It Just Seems Like Many States Will Forever Be Unreachable By Democratic Presidential Candidates

[sfstaxprep]

Short of nominating a Pro-Life, Pro-Fracking, Racist, Pro-2nd Amendment, Anti-Immigrant candidate, what chance do we ever really have of winning Electoral Votes in places like Idaho/Alabama/Mississippi/South Carolina/North Dakota/Etc.?

I know we've made inroads in places like Arizona & Texas, but I think there are definite factors that contributed in both. Many Californians relocated to Arizona. I know a couple myself who did. And following Katrina, a ton of New Orleans residents moved to Houston, and Austin, a liberal community, grew in popularity.

I realize the party can feel safe with states like NY & CA in their pocket, but it feels like we're also giving up a ton of EV's right off the top, with all the Red states that essentially can be called before Election Day. Lord, if we could get just 2-3 of them, it would not be so close.

[Pisces]

1. The same as many states would never go red. It's almost tradition to go red in some states

[drray23]

2. texas is turning more blue every cycle.

because of demographics. Once it goes the way Virginia did a few cycles ago the gop wont be able to win the presidency. its a lot of evs. Kinda like California for us.

[AkFemDem]

3. I think SC is on the menu...

First came VA, now inroads in NC and GA. As the cultural identity of the southeast changes, there’s room so see spread to the gulf coast. It’ll take time, money and organized passion from people like Stacey Abrams but it can happen.

[blm]

28. Right. NC and Georgia are moving away from GOP. That's why

Republicans work so hard to suppress the votes there over the last 4 election cycles.

[DoBotherMe]

4. When they all lose their health insurance

And social security and their jobs to COVID, they might be amenable to change.

[appalachiablue]

39. +2

[lagomorph777]

45. We have to start exploiting the gullibility of the GOP base. Buy up media time/ad space,

and begin re-programming them to understand that being evil hurts themselves. Of course, they don't see their behavior as evil; it will take a lot of psychologists, techies, media gurus, billionaires, etc to gently steer them back to the real world.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. The era of massive electoral landslides died in the 90s.

What Obama did in 2008 is likely the highwater mark for electoral landslides with Democrats - maybe with the possibility of Georgia being added to that. Even then, Ohio and Iowa seem to be trending away from the Democrats.

For Republicans, an electoral landslide is even less likely.

[marylandblue]

14. We can't stay this divided forever.

we will eventually choose a direction, split apart or go full dictatorship. The current situation is not sustainable, no republic has ever survived intractable division.

[Drunken Irishman]

16. It won't be forever...

The more the country diversifies, the less these types of voters have power. That's why Georgia and Texas are supposed battle ground states now. It's just going to take a while.

[marylandblue]

33. Demographics won't save us. The minorities will split too.

Trump drove a small edge in. It will grow.

[Drunken Irishman]

34. It won't ever grow to the levels we're seeing now with whites.

[radius777]

37. Agree. Many PoC are more conservative than

many realize. Bill Clinton/Obama being charismatic centrists obscured this reality.

Trump's stance on immigration resonated with alot of PoC (including Latinos) who tend to bear the brunt of illegal immigration on their communities.

[Skittles]

6. stop saying pro-life

repukes are NOT pro-life

[DoBotherMe]

13. SKITTLES!

Where you been, Girl?

[sfstaxprep]

19. Sorry, Pro-Death nt

[Skittles]

43. anti-choice

and they're all about government overreach unless it is between a woman and her doctor

FUCK THEM

[lagomorph777]

46. pro-gun, pro-baby jails, pro-COVID, anti-health care - all adds up to PRO-DEATH!

[Bettie]

48. How about

Fetus Fetishists? Pro forced birth?

They are definitely not pro-life in any way.

[SomedayKindaLove]

7. If only a couple million Democratic voters from California

Could disperse themselves through about 5 western red state..

Oh the Senators we could have...

[Codeine]

18. That means we'd have to live in flyover.

Fuck that. I’ve been in the boonies and that shit ain’t worth it.

[SomedayKindaLove]

44. Ha

Well than can I interest you and 100,000 Californians in some beach front or mountain property in North Carolina and Georgia? Please?

