We can take over the Red states if blue-staters displaced by natural disasters re-locate, re-build

[allgood33]

and grow economies there. An economic program with a real political agenda. Our own Marshall plan for the US. Clean up the wastelands, bring real help to the opioid crisis, and spread some education opportunities to the "poorly educated" that Trump loves so much.

[BamaRefugee]

1. If you mean California, tons of people here FLED from those red states!

Very few people ever go back.

[msongs]

2. too bad for that. 100K californians spread out could get us 6 senators nt

[onenote]

19. I'm curious. Which six?

[NewJeffCT]

22. the 6 least populous red states

Wyoming
Alaska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Montana
Idaho

(also, note that blue states Vermont, Delaware, Hawaii and Rhode Island have fewer people than Idaho, as do swing states Maine and New Hampshire)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories_of_the_United_States_by_population

[onenote]

24. I think it will take a lot more than 100,000 votes to swing those states

The republican advantage in most of those states is pretty significant -- and would take quite a shift in the population to overcome. Even in states that have elected in the not too distant past Democrats -- e.g., Montana, North Dakota -- aren't all that competitive if you don't have an incumbent Democrat running.

[NewJeffCT]

21. which Californians would want to give up the sun, good weather and all the entertainment options

to move to one of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana?

[urbanhermit]

31. Plenty of red Californians

We have many CA transplants in ID. The majority of them leave there complaining it's too liberal and they want to move to a place that has less government and low taxes.

[NewJeffCT]

32. understood on that

i think the OP's premise was having liberals/progressives move to those states to swing elections to Democrats - Heidi Heitkamp lost by 35,000 votes or so, which is a landslide by Dakota standards, but would be a nail-biter subject to a recount in a California senate race - DiFi won by 900,000 votes a few weeks ago, and it was closer percentage-wise than North Dakota (10% vs 11%)

(And Feinstein was up against another Democrat...)

[Brother Buzz]

3. Unfortunately there just may be a parcel of people that may be forces to move there

When all the smoke clears, and the residences of Paradise settle with their insurance companies, many will discover they can't afford to rebuild in California. I understand many will set their sights on the reasonable opportunities in Idaho. Anyway, that's the buzz in the Sacramento Valley.

[JNelson6563]

4. Come to Michigan! Lots of coastline!

[Garrett78]

5. I live in Northern California near the coast. I grew up in the Midwest, and I'm not going back.

Mass relocation is about as likely as splitting the country in 2.

[allgood33]

10. Just buy property there and visit for 6 months...like folks do with Florida for tax purposes.

This would be for voting purposes as well. Establish residence and live where you like to.

[Bucky]

12. If I could afford to buy a second house I wouldn't be a Democrat

I'm sorry, but in a democracy the best way to win elections to change hearts and minds.

[Garrett78]

26. A 2nd home is not an option. Not for my wife and me, or most people.

[Hortensis]

6. Wouldn't mind listening to political geographers

imagine how this'd play out. Migrations would go both ways, of course, conservative cultures also moving, but given the geographically smaller blue areas (and urban property values!), I'm guessing migrants from both red and blue would tend to end up in what have been conservative areas.

But what makes us think the eastern forests aren't going to burn? Climate change is killing species that can't handle the new conditions, and there are going to be increasing long droughts. I've read that north American fires burn hotter than European and Russian, and they're having terrible fires over there due to climate change. Or midwestern towns and cities under sustained drought and perhaps disappearing rivers?

Btw, regarding the original premise, it does occur that Californian cultures arise out of conditions prevailing there. Huge numbers of Californians are going to be naturally conservative. I'm guessing those'd tend to be more absorbed into Iowa culture than vice versa.

Plus, here's a sobering thought. Among the factors that cause red and blue cultures are geographic ones. Life-challenging climate conditions make peoples more conservative. Think the American south before air conditioning and modern medicine and disease control. How much will presumably abundant energy, allowing people to live in increasingly extreme climates, offset what I'm assuming will be conservatizing effects of global warming and its disasters?

Change and insecurity from uncertainty and feeling lack of control also shift whole peoples more conservative. We're going to need a lot of liberal and progressive conservative leaders to help guide us through this proactively and wisely. The kind of people who make lemonade out of lemons instead of smashing them into someone's face because he's cranky and irritable from the heat.

[Crunchy Frog]

7. Colorado seems to have gone from red to blue following a mass migration of people

from New York and California.

I can recall the general unhappiness in liberal Boulder about the "Californicators". And the snooty bumperstickers proclaiming ones self as a "Native", and not being too happy about all the new developments springing up. But.

The fact is that CO has gone blue in the last three presidential elections, and just elected a gay, liberal, Boulder guy as governor. I believe that large scale relocation really can make a difference.

[pnwmom]

9. The change to blue has been helped along by an increase in the number of Hispanics to 22%

of the population, much higher than in the US overall.

So instead of pushing people on the west coast to move inland, maybe we should just open up that southern border DT wants to wall off.

[pnwmom]

8. So they're supposed to leave good jobs in CA and friends and relatives

and "grow" an economy in a "wasteland" dealing with an opioid crisis?

You won't get many to take up that offer.

[Bucky]

11. Getting Democrats to move en masse to a red state is silly

Besides which, red states are much more likely to have disasters. At least the unplanned man-made type.

