More "square miles" voted for Bush in 2000

Actually, this map (for those who've never seen it before...used to be really popular around here) tells a great story. See what bits of information you're able to glean from it. I'm sure there will be many differences in Nov, but we'll also recognize (recognise...for you Brits ;)) many similarities.

1. Heavy Dem support along the Missippi River Valley.

2. South Carolina - Dem support isn't coastal. Instead, it's one county inland. :shrug:

3. Loyal Democrats in the Oklahoma 2nd District, despite the rest of my freeper state.

4. West Coast support is strong, but that support doesn't reach very far inland.

5. Border support on both sides, but more in the South.

that would mean alot if cows could vote.

(Interesting to see how it breaks up, though.)

What's that blue area of mid-south West Virginia into Eastern Kentucky all about?

The United Mine Workers run those counties. Furthermore, the locals aren't too keen on supply-side economics.

much eh?

I call it "The Texas Tide." It'll keep getting higher and higher as each election comes along, until eventually the red parts of the state won't be enough.

Must move there. Currently I'm smack dab in the middle of Bush, Texas.

GO MEXICAN DEMOCRATS!!! LOL!

THIS TEXAN GRINGA LOVES YOU!!!!!

According to updates on the www.census.gov site, Texas is now 49.5% minority. Shortly we will join California, New Mexico, Hawaii and the District of Columbia as "majority minority" states. (OK, DC isn't a state, but have a better word) Minorities tend to vote Democrat, and states such as California, Hawaii, and also the District of Columbia are never in doubt. New Mexico has gone Democrat the last three elections too. Why can't we, with our huge minority population, our large urban populations, manage to go Democrat too?

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/002897.html

but Gore won by over half a million votes.

That is very telling. Bush*'s margin in those counties must have been pretty thin!!!

in 2000. Alot of rural folks who vote on issues such as guns and abortion, etc.

are smarter :-)

really

And was generally anti-populist, DLC Democrat -- which in my book is anti-progressive.

I've heard similar things about Donkey Rising, and Retro vs. Metro takes a really bigoted
(anti-rural voters, pro-rich urbanites) stance on the issue.

Sometimes I feel very lonely among liberals when I'm arguing that looking away from rural and small town America is both bad politics and weak liberalism.

We need those people, most of whom are good, hard-working, and intelligent, to change America. Do not give up on the heartland!

RCM

I remember those damn "Bush Country" shirts; apparently people don't realize that my front lawn cannot cast a vote for any candidate.

that blades of grass matter more than people, huh?

That area on the coast right next to Mexico that's red- that's San Diego, of course. Lotsa money, urban sprawl there.

Those counties are part of a large belt extending from Petersburg VA all the way to Selma AL. It's called the "Black Belt", and you can see just about any demographic marker of rural black people show up there, from high rates of stroke to high rates of democratic votes.

Actually extends all the way to northern MS. It's that crescent of blue.

It is actually a geological feature which is named (allegedly) after the rich black soil found in the region.

It is a giant alluvial fan skirting the roots of the Appalachian Mountains, (the southern end of Appalachia is in North-Eastern Alabama).

Cotton Plantations cover(ed) the entire area, and white sharecroppers couldn't afford the land.

Other proof that Geography = Destiny:

Why is Half of WV Blue and the other half Red? Why is eastern Tennessee and Western VA Red? It's always been that way. The "Great Valley" is another continuous geological feature populated entirely by a certain group, Germans and Scots Irish Revolutionary War veterans who revolted against Washington. The area along the Great Valley is a series of parallel ridges and valleys running from Alabama to the Delaware River (NJ border). The Great Valley itself extends all the way from Alabama to Lake Champlain in VT. It is unobstructed by any hills or ranges.

Because these valleys are so unobstructed they were rapidly settled by a single group, disgruntled sharecroppers and ex-indentured servants after the Rev. War. Their descendants are rabidly Republican of the old school, libertarian/xenophobic/right to work type. The Great Valley in WV, MD, and PA is the home base for the northeastern KKK; the Cumberland Gap is part of the Valley which connects Tennessee to Virginia and is the home base for the Southern Baptist convention.

The low-lying Appalachian Plateau to the west is much more rugged and was settled by miners and European Immigrants. It is heavily unionized in parts, while other parts are simply isolated. No valleys or continuous geographical features connect the various counties and hollows to each other demographically but this area (centered on the Ohio River valley between Pittsburgh, PA and the VA/Kentucky border) is traditionally heavily unionized and old-school, populist Democratic.

This is the area where mountaintop removal has hurt Dems tremendously as a wedge issue because there is no flat land there, few jobs, and few environmentalists. Unfortunate because mountaintop removal is tremendously destructive.

