"Red States, Blue States: New Labels for Long-Running Differences" (NYT)

[swag]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/04/business/04scene.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

By HAL R. VARIAN
Published: May 4, 2006

. . .

{The study} found that differences in political attitudes across states are nothing new: the Civil War and Roaring Twenties had much larger geographic variation in political views than we do today. Though dispersion in political attitudes has generally declined over the last 60 years, the last four years have brought a small uptick.

Though views have become somewhat less associated with geography in the 20th century, they still show strong differences. The fraction of the voters in a given area who vote Republican correlates well with the fraction who voted Republican in the last election.

Furthermore, America is not becoming more polarized. Of course, Republicans have a more positive view of the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, and vice versa, but attitudes have hardly changed since 1978. It is fair to point out, though, that attitudes seem to have become somewhat more partisan in the last few years.

The most remarkable phenomenon is the rise of religion in politics. Thirty years ago, income was a better prediction of party affiliation than church attendance, but this is no longer true. Religion also played a big role in politics a century ago, so we may well be returning to the historical norm.

Cultural and religious attitudes play a big role in voting behavior. For example, the fraction of the population who agreed with the statement "AIDS is God's punishment for immoral sexual behavior" was highly correlated with whether the state was red or blue, according to surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center. The differences in religious attitudes between Vermont and Mississippi are huge.

These cultural divisions have been around for a long time. In the 1936-37 Gallup poll, residents of New England and the Middle Atlantic states were far more likely than citizens elsewhere to support federally financed health measures aimed at venereal disease, to support a free press and to be willing to vote for Catholic or Jewish candidates.

. . . more

[Occulus]

1. Well, now.

Where's that graphic red/blue map showing the states for/against slavery at the time of the civil war, and the red/blue states at the time of the 2004 election, shown side-by-side?

The more things change? Hmmmmmmm......

[Clark2008]

6. Well, now, let's stop acting all high and mighty

The ACTUAL color of this great country is PURPLE - not red or blue.

More divisiveness from the corporate media and the Coastal dwellers on this board who would seek to put down the fly-over states. :eyes:

[JNelson6563]

9. Note the avatar

It's Michigan. A "fly-over" state that ain't on a coast.

And the fact remains, slavery states went red. Dispute it if you can but attacking a poster for stating a fact won't change anything.

Julie

[JNelson6563]

8. Yes, I saw that map

States that fouhgt to keep slavery are red. Noted in the article a comment abotu religion's role in this, the term "returning to this historical norm" should read, "in light of this regression...".

Julie

[rpannier]

2. very interesting

[Peace Patriot]

3. Neither the war profiteering corporate news monopoly called the New

York Times, nor anybody else in the country, has any verifiable notion of how any state voted. Blue state/red state designations are based on votes "counted" mostly by two Bushite-controlled corporations, Diebold and ES&S, using "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls, in an election system designed by the two biggest crooks in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney--with their $4 billion "Hack American's Vote Act" electronic voting machine boondoggle.

They've just jiving you.

"The fraction of the voters in a given area who vote Republican correlates well with the fraction who voted Republican in the last election."--NYT

Total bullshit. Show me the ballots. Who "counted" them? How were they "counted"? Who was permitted to see them "counted"? How does Hal R. Varian KNOW what "the fraction who voted Republican in the last election" WAS?

"...For example, the fraction of the population who agreed with the statement 'AIDS is God's punishment for immoral sexual behavior' was highly correlated with whether the state was red or blue..."--NYT

More bullshit. How do you determine "red" or "blue"? Show me the ballots. Who "counted" them? How were they "counted"? Who was permitted to see them "counted"?

"Cultural and religious attitudes play a big role in voting behavior."--NYT

How do you know what "voting behavior" is if you can't see the votes or how they are "counted"? And what would you expect of the following corporations, as to their "correlating" votes with the "behavior" that they think will make massive corporate theft and the mass murder of war seem to be acceptable to some of the people?

