Hoppin' Mad

[ednbarby]

I love where your head's at, Mandy.. 

Can you imagine something this ridiculous?

Really.  You know, 10 years ago, I'd have never have been able to imagine it, myself.  Not here - not in this country.  Pfffffffttt.

It's gonna take us at least 10 years to undo - really, put a dent in - the damage that idiot and his administration have done to this country, not to mention the world.  And that's if we don't fuck up and vote another Republican into office again.

And what worries me, too, is that that initiative *will* win in Florida in November.  Hell, we've picked that numbnut twice, now, after all (well, the first time is debatable).

Signed,
Deeply Blue in a Red State

[nakymaton]

I hear ya, Barb. My state (OUR state, Front-Ranger, if you're out there!) already has a state statute banning gay marriage. There's a petition drive to put the same thing into a constitutional amendment... and the damn state constitution is really easy to amend, but hard to fix. (It takes a 2/3 vote to repeal a previously passed amendment. Argh.)

Signed, another blue resident of a red state

[Front-Ranger]

I'm here, Mel. I like to think of Colorado as more of a purple state. There'll be a lot of focus on swing states like this in coming years. I'm looking forward to being more active and trying to make a difference. We already have a Democratic legislature and soon we'll have more enlightened leadership as our long-term do-nothing guv steps down. I want Colorado, or at least Denver, to be, as Jack said, the place to go when "this happens to them." I'm here to give all Brokies a Western welcome! (The way we got in this mess in the first place is too many redneck Texans and Californians moving in--okay all you Texifornians, have at me!!)

[nakymaton]

Front-Ranger - how's about if we just encourage Colorado Springs to secede from the state, join Texas or something?

(Man, the Texans are all gonna kill me for suggesting that. )

(I would say that, area-wise, Colorado is mostly old-school red with patches of blue around Denver, Boulder, and some ski towns. The damn state elected Wayne f****in' Allard, one of the most incoherent anti-gay voices in the US Senate, for cryin' out loud. Elected and re-elected, and we can't even throw him out this year. And CO passed Amendment 2 back in the day. And... well, I'm in a swing district for both legislative and US House races, and I get to see the red/blue clashes acted out in the local paper and in the grocery store aisles every day. It ain't pretty. A few years back, I saw how homophobia brought out the worst in a very liberal state like Vermont, and I trust Coloradans much less than I trusted Vermonters.)

I would say that Florida is more "swing" than Colorado is. But, Barb, my sense is that a lot of Florida's
"northern-ness" comes from retirees from the Northeast (and other Northeasterners who couldn't take the winters). And it strikes me that that's a demographic that could be economically liberal but could have pretty entrenched homophobia. (Like Hollywood, actually.  ) But I don't live there, so my stereotypes could be all a-skew.

[starboardlight]

... What particularly puzzles me is why those southern states always go red in the recent years.  It seems the poorer the states is, the redder they get.

yeah, it confounds me too. it makes no sense, since the Republican party is very much for the rich not the poor. From the "Tax Rebates" to estate taxes, it's all changes that will only benefit the rich. At the same time, Republicans are cutting funds that would benefit middle and lower income Americans, from education to social services. And I don't mean welfare. Currently the Republican run government is cutting funds from organizations that look out for consumer protection rights, taking power away from the FDA or other organizations that would oversee corporations to make sure that average Americans have as much information about their purchases as possible. It makes so little sense to me.

[ednbarby]

yeah, it confounds me too. it makes no sense, since the Republican party is very much for the rich not the poor. From the "Tax Rebates" to estate taxes, it's all changes that will only benefit the rich. At the same time, Republicans are cutting funds that would benefit middle and lower income Americans, from education to social services. And I don't mean welfare. Currently the Republican run government is cutting funds from organizations that look out for consumer protection rights, taking power away from the FDA or other organizations that would oversee corporations to make sure that average Americans have as much information about their purchases as possible. It makes so little sense to me.

My take on this, as much as it pains me to sound so elitist, is that lower- and middle-class folks are generally less educated than the upper class.  They are also less traveled.  They grow up in a relatively small town or city and stay there, working blue-collar jobs.  As such, bigotry becomes entrenched and stays there, too.  I grew up in Western New York, and I think Phillip can vouch for this - it's a decidedly red area of a decidedly blue state.  Why?  Well, many of the dairy farms New York state is believe it or not famous for (more dairy farms per capita than any other state, even Wisconsin, at least when I was growing up there) are in Western New York.  The most rural parts of the state, understandably, are there, too.  I was born into a family of dyed-in-the-wool Republicans.  Neither of my brothers went to college.  One still works blue collar jobs in Ohio.  The other one took some night courses and works in IT for a Fortune 500 company.  Both are smart and caring people.  And both are insufferable bigots.  They just haven't been around, I think.  I keep trying to tell my one brother who barely makes ends meet with his shipping and receiving job and who can't afford the down payment for a house at 46 that his party is bleeding him and all his friends dry (not in so many words - honest!), but he won't listen.

Fear is a very powerful motivator.  And without the benefit of going to college and getting to meet and know a diversity of people there and afterwards, it's no wonder they let their fear (of anyone who's different or of anyone who seems to be "too smart" (Kerry, anyone?)) rule their lives.

What the Democratic party needs is someone who can cut through all the bullshit and tell it like it is without being abrasive and antagonistic like Dean and who can make a real connection with the middle class.  What worries me is that that person is nowhere in sight, and Obama Barak has zero interest in stepping up to the plate like we so desperately need him to.  The trouble is that any person who's truly intelligent enough to run this country properly is too smart to want the job.