[Joe941]

20. And who wants to live there anyway? Not me.

[CreekDog]

13. which red state are you moving to?

[SoCalDem]

14. Even in red states, it costs MONEY

to move & rebuild...and these people need jobs (which are often scarce in red states)

Also, many of the people who suffer most in disasters are older, retired folks who barely make it check to check.

We don't see much real data, but I would venture a guess that MANY people displaced by disasters, NEVER recover.

When there is no mortgage on a home, insurance is no longer REQUIRED. Older folks with little money, often let policies lapse because they cannot afford the premiums, and they are willing to gamble that they may never be flooded/burned/tornadoed out of their home.

When everything you have is suddenly gone, just living from meal to meal and staying warm at night becomes your whole existence

[brooklynite]

15. Still waiting for THE FREE STATE PROJECT to move to New Hampshire

[Aristus]

16. Not me. Sorry.

You'd need the Budweiser Clydesdales to drag me to East Cornhole, Arkassippi, or someplace. And even then, I'd escape and head back to the sane part of the country.

[allgood33]

17. Just saw this news story. Maybe my idea wasn't so far fetched.

https://nowthisnews.com/videos/money/tulsa-oklahoma-is-offering-people-10000-to-move-there

Tulsa offering money to folks to move there.

[Mr. Quackers]

18. Yeah

you first

[onenote]

23. Meanwhile, back in the real world...

In the real world, natural disasters don't occur only to Democrats. Paradise CA is 92 percent white and less than 1 percent African-American. It is part of the 1st District, which is one of the few remaining red districts in California. So if these displaced folks move to red states, chances are those states become more difficult to turn blue, not less. Plus, who pays to move folks, where are they going to find jobs, etc.

Similar "relocation" ideas have been floated here on DU in the past. They never deal with reality.

[sarah FAILIN]

33. I've brought it up several timessage, sorry.

I specifically ask people to retire here, but we do have very low unemploment for younger people. Yes, I know there is not much chance of it happening but I try. Honestly, we have a low cost of living so to me it makes sense for retirees to come here for their golden years.

I'd also like normal neighbors..

[SMC22307]

25. Red states, not likely, but if we fanned out to the swing states of PA, WI, and MI, yes.

Rather than pouring into NYC, DC, San Fran, etc. I'd like to see Rust Belt cities revitalized. I know Detroit is a work-in-progress with good things happening. Establish industries (green, tech, healthcare). Promote small businesses. Focus on walkability, bike paths, and public transportation. Save the beautiful architecture rather than replace with bo-ring condos. Beautiful old homes that sell for close to $1M in my neck of the woods would actually be affordable. Focus on art and music and sports. The American Tobacco Campus -- where the Durham Bulls play -- is a wonderful model to follow. Legalize weed, diverting resources to fight the opioid crisis. Establish wineries and microbreweries, like Asheville. Capitalize on whatever tourism opportunities exist in that town. Think of all the jobs that would be created if these things were done. And I'd make it abundantly clear to the White Working Class that it's DEMOCRATS bringing this town back to life, not Rethuglicans. Of course, all of this would need to be done without creating some sort of gentrified monster.

That's my fantasy if I ever won one of those insane lotteries. Head back to my hometown and rebuild...

[SWBTATTReg]

27. I think instead of doing anything, there are natural things already happening that will 'turn ...

the areas 'blue' vs. 'red'' but I agree w/ a lot of the respondents that if you believe as much, then move there. Other things currently going on that are pushing these areas more 'blue' than 'red' are (1) the older white generation is slowly dying off (2) young kids are moving from these areas to urban areas (jobs etc.) (3) economic engines of development and growth are in the large urban areas (and will continue to be there, look at Tulsa MO offering $10000 for folks to move there...tells you something that my birthplace is suffering and is attempting in a creative way to overcome long term trends.

Being in Missouri, and living mostly in the Midwest all of my life, I didn't really like the implications of living in such 'dreaded' areas and so forth. It's like living in a radioactive zone w/ zombies and I'm kind of offended but I understand some of the feelings of these 'red' state areas.

I just want to say that there's a substantial number of us in the 'red' states that are DUers. We believe in DU and the concepts that DU stands for. And progress is being made. In MO, there are giant islands of DU land (the cities) that when you go into these areas, you can immediately tell from observing the vibrant economic activities going on (STLMO a lot, KCMO, Columbia) that young progressives by the thousands are moving in, and revitalizing neighborhoods, setting up shop, raising their families for they want a vibrant community that has thousands of places to eat at, shop at, or just about anything else to do.

Instead of moving, perhaps correct some of the excesses of gerrymandering and enhance voting rights very strongly to prevent the sort of excesses that happened in FL and Georgia, and perhaps other places. If we feel like we're shortchanged due to these small states, perhaps look at the distribution of house reps (we already know about the senate), the %s should reflect the actual vote %s. I think this cycle around, we made major inroads and this will continue as our newly discovered energy continues.

[JustAnotherGen]

28. Didn't work in Florida

Didn't the PR transplants overwhelmingly vote for the GOP?

[LeftInTX]

29. Texas has been recruiting Californians for years

I think the majority of transplants were already conservatives in California.

[pecosbob]

30. Natural disaster...displacement of the poor...gentrification...cost of living soars

the wealthy move in (wealthy people that vote conservative whether Democratic or Republican). Bad math my friend.