) Yet another thing that I have noticed about Red Leaning States is the propensity to hold the idea that "I got Mine; Screw everyone else". I have a couple of family members who think like this. As far as THEY are concerned if a person is poor, all they have to do is go get a job, right? Simple, right? I have two University degrees and 15 years experience in my field and am actually pretty damn good at what I do......and it took me Four Years and relocating half way across the US to find my job! Success in our society is NOT all "Horatio Alger" and what not.
d.) The last thing I would like to point out about Red Leaning States is the level to which they tend to follow trends----follow the crowd--- and this sorta harkens back to the lack of Critical Thinking. What I have noticed is the RLS tend to have a large percentage of people who seem to think that whatever a large-enough number of people are doing must be the right thing. When I was Overseas we had a joke about it. According to this logic we should all be eat S***. After all, how could it be bad if 12 million flies think its good, right?
I don't have any really good answers to the TS question. These are just things that I have noticed.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Mississippians are white, rural, middle-class, and religious. Generally that type of person votes the way their preacher tells them to vote(*), which means they vote for the party that is officially anti-abortion and against the party that is perceived to be pro-homosexual.
For those voting for economic reasons, they look around and believe they see all the lazy black folk down the road getting guv'mint assistance (ignoring all the white folk who are getting the same assistance, because the white folk are just down on their luck and the black folk are pure-D lazy), and they vote against the party they believe is taking their hard-earned money and giving it to the lazy folk.
Others listen to the venom and bile spewed across the airwaves by the likes of Rush (he's right, so he's gotta be right, right?) and Glen and such.
So the result is that hard-working Mississippians will go to the polls next Tuesday and vote for a man who would, without blinking an eye, buy up the company they work for, steal all the money out of the pension fund, send all their jobs overseas, and fire all of them.
(*) Note: I believe that a church cannot officially endorse any politician or political party and maintain a tax-exempt status (that whole separation of church and state thing). But preachers can talk to people from locations that aren't pulpits.
You said it perfectly! Thats why I think Red Leaning States embody the idea that Critical Thinking is bad.
Think about what you just wrote.
If there were any Critical Thinking at all, a Blind Man could see though those views. But as it is, people without Critical Thinking will complain about Non-Working People getting money from the Government, and not think twice about the fact thats exactly what Congress has been doing for the last Four Years! I don't hear anyone saying that Congress shouldn't get paid even though its a recorded fact---- acknowledged by sitting Congressmen--- that a typical Congressperson must be on the phones fund-raising for his re-election campaign approximately 30% of each and every working day, or they will be lambasted by their Party and threatened with having the Party's support pulled.
How come ol' Rush never gets around to that little tidbit?
Coming from Illinois, I'm guessing most people can guess my leanings. I think that our current President has done an absolutely amazing job given the hurdles he was faced with. And, I thin that if he had been any other person he would have gotten credit for what he has accomplished so far. Fact is, though, he has not and this started me think along the lines of this thread. Not that I want to focus on Ms. in particular, but maybe it would serve as a kind of "lab" to answer this question. What does it take for a State to Lean Red. Here are some of my own thoughts.
a.) One thing I have noticed is that many of the Red Leaning States seem to have an Agricultural or Industrial foundation. Please don't confuse with the "agricultural" or the "industrial" of the 19th Century. I am talking about "agricultural" or "industrial" of the 20th Century. By this I mean that there is a very clear "ruling elite" who hold a reasonably tight rein on what is done and how it is done in their area. These folks like to talk about how they pulled themselves up by their own boot-straps, but a little scratching at the story and you find out that they got where they are because they knew people who knew people who knew people. They may have gone to a University, but not because they needed it to find a 6 or 7 figure income when they graduated.
b.) Another thing that I have noticed about Red Leaning States is that Critical Thinking is not a huge priority. Maybe the Schools suck. Maybe people don't have very high expectations for themselves. Maybe the community relies more on Faith than Information to address its problems, IDK. However, when I listen to a lot of these Red Leaning Commentaries there is a very definite reliance on appealing to Emotion than to Intellect.
c.) Yet another thing that I have noticed about Red Leaning States is the propensity to hold the idea that "I got Mine; Screw everyone else". I have a couple of family members who think like this. As far as THEY are concerned if a person is poor, all they have to do is go get a job, right? Simple, right? I have two University degrees and 15 years experience in my field and am actually pretty damn good at what I do......and it took me Four Years and relocating half way across the US to find my job! Success in our society is NOT all "Horatio Alger" and what not.
d.) The last thing I would like to point out about Red Leaning States is the level to which they tend to follow trends----follow the crowd--- and this sorta harkens back to the lack of Critical Thinking. What I have noticed is the RLS tend to have a large percentage of people who seem to think that whatever a large-enough number of people are doing must be the right thing. When I was Overseas we had a joke about it. According to this logic we should all be eat S***. After all, how could it be bad if 12 million flies think its good, right?
I don't have any really good answers to the TS question. These are just things that I have noticed.
FWIW.
Well said and thought out. The right wing folks on here will not like any of it.
One other correlation is that between states with laws requiring workers to join a union and those where workers have a choice. That's why there is that L- shape on the map of red states from the southeast over to Texas and north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. If you compare that map to the map of states between required union and union choice, it's almost identical.
One other correlation is that between states with laws requiring workers to join a union and those where workers have a choice. That's why there is that L- shape on the map of red states from the southeast over to Texas and north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. If you compare that map to the map of states between required union and union choice, it's almost identical.
I'm wondering if you really think that issue is on par with the absence of Critical Thinking among the Electorate? To me your comment is not unlike the way the matter of a Women's God-given Right to Self-determination always gets eclipsed by someone turning into an "Abortion/Pro-Life Debate". Why do you suppose that is, I wonder?
Or, how is it that the long-needed Reformation of the US Medical System always gets shouted-down just short of anyone getting around to talking about the profits that are made by Pharmaceutical companies, Medical Equipment manufacturers and the Educational Institutions that neatly ration-out just enough doctors to keep the salaries high and the availability low.
Or how is it that almost every member of Congress will retire as a millionaire, if they were not such when they entered office, & that they will live under a separate Retirement System and Separate Medical System from that which is available to the rest of us?
Or how does it come to be that Unions, not administrators decide who will teach our children?
We could be having any number of informed discussions, but first a person needs to accept that they have a God-given Right to Think....AND.....to Think for themselves.
FWIW.
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