Interesting fact: all the "peaks" in the Appalachian coal mining areas are the same elevation. If you go to the top the horizon looks flat. Most of Appalachia is a heavily eroded plateau, not a mountain range. It's actually more rugged because it's so heavily eroded.

The mountains proper, and the Great Valley on the eastern side of the Appalachians are home to rugged Republican mountain folk who still hate Roosevelt for kicking them out of Shenendoah National Park.

Is this your specialty or just a hobbie?

Go down to the shades of purple map: http://www.makethemaccountable.com/misc/Maps.htm

There are several very interesting maps on that page. Thanks!

· The most populous areas tended to vote Democratic.

· The areas that are gaining in population tended to vote Democratic.

· The most prosperous areas tended to vote Democratic.

· Most important of all, NET TAKERS FROM THE FEDERAL COFFERS TENDED TO VOTE FOR BUSH, while net givers to the federal coffers tended to vote for Gore. This may well be the biggest scam of all time.

That is why their lisence tags say Taxation without Representation.

They do not want their new base ball team to be called the "Senators," because DC does not have any Senators. It is not represented in the Senate. It has only a non-voting representative to congress.

The message of Retro vs. Metro is that Dems should go after Rich
people. Dems are this close to becoming the socially moderate,
economically conservative Republican Party of Coolidge and Harding.

With the exact same geographic base. It's certainly a strategy if
the intent is simply to get an electoral lock on majority status.

Thanks to anti-populist, DLC "social liberals" who are themselves affluent and indifferent to the problems of the poor, especially the rural poor. No wonder we are losing those people to RW, racist demagogues and fake Christians.

The sad truth is that rural poor white people are, to be quite frank, too fucking stupid to realize or backwards to care that the Republicans consistently sell out their economic interests while pandering to their "social issues," which is code for prejudices and bigotry.

If holding on to their goddamn guns or pissing on homosexuals or preventing that mythical black man from stealing their job through affirmative action is more important than their own well being or that of their children, they can go fuck themselves. I'm beyond caring about poor white Republicans in Alabama or Kansas or North Dakota.

The urban poor are a loyal constituency, and the Dems should take care of them.

Also, the one undeniable trend in human civilization is the demographic shift from rural to urban. The US is becoming more and more urban.

It is a losing strategy to chase rural voters in national elections.

What the Dems should do is repeal the Electoral College in order to strengthen the influence of urban areas at the expense of rural areas.

:cry:

n/t

They're called Republicans.

The argument is that the population of "Bush counties" is higher. But the total Bush vote is lower. Therefore, the voter participation rate in "Gore counties" is higher. In other words, people in "Bush counties" were too damn lazy to vote!

So I have to ask ... does a square mile vote now count the same as all the 'people' votes on my block?

That is the true divide in America, as the map clearly shows.

We are more divided by social/lifestyle values than anything else: urban/suburban modern secular liberals vs rural/x-urban traditionalist conservatives.

that sorghum and corn stalks can't vote.

The counties that Gore won in 2000 add up to about 19% of the state's geographic area.

BUT!!!!!

They also amount to 82% of the state's population.

Screw the area maps....Try a wieghted map, one that gives equal area to a county based upon its population---Gore got more of the Blue if that's how you slice it---

Like the fellow poster said, it'd matter more if only cows (and sagebrush) voted....

.....holding up as examples?

Have these assholes ever actually driven through Nevada, or Utah, or Wyoming, where you can literally drive hundreds of miles without seeing signs of human civilization. There may only BE 2 people in some of those counties, and if they're right wingers, it's probably because AM radio's all they can get out there.

Wooo! And what is that bigger smudge of blue in eastern central Texas? Gonna have to look at that more closely, I want to know what county that is. I'm in Dallas County.

Look for TX to be bluer than this in November.

I could almost SWEAR that blue block in central kind of eastern central TX (looks like it is north of Houston) is Brazos County, but if that's true, DAMN. Brazos County is home to Texas A&M University, one of the most traditionally conservative schools in the nation and the home of the daddy bush liberry (I went there).

Surely that isn't Brazos County? Of course, most Aggies vote at their HOME address, not their school address, so it IS possible, it's just weirding me out, because besides the border, Austin, and other MAJOR metro areas like El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Ft. Worth, there shouldn't be a random blue county in the middle there. (Now this time I DO expect some of those!)

I tried clicking on the map but it wouldn't enlarge. Anyone?

I can find Travis, where I live and traced it on the map NE. Voting results from 2000, Robertson had 3283 for Gore and 3007 for bush. Brazos had 12,359 for Gore and 32,864 for bush. Those are more the results you would expect. I don't know why Robertson County would vote Dem. I'm impressed though.

found some demographics on Robertson County and I can't see anything that would typically "point" Dem, not even high minority pop. They are 66% white.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48395.html

So frigging strange, but good on them. I've driven through that county about a million times. Had no idea.

