No, it wasnt the 51/48 you keep hearing, it's 25.5/24, the other 50.5% just don't give a fuck about anything.
I'd say we're about one election away from secession. It's just not fair that the chickenhawks in the red states decide the foreign policy that results in the blue states being attacked by terrorists. If New England and the West Coast seceded, they wouldn't have to deal with this shit anymore, and could get along with the rest of the world.
I don't believe we're one election from succession. The Civil War put to rest any such notions. I wonder if the Democratic Party suffers another defeat 4 years from now as the one they just had, will they be in the initial phase of a tailspin? There is such a precedent. Prior to their disintagration, the Whig Party was able to elect several Presidents from the early 1800s to about 1854. It was from their demise rose the Republican Party. Should the Democratic Party no longer be the cohesive element glueing the various interest groups together, maybe the U.S. will become the multiparty political system patterned after the European format. The off-year Congressional Elections 2 years from now may yield a couple of hints.
The main reason the North fought to prevent secession during the Civil War was because they felt that the abolition of slavery was a human right and it was their moral responsibility to put an end to it. (Some historians may disagree with me, but that's my take on it.) If the Blue States were to secede today, no such moral imperative would exist to force them to remain part of the United States. I really don't think the American people have the stomach to fight another Civil War...this time for basically no reason.
You're right, the blue states would be seceding for no reason. Look, I hate bush, but what makes Kerry so much better? Are we Americans so deluded that we will fight one another about which idiot we want to put on top of the pile? Kerry is another one of these rich elites, out of touch with the real USA. Our division over partisian politics is what allows these people to stay in power. Look how this campaign went: each party tried to make the public afraid to elect the opponent. They play on our fears, both sides, not just Bush. Anyways, the election is over. This time there is no controversy, sadly; Bush won and won by a sizable margin. Let's move on to what matters, rather than dwell on could-have-beens.
My spin is slightly different. That the reason for the Civil War was to hold States Right subserviant to Federal Authority. The Slavery Issue was a moral component upholding the Federal position. One could even argue Slavery became a moral issue of the Federal government only after a couple years of battlefield loses. That abolition was not, initially, a keystone holding the Union together. A person can always eventually discover a moral issue to hold the Union together. Historically, the Nazis had the ablity to morally justify the Holocaust. In practical terms, the Federal Government wouldn't allow the lose of Tax Revenue from "The Blue States". Consider the difficulty obtaining Tax relief (through either tax advoidance or lower tax rates) and the relative ease of having your taxes raised.
I'd say that being a lightning rod for terrorist attacks caused by policies implemented by the Red States is a pretty damn good reason to secede. Nobody is going to crash a plane into Mount Rushmore, they're going to crash it into the Empire State Building or Sears Tower. That's completely irrelevant. As I made clear, no one will need to fight one another. If a portion of the country wants to secede, the current political and moral climate is such that the rest of the country will allow it to happen peacefully. That has been true for at least 30 years. I don't think anyone - not even Dick Cheney - would be willing to fight a civil war over tax revenue.
How is it irrelevant? A blue state = a state that voted for Kerry. this is funny, it makes me smile to know there are people so naive. Yes, the states who control the military are going to let the states that control the economy just leave. Yeah, sure. Either way, just because we like to say red state blue state, doesn't mean the country is so clear cut. In fact, that analogy is really stupid and it pisses me off. Almost half of Michigan, my state, voted for Bush. But we're a blue state. So, because slightly more than half liked Kerry, the whole state is blue? Only if we were ruled by the electoral college. In reality, things aren't clear cut and easy, state by state. Lots of people in the south voted for Kerry, and lots of people in the North voted for Bush. Looking at that county map someone posted a while ago, things are pretty mixed. Really more divided by urban/rural. Should the cities secede from the rural areas? Anyways, it's dumb to talk about because almost no one would ever support secession. It's not going to happen, it's less likely even than a hippy revolution happening again and suceeding.
Shelby County (Memphis) went for Kerry by a sizeable margin. Even my rural hometown's county is blue. Things aren't as divided as some want to believe and the South is not *as* backwards as so many of you hoity-toity yankees might think.
A county map of Dems/Republican voting is interesting. I'd like to see Precinct by precinct map. Never heard of one being generated.
It'd probably look roughly the same as the county map. There's a lot more ideological difference between counties and states than there is between precincts and counties.
For the most part, you are correct. I would look for unexpected anomalies. For example for the most part San Fransico, I'm guessing, would be solid blue. Should any red appear in historically blue precincts would be a bit interesting. I guess I'm looking for trends.
ha. Love the new picture. At which point exactly were we the people given a choice? The whole thing that keeps lingering reminds me of fantasy football or something. I think it's high time that people pulled their heads out of their asses and realized that we've all been duped by the wealthy elite.
I'd like to see the precinct-by-precinct map of Texas for the Congressional seats after all the gerrymandering the past year.
