Red vs. Blue

In the past, division has been used as a tool to weaken the masses. The African Americans vs. the Whites is the big one - obviously still there in large part, but also the GLBT community, and now Reds vs Blues. I wonder if there is any way to bridge this possibly "imposed from the neocons" gap between red states and blue states, because my feeling is that it is a very divisive construct.

with Red v. Blue. I am BLUE.

I live in Austin Tx, Kerry carried this county, the only blue in a sea of red, we have had our cars keyed, my wife threatened by others that support Shrub. Civil war? Maybe So.

http://www.txdemocrats.org/news/detail/?id=356

Legendary Texas Senator Carl Parker expresses his opinion on the issue of choice and the sentiments of the people of Texas:

Often, when I am in Austin, I see pickets around the front of the Capitol with large signs saying, “Protect the Unborn,” “Stop Abortion,” “Life is Precious,” “Save the Unborn Children.” I read headlines where right-wing zealots opposed to abortion have picketed or bombed abortion clinics. I do not question their faith nor their zeal to protect human life. I am, however, sorely disappointed in their focus. Most of them voted Republican in the recent election and probably will do so in the next. These folks seem to have blinders on when it comes to concern over children already born.

First, Texas leads the nation in teenage pregnancies per capita. Apparently, something has gone wrong with the strategy of not mentioning any birth control method in public school health classes. Opting to teach abstinence only has probably gone a long way in making our state first in the country in this category.

Second, it is very strange to me that a state which is clearly under the control of conservatives, influenced and supported by the church going faithful, is either first or second of all the states in the nation in its divorce rate. Texas comes in well behind the Godless state of Massachusetts.

Third, Texas is absolutely, without question, the frontrunner of all of the states of the union when it comes to the most working families without health insurance. I am certain the mothers and fathers of these families, when attending a sick child, find great comfort in the fact they have been protected by our state and federal government from being subjected to any government subsidized health insurance plan for their family.

Anyway, here's a great website about the Blue/Red divide.

go to:
www.(MakeLoveTo)TheSouth.com

Substitute "MakeLoveTo" with the appropriate 4-letter word that begins with "F".

It's easy and effective. I'm not buying into red vs. blue. The country split evenly along party lines -- 52% "mandate", my ass -- and any attempt to paint it as inevitable that "red" states with always go Republican and "blue" states will always go Democratic is a defeatist illusion.

I live in one the the "blue" states, but am in a very "red" county. I used to live in the bluest of blue counties. We would fight over such trivia as "how many transgendered Filipina osteopaths do we need on the Central Committee to be inclusive?" In my current home, we work on bread-and-butter issues, such as "how can we convince people that government has a legitimate purpose?"

My heroes are Texas liberals these days! They can teach us all how to fight the good fight!

To be blunt, there is a cultural divide between the Blues and Reds that will never be mended. There could be no more fundamental issue than that which divides these states. Does everybody have the right to live their lives as they see fit? Or is it the role of the community (government) to ensure that people live "correctly"?

Are you going to give up your values to hold this "country" together? Are they? Probably not.

This is not a just a neocon issue. Face it, these states have never really understood one another or had very much in common. It just made economic and geographic sense to try to meld into one country. (although this excellent article on Slate from a while back criticizes even that logic very well http://slate.msn.com/id/102291).

What has held the country together until now is that the blue states have been allowed to live as blue states and the reds as reds. That, of course, is exactly what the neocons have set out to change.

I have posted here only once before, but have been active on the Kerry/CommonGround forums and have been very vocal about my belief that the Blue States should very seriously consider the idea of succession. It's crazy-talk now, but I believe will build momentum in time...

As for me, the red states don't exist. I will not live in one, visit one or spend money in one. I will not support the threat that they pose to this democracy.

It's going to take some careful planning to figure out how I'm going to get from Pennsylvania back to Detroit for Christmas without stopping in Ohio for gas or food, but I'll figure it out... ;-)

and see that the bulk of the current red states were all of the slave states in 1860. They haven't changed culturally very much, if any.

If you go to www.opednews.com --on the home page there is a "Map of Purple America." It gives the election breakdowns by county rather than state. You can see that the REAL America is just about allover *Purple* (in fact Calif and NY are mostly purple, not blue). This Red/Blue thing is a media construct which is divisive and we should not buy into it.

That having been said, I understand how you feel. There IS a big cultural divide, yes, but it is not between states...it is more between urban and rural areas. This gulf between progressives and conservatives exists to varying degrees everywhere in the US. (Q: Should New Mexico be forever doomed to "Red" when Kerry lost only by a few thousand votes there? Or should a state be "Red" because the election was especially full of "irregularities" and the blue voters didn't even have a chance)?

It would be nice to think there are "safe" havens when faced with a threat. But living in a perceived safe zone can also give you a false sense of security. I suggest we Blue Team keep focused on the fact that the threat is the ultra-conservative assault on our government. We need to pull together, no matter where we are in this country. Those of us Blues who have worked hard for Kerry in Red states need thanks, not f...yous. Today it's more complex than in old Civil War days--the South is not your enemy. Draw lines in the sand, yes--but not following obsolete or distorted maps.

I found this VERY interesting. Hopefully you will too...

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dorf/20041124.html

Bottom line, secession IS legal so long as it is not unilateral, meaning that as long as a majority in congress approves it!

Something to consider when the neocons start pushing their social agenda...

..something about alternating the color for the incumbent party every presidential election so if Bush is still lingering in the oval office in 2008, he should be blue and the democratic challenger red. We'll see if that actually continues or if this election managed to lock in the current color scheme. In other words, this is not a geographic division OR even a color division. It appears to be simply Republicans vs Democrats.

On edit:

Inc. Party   Year  Candidate  Color
-----------  ----  ---------  -----
Republicans  1976  Ford       Blue
Democrats    1980  Carter     Red
Republicans  1984  Reagan     Blue
Republicans  1988  Bush       Red
Republicans  1992  Bush       Blue
Democrats    1996  Clinton    Red
Democrats    2000  Gore       Blue
Republicans  2004  Bush       Red

If all the blue states join with Canada, The Red States of America will be seriously declawed.