Looks like what happened is they really got out the Dem vote there. Wonder what they did. If they have a strong county Dem party or something. You know what? I am so curious I am going to call their county Dem party on Monday and see what's up there and if we can expect the same results this time, LOL!

And if they've influenced any of their neighboring counties, LOL!

God I hope Dallas or Tarrant county go blue. We are VERY fired up here.

I'm hoping big time for Travis to go blue. I think it is likely too. Austin is faily liberal, especially for Texas. Williamson County, no way they will go blue. You have your Collin and Denton Counties, we have Williamson to deal with. Gawd I would hate to live in those parts.

It is nicknamed Mini-Austin. It has developed quite a liberal, "hippie" atmosphere and has a large gay community. This is mostly due to UNT, which is becoming a more and more liberal university! We are very encouraged by the Dem activity in Denton County, it is STRONG. They had a Dean meetup before almost anyone in this area did, even Tarrant or Dallas Counties.

They rock hard.

Now COLLIN County can kiss my ass, bunch of freepers. God I'm glad I don't live there anymore.

Travis County BETTER go blue, I am amazed it wasn't in 2000. Come on, Austinites!!!

Gore 40,144
bush 102,171

I can't believe Travis didn't go blue either. It seems to always go blue even as Texas overall goes red. Mini-Austin eh? Some people down here refer to Austin as the San Francisco of Texas. I like that.

Not many people outside of this area are aware of Denton's growing reputation as a little liberal enclave, but we're purty happy about it. Hey read the article I posted at the end of this thread about Robertson County, hilarious stuff! Proves getting the vote out works for the Dems!

Dave Leip's US Election Atlas

It has historical maps for past elections as well.

I thought that might be the county where Austin was situated?

no it is Robertson County. Weird phenomenon, I can't figure out from demographics what happened.

All my relatives are from Houston (one Aggie, one Longhorn) so:

Two Aggies are standing outside of a bar when they see a dog walk up, circle three times, sit down, lift its leg and begin scrupulously cleaning its privates.

Aggie #1: (probably Bush) "Hot Damn, I shore wish I could do that."

Aggie #2: "Well, he looks like a good ol' dog.
Why don't you ask 'im?"

Gore took the far more densly populated areas

1. Heavy Dem support along the Missippi River Valley.

The blue area between the southern tip of Illinois and New Orleans covers at least half of the area known as the Mississippi Delta, a gigantic, drained swamp once covered in plantations (and home of the blues). The Delta was once 80% slaves in population and is today a dustbowl of pollution and over-fertilization.

(My father grew up on a farm in Northern LA, where the surpassing racism of white inhabitants has kept the tide of blue from washing south to New Orleans powered by disenfranchised black voters. Notice the difference on the ARk/LA border? As recently as 2000, a National Geographic reporter went hitch-hiking through the Delta and reported back that "the coming race war" was the #1 most popular topic amongst the white farmers and fishermen he met.)

2. South Carolina - Dem support isn't coastal. Instead, it's one county inland.

The Black Belt (the giant crescent of blue that runs from Alabama to SC) ends in South Carolina, but actually the entire Coastal Plain in South Carolina and Georgia (the area south and east of that crescent) was once a drained swamp, just like the Delta and the vast majority of residents were ex-slaves on rice plantations, including the Gullah people of the Sea Islands. The coasts have now been overrun by millionaire estates and the Sea Islands have literally been ethnically cleansed of Gullah farmers and fishermen who had lived for centuries on land which Sherman had given to them, this land was repatriated to the plantation owners by subsequent Republican presidents after Lincoln died and the descendents of the plantation owners have sold the entire Sea Islands out from under them to build "gated communities" that are walled off from the remaining Gullah-owned communities (really just hamlets on land that were once given over to the slaves as commons, or Freedmen's Villages). They can't even leave the island on the car ferry unless they live or work in one of the (essentially white only) gated communities, because the developers own the ferries. That is why the lowlands of the Carolinas are solidly blue EXCEPT for the coastal areas.

3. Loyal Democrats in the Oklahoma 2nd District, despite the rest of my freeper state.

Cool. I know nothing about OK except my folks were originally from there. I have family album pictures of oil rigs in sight of the state capitol there in the '40s.

4. West Coast support is strong, but that support doesn't reach very far inland.

Yep, although the entire Willammette Valley in the Pacific NW and the
Central Valley of CA (thanks to immigrants the * administration wants
to make indentured servants and then deport) are trending Dem.

5. Border support on both sides, but more in the South.

???

and i bet those counties that send more tax dollars to washington are blue areas, those that get back more than they give are red counties, in other words counties whose populations generally vote repuke are welfare queen counties.

democratic leaning areas pay for the red areas to have the high level of livestyle they have all the while the people in those red areas piss and moan about high taxes. let those idiots pay their fair share for a change or let their babies suffer from pellagra, drink foul water, and get dysentery.

it was no wonder that during WWII the rejection rates for health and intelligence reasons of draft age males from the south far exceeded that of males from the midwest, east coast and west coast. if it wasn't for the economic support blue areas of the country give the south a lot more of southern inhabitants than currently do would look like banjo boy from "deliverance."