Diebold: Until recently, headed by Wally O'Dell, a Bush/Cheney campaign chair and major fundraiser, who promised in writing to "deliver Ohio" to Bush/Cheney in 2004;

and

ES&S: A spinoff of Diebold (similar computer architecture), initially funded by rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon Foundation, which touts the death penalty for homosexuals (among other things).

Diebold and ES&S--which together "counted" 80% of the nation's votes in 2004, using "trade secret" programming--have an incestuous relationship--they are run by two brothers, Tod and Bob Urosevich.

These are the people who are "counting" our votes behind a veil of secrecy.

How can you draw ANY conclusions--about red states, about blue states, about who is the legitimate president, about how Republicans voted, or any other matter--in these conditions of NON-TRANSPARENCY and partisan Bushite control of the election machinery?

Articles like this just reinforce the DELUSION OF DEMOCRACY that these war profiteering corporate news monopolies are trying to maintain.

A good question to ask Hal R. Varian is this: Why did the corporate news monopolies DOCTOR their own "consortium" exit polls (Kerry won) to 'FIT' the results of Diebold/ES&S's "trade secret," proprietary vote tabulation (Bush won)--late on election day 2004, on everybody's TV screens--rather than using the exit polls as they are used in other democracies around the world, as a tool to VERIFY elections and check for fraud?

Stop with the bullshit political philosophizing, and look at the hard FACTS of this corrupt, NON-TRANSPARENT election system, for godssakes!

But that's too much to expect from the NYT.

[Peace Patriot]

4. Some resources for American Revolution II:

Hopeful signs - latest news:

California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2180496
Seven of these counties just promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2249205

Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263

Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110192,00.html
http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html
(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2183630

Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419226

-----

More resources for American Revolution II:

www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)


(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of this great movement from around the country)
www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)

www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)* :patriot: :applause: :patriot:
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x423739

The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution

www.debrabowen.com--Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system--just endorsed by the CA Dem Party! :applause:
www.johnbonifaz.com--running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform.

*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417007
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417231
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x675477

Congressional bills:

Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). To sign the HR 550 petition: http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html
At lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x422926
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x421136
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=422967&mesg_id=422967
(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)


Also of interest:

Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363

Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htm
More Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk

Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340

HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x994507

------------------------------------------------

Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

:think: :patriot: :woohoo: :patriot: :think:

-----------

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

[crickets]

5. I think I love you.

Signed,

Voteless in Georgia

[Clark2008]

7. Bravo, Peace Patriot.

That is a fantastic point.

:applause:

[dusty64]

10. I totally agree

w/ what you've said. I can't believe the disconnect between the reconstructionist movement and their stated goal to overthrow democracy and their owning and controlling most of the vote machinery in this country and nobody in a position of power cares. This is NOT tinfoil it is ALL verifiable fact!

[Peace Patriot]

11. I don't know what to think of the Dem Party leaders' SILENCE on this

matter. I have thought they might be insane. But it 's more likely a lethal combo of corruption and fear. And that silence was FINALLY broken--recently, by Howard Dean, also by Debra Bowen (candidate for sec of state in Calif, just endorsed by the Calif Dem party) and Jon Bonifaz in Mass. (sec of state candidate). Dean's reluctance may be related to fears of suppressing the vote (voters giving up) and suppressing donations, and hope. But I think that's a very wrong strategy. People NEED TO KNOW this, to engage them in fighting it--and also in creating massive turnouts to beat the machines. This is a DEMOCRACY. Don't play games with the people! Tell them the truth!

Bumpert sticker: "Help Us Beat the Machines--VOTE!"

The war profiteering corporate news monopolies' motive for covering up the non-transparency of our election system--the biggest scandal in our history--is obvious: they colluded on the stolen election. They are WAR PROFITEERS and are run by super-rich fascists. The same may be true of some Dem leaders--fascists with nicer faces--but certainly not all. They are a mixed bag, some quite good people. Some I think are fearful--the Diebold/ES&S power, of corrupt county/state election officials' power, of Bush junta power, and have good reason to be. The courageous are all the more amazing--and they alone are representing the people of this country.