Why do you think that small cities are more likely to vote republicans and

[southernleftylady]

big cities are more likely to vote dem?
just wondering
tia

[bryant69]

1. I think part of it is interests

Take Gun Control. If you live in a big city you are probably far more likely to be effected negatively by the ready access to firearms. Whereas if ou live in the country you are more likely to know people who get positive enjoyment out of hunting and the what not.

There are any number of societal ills that impact cities more than small towns, if for no other reason than there is more people in the cities.

So I think that's apart of it.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Ravenseye]

2. I think it's tied to population density

The more people living in closer proximity to each other the more people tend to be liberal. I think this is the case for a few reasons, and I'd love to see any studies done on this matter.

One reason I think is that as a city gets larger it gets more diverse. The more diversity you see, the more accepting you become of it. Not just acceptance of diversity you see, but even that you don't see. If you become accepting of Armenians say, you're probably going to be more accepting of another group you have never met. (I used Armenians because...well just a random ethnic group)

A second reason I think is that the closer humans live together the more need of governmental programs and social services arise. There is more need for general community development projects, street work, health clinics etc. Also cities generally have larger numbers of poor. The higher cost of living in cities makes paupers of people who make more than people do in small towns. These people then need more assistance to have the basic standard of living other people are capable of.

There are probably more reasons, but those are two that come to my head.

[rqstnnlitnmnt]

3. that and access to alternate media

have you ever watched local news in a small town?

it's like a bad episode of benny hill.

these are people who likely have less access to the "internets"

[carolinayellowdog]

4. Class and race

Larger cities tend to have more professionals and minorities, both of which trend Democratic.

[depakid]

5. Education & diversity

Larger cities tend to draw educated people of all sorts from surrounding areas as well as other parts of the country and the world. It's a dynamic and creative environment where one is almost forced to think critically.

Smaller cities tend to include more people with less education- and mobility- so there's less diversity. Less diversity means less exposure to new ideas- and more reinforcement of provincial and sometimes dysfunctional attitudes, beliefs and values.

Plus, as one poster mentioned above- you have a very restrictive mass media in more rural areas- so it's much easier to plant prejudice and reinforce what amounts to hatred on a daily basis.