One thing you see on that map is lots of blue in area of diversity, culture and education. Not just the big cities but many of the University areas. This may be a very, very nice thing come Nov. 2.

I think the American Expectorate sold a T-shirt with this map on it...and I remember someone posting the average IQ in all those area barely made it to triple digits. I know elitist, but there is some merit to say when a person is educated and able to think for themselves, a real good chance they're a Democrat.

showing how the blue states have a significantly higher rate of college graduates than red states. You can see the numbers here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2460827

I couldn't help notice...is that Dallas that's in the blue on that map? I also thought Harris County was blue as well.

I used to run into wingnuts on message boards who would quote the counties and so on...I'd ask them to cite the populations...the discussions would either end or I'd get a rant about them damn blacks and illegal Mexicans.

The map goes to prove, if you want to vote for rocks and empty spaces, the manchild is your man.

even during 96 they voted for Dole over Clinton. I don't understand what is going on in those counties. The voting isn't lopsided, but still going red. Maybe one day soon that will change as the counties continue to grow and diversify.

by state and county. Gore took 24 counties in TX. Now, there are a lot of counties in TX, BUT what I was struck by in looking at the county list for 2000 in TX (http://uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/)
was how SLIM the margin was for bush in a LOAD of Texas counties. To listen to the media, conservatives, etc, you'd think bush won TX handily. He did in SOME counties, but not nearly to the extent I thought he did in most others. I saw counties in which only 27 votes separated the two! Or just 100 votes, etc.

Ok the weird county smack in the center of TX just north of Houston that went for Gore in 2000 is Robertson County, it borders Brazos County (home of Texas A&M) just to the north.

I found this data on the county: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48395.html

I half expected a high minority pop, but NOPE. 66% white. Low Hispanic population. Wild.

The blue spots in South Dakota are mainly from the American Indian reservations there. As you will recall, it was the Indian vote which narrowly reelected Tim Johnson to the Senate in 2002.

http://uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/img.php?year=2000&st=SD&type=map
(Dave Liep's maps use red for Dem and blue for Evil, like NBC used to in the old days.)



As I pointed out in another thread, the 2000 election map (by state) bears a striking resemblance to a map I made using the per-student spending by state.



Above is my map of the 2000 election.



Above is a map I made showing the top 20 per-student education spending states in blue, and the bottom 20 per-student spending states in red. Middle of the road states are not colored, and dang if I don't see a swing state or two.

As I suggested before, that's why the President is leaving children behind--he wants to expand his voter base.

We win urban areas. As population grows, urban areas will only expand. Rural, GOP areas will only contract. It's all a part of the inevitable shrinkage of the GOP base.

it is?

For them, it's fifteen minutes to electoral midnight. Once the demographics change in enough key states, their chances in the Electoral College plummet into the single digits.

Robertson County!!! The GOP in that county has been screaming "voting fraud" for years, apparently because...are you ready for this? A LOT OF PEOPLE VOTE in Robertson County. They have extremely high voter turnout.

See what happens? A lot of people vote and your county goes Democratic. No wonder the county GOP is pissed there.

Here it is: http://www.theeagle.com/campaign2000/localregional/032004robertson.htm

Get this: this is a bit about the GOP head in the county and what he has to say about the suspiciously high turnout in that county:

In Robertson County, Burow attributes the relatively high voter turnout to the “Democratic machine,” which he said always has been successful in getting people out to vote. But he continues to blame the high turnout, in part, on voter fraud.

“ a technique to get ballots into the ballot box without actually standing at a ballot box and stuffing it,” Burow said. “I don’t have any problem with mail-in ballots or with people voting early. My problem is that there are people being coached on how to mark their ballots in the privacy of their own home.”


God bless. SO he's pissed of that the Democratic party in that county does a better job getting out the vote, basically. Geez.

Funny thing, the article mentions two other east Texas counties that went for Gore in 2000. THEY had high voter turnout, too.

Loving County, population 67
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=01000US&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=loving&_cityTown=&_state=04000US48&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on

Voting results for 2000

Gore 29
bush 124

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/results/ Info is there, just have to go to state, then county. Couldn't get the address to save for a direct link.


More votes for the republican candidate than people in whole county.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Does ANYONE know about this????

Hell's bells.

I found it accidently just browing through statistics. Yes, I am such a nerd. Anyway, I found it alarming too. OK, its a SMALL county, but something is just wrong here, something would could be going on in other areas too but just aren't apparent in the larger populations.