the urban/rural, red/blue divide of the US

[ButterflyBlood]

is this the opposite of most countries, and is it odd that here the urban areas are more leftist while the rurals lean to the right? I know that in the UK the sparsely populated parts of Scotland are socialist strongholds, and heard that in the past elections in Sweden the northern rural parts were counted first, so the Communists could be winning around 20% and then dropping down. In addition, Chavez's strongest opposition appears to come from the urban areas.

From what I've seen in Canada though, it's political geography is quite similar to our's, the most conservative province is Alberta which is right above the Utah/Montana/Idaho area while the coasts are liberal, but I have no clue how the rural northern provinces vote.

[NMDemDist2]

1. what is especially interesting about that is how badly Bush

has treated the rural farmers and small businesses. They (rural folks) vote RW on moral/social issues and end up getting shafted on economic issues.

Ed Schultz was on a great rant about this today on XM

[SEpatriot]

5. Part of the great deception

You are right on target. Back in '88, a friend of mine and I were having this discussion - we were campaigning for Dems in Tennessee and we would be out and pass these little dilapidated trailers that looked like they were being held together with duct tape and an old broke-down Camaro in the front yard and there would be a "Bush-Quayle" sign in the yard. These people are so scared by the RW that their guns are going to be taken away and atheist lesbians are going to run the schools that they don't see the Bushies stealing their money and giving it to Enron.

[tnlefty]

6. Hi SEpatriot!!

Are you still in Tennessee?:hi:

[SEpatriot]

7. Nope

I left in '91. I still have a sister and lots of friends there and occasionally cross the line for some legal work.

[Skittles]

11. ever read rural newspapers?

absolute rightwing propaganda with no dissenting opinions in sight.

[Pepperbelly]

2. The Red-Blue map is a myth ... here's the real way it breaks down.

http://www.makethemaccountable.com/misc/Maps.htm

[wuushew]

3. Do suburbs exist in other countries the way they do here?

I am guessing that the conservative vote followed the money out of the urban areas after WWII, while rural voters who supported the New Deal became polarized over social issues.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

4. there are alot of "blue" rural areas, too..

..that red-blue distinction is sort of a big generalization.

[NMDemDist2]

8. lol I don't doubt it, but name two

:hi:

[ButterflyBlood]

9. Northeast Minnesota

and the mostly black parts of the south.

[NMDemDist2]

10. thanks BB i knew you'd have an answer for me

:)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

12. My friends are living in the UK the last couple years, in the country.

I asked just this question. I was told that basically the whole country, including the rural parts, is a lot more liberal than the US.

[nonconformist]

13. It's because of religion mostly

They vote because of what they see as social/moral issues over voting because of things like jobs and healthcare.

It's amazing to me that some people would rather go against their best interests and things that affect their daily lives to prevent a gay couple from getting married 1,000 miles away.

My county in SE Kentucky is very religious and economically depressed - but Democrats usually win here fortunately. Gore won this county, as did Chandler (D) in the governor's race. However, surrounding counties that are similar socially and economically tend to be red.

I don't get it.