[Phoenix61]

8. We have got to do a much, much better job

on the local level of reaching out to young people. We need to be sponsoring pages in high-school year books and holding burger burns and hosting skate park events etc.

[DoBotherMe]

17. Yes, more outreach

Last edited Thu Nov 5, 2020, 12:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Someone said the money we spent tryin to oust the turtle would have been better spent in other contests.

[meadowlander]

9. Covid will help spread liberals to some states.

If you can work from home for Google or Facebook and buy a really nice house and bit of land for $120,000 in Idaho, North Dakota or Montana, why wouldn't you? Lots of Silicon Valley techies are also survivalists. They know where climate change is taking us. And some of them will jump at the new opportunities not have to live in San Francisco while still raking in the cash at their tech jobs.

Thirty years ago it would have been inconceivable that Georgia would go blue but look what a few high tech employment opportunities did for Atlanta.

[appalachiablue]

40. 2 young people in the family are doing this, just moved

several hrs out of a major urban area with their remote jobs.

Bought a nice, spacious house and yard in a large semi- suburban area in the same state near more relatives.

Saving $700 on new mortgage, from last house rental. Great deal, both work very hard at jobs, are paying off college loan debt and deserve it.

[Demsrule86]

10. Not true. Jobs, healthcare, social security,15.00 minimum wage...we find issues.

[marylandblue]

11. Economic Progressivism. Florida gave us clue, we should learn.

They voted for Trump and for a $15 minimum wage. Also, in 2018, they gave ex felons the vote and their elected officials tried to undo it.

We are losing them on cultural wedge issues. But maybe we can get them back with jobs and fairness.

[Rizen]

12. One thing this election has taught me is how prevalent racism is

there are a lot of stupid racist people in this country. They support Trump no matter what; they would do the same for Hitler if he was the Republican nominee.

[sfstaxprep]

22. Yes, They Have Been Coming Out Of The Woodwork Since 2008

Because the country had the audacity to elect a Black President.

Of course, we've always been a Racist country. Ask the Indians or the Blacks, among others.

[Mariana]

15. I think religion is a huge factor.

Most of those states have a very high concentration of Christians. The majority of Christian voters cast their ballots for Trump in 2016, and he probably got the majority of them again this time. However, the country is slowly becoming more secular - and the overwhelming majority of non-Christians have tended to vote for Democrats.

[Polly Hennessey]

21. You are stretching it to

call them Christians. They are radical fundamentalists and that includes some mainstream religious groups.

[Mariana]

32. They sure aren't atheists.

They believe Jesus was the son of the one true God, born of a virgin, performed miracles, was crucified, resurrected, ascended to heaven, and forgives sins. They're Christians.

For the record, in 2016, Trump got 81% of the white Evangelical vote, but they were far from alone in supporting him. He got 58% of all Protestants, 52% of Catholics, and 61% of Mormons (I don't know if you count them as Christians, but they say they are).

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/

Do you have an opinion about the actual content of my post?

[sfstaxprep]

25. They're Pseudo-Christians

They're utter Hypocrites by supporting someone as UN-Christian as Drumpf. He can probably count the # of days he's gone to church in his life, on one hand.

[Mariana]

35. Only non-Christians support Trump?

Is that what you're saying? I don't agree. It's entirely possible for someone to be a Christian and an utter hypocrite, at the same time.

Do you have an opinion about the actual content of my post?

[UTUSN]

20. Yip, the cultural-war/education Divide. They see us as patronizing/condescending.

The media yakkers who claim we need to "reach out, talk" to the wingnuts don't realize we are always in the reaching-out position and being rejected by them because of their own self-imposed insecurities.

But as the poster up-thread said, they're not "pro-LIFE." It's Pro-Choice for us, Anti-Choice for them:

[mathematic]

23. It's weird that you put fracking in that list, as if there are single issue fracking voters

Whenever I see a list that includes something so out of place I think that the person is living in a bubble that amplifies their own priorities.

I'm not pro-fracking but at the same time I'm not anti-fracking. It's displacing the use of coal, which is the worst fuel, and it has positive geopolitical impacts since it reduces the importance of sourcing fuel from OPEC. To compare it to racism, xenophobia, and abortion restrictions which violate core liberal values and have no positive trade-offs is really strange.

I think democrats can be more neutral on fracking, for sure. If you could guarantee PA but it cost you your preference on either fracking or abortion, I know which one I would choose and it's not even close. I would hope every single person on this site would also choose to keep a woman's right to control her body.

[sfstaxprep]

26. I Only Included Fracking

Because it obviously became an issue in the key battleground state of PA. It was used as a weapon against Biden, although I don't think it's that simple. But I'm sure it worked, so I listed it for that reason.

[meadowlander]

41. LOL. My mother's cousin is a single-issue fracking voter in up-state New York.

Go figure. Otherwise as liberal as they come, grew up on a commune, but convinced there's money to be made in them there hills and won't consider voting for an anti-fracking candidate.

[PTWB]

24. Forever is a long time.

[sfstaxprep]

27. Sorry, I Exaggerated

For the foreseeable future.

[TreasonousBastard]

29. Sure we are, but it's all part of the process. Remember, the South were all Dems until...

LBJ got the Civil rights Act of 1964 passed, and he knew perfectly well that he was losing the South to Republicans. But it was the right thing to do.

Due to the Civil War, the South completely abandoned the Republicans because of Lincoln. Now they abandoned Democrats because of LBJ. Overall Southern loyalties were to slavery, and without slavery, plain ol' racism.

It's been 150 years of this murderous bullshit and, and it is working itself out far too slowly. But it is getting better. The lowlife racists are till out there, but fewer of them and the night riders have been pretty much stopped. And there is national outrage over the Bull Connor cops.
.
Three steps forward and two steps back-- maybe our great-grandchildren will see serious improvement

[Jspur]

30. I wouldn't say forever but for a

longtime the states you mentioned won't be competitive for democrats to have a chance. I look at my state NC and there is no way you could have told me 25 years ago that it would one day be a swing state and that the GOP candidate will struggle to get above 50 percent of the vote. It looks like Trump is going to win NC again but he still is unable to crack 50 percent just like he did last time in NC which leads me to believe my state is on the verge of being a blue leaning state. 25 years ago culturally NC felt like Alabama,Mississippi, but not today and that's due to all the people moving down here from the North. The same thing will happen across the country since cost of living is going up and people will constantly try to look for cheap places to live. Factor in companies will move to places like Alabama,Montana because it's cheap and bring an educated base of people.

[Klaralven]

31. Rearrange the primary schedule to put more swing states in early March.

Currently we have SC, AL, AR, CA, MA, OK, TN, UT, VT, ID, MO, ND and WA in the primaries before March 15.

All of those states are predictably red or blue and will not affect the final presidential election.

https://www.270towin.com/2020-election-calendar/

[mopinko]

36. as long as we have vapor ballots instead of paper ballots.

[Wednesdays]

38. Nothing is 'forever.'

For example, if you'd have told me thirty years ago that Virginia would become a reliable blue state, I'd have considered you a great candidate for the looney bin.

[Withywindle]

42. I'm old enough to remember when WEST VIRGINIA was reliably Dem

Because of unions.

And my home state, VA, never went for a Dem from 1964 until 2008, and now it's pretty reliably blue.

States shift around all the time. Demographics change. Economic circumstances change.

We now have a good chance to flip GA, which would have been impossible just a few years ago.


I don't think we should ever give up on any state. I'm still a fan of Howard Dean's 50-state strategy. Even if we can't win, plant seeds, and support grassroots organizers who live there, and candidates for smaller local offices. It will pay off in the future.

[SlogginThroughIt]

47. Educating

Nuanced ad campaigns, embedding truth and policy into youth sports and other programs that require adherence to fairness giving them tools early on to question whether what they are being told is fair. We have to find a way to combat the propaganda that is being pounded into pur youths ears.

And frankly we need to find a better way to reach out to these states with economic opportunities. These states like to say they are hard working people. Well lets give them good opportunities to put more money in their pockets for their hard work. I know we have tried to do that in the past but it is the only thing that might work.

[JHB]

49. What we need is our own media system and to look for ways to...

...dismantle the one conservatives have built up.

Those areas are filled with figures whose business model is to promote single-minded extremism and to demonize the opposition. They won't dial it back until that stops being their bread and butter.