Excerpt: As the second graph shows, the GOP's aversion to the city is much more pronounced than Democrats' aversion to small towns and rural areas. While 31 percent of consistent liberals and 44 percent of "mostly liberals" are happy as a peach in politically red small towns and rural areas, just 4 percent of consistent conservatives and 14 percent of "mostly conservatives" feel most at home in the blue city.
That suggests Republicans are much more likely to flee urban areas -- leaving ultra-concentrated Democrats districts -- than Democrats are to flee small towns and leave similarly concentrated GOP districts out there.
All of which reinforces -- and could even expand -- the GOP's "natural gerrymandering" advantage.
I think there is a difference between flee and willing to take jobs that are offered to them. I do see republicans like to move when an area becomes too "liberal" for them. (White flight, shout out to NitaX) But I see a ton of dems who will not even look at job listings in certain parts of the country, much less take one that's offered in a liberal area.
I also think there is a difference between feeling uncomfortable in your town and being desperate to move because of politics.
I can't lie about this. My H asked me about relocating to Birmingham and I told him hell and no despite having a really, really good friend (who is an R BTW) live there. I can't be in an area with a giant ass billboard that says Rush is Right. Fuck No.
I was actually fairly conservative when I lived in Tx, so it was less the politics and more that I never felt like I fit in. I felt like I fit in a lot more in MA and CA, so I have a tendency to think I will feel less like an outsider in blue states, which may not actually be true.
Excerpt: As the second graph shows, the GOP's aversion to the city is much more pronounced than Democrats' aversion to small towns and rural areas. While 31 percent of consistent liberals and 44 percent of "mostly liberals" are happy as a peach in politically red small towns and rural areas, just 4 percent of consistent conservatives and 14 percent of "mostly conservatives" feel most at home in the blue city.
That suggests Republicans are much more likely to flee urban areas -- leaving ultra-concentrated Democrats districts -- than Democrats are to flee small towns and leave similarly concentrated GOP districts out there.
All of which reinforces -- and could even expand -- the GOP's "natural gerrymandering" advantage.
I think there is a difference between flee and willing to take jobs that are offered to them. I do see republicans like to move when an area becomes too "liberal" for them. (White flight, shout out to NitaX) But I see a ton of dems who will not even look at job listings in certain parts of the country, much less take one that's offered in a liberal area.
I also think there is a difference between feeling uncomfortable in your town and being desperate to move because of politics.
Yeah, that's only part of the article, it actually goes into sizes of house/property that conservative and liberals prefer and how close to neighbors, etc. It's a pretty interesting read based on a PEW study.
I am liberal and when we looked at moving from our mostly liberal city to another place, we did consider things that might be considered liberal subconsciously. Our priorities were:
-Nearer to family so the kids would have cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents around -Near open space trails/bike friendly areas -In the Mountains so we can ski, bike, hike, run, camp, backpack -Have good beer -Have a community feel so kids would walk to school and have friends nearby in the neighborhood -Jobs that we liked (money wasn't the highest priority)
So I wonder if those criteria are "liberal" more than "conservative?" Either way we ended up in a conservative state in one of the 3 liberal cities/towns. The largest town in the state is actually very conservative, but it's got a lot of oil/gas and ranching/farming industry supporting it.
Post by sparrowsong on Aug 8, 2014 13:35:35 GMT -5
Probably half and half. Most of my more politically outspoken friends are on the left. The ones who label themselves conservatives don't tend to talk politics at all, with a couple reposting some anti- illegals and/or pro-gun memes on Fb that is worth an eye roll but otherwise easy to ignore.
The exceptions are a couple classmates from grad school who went way too far with anti gay marriage crap that I found offensive and they were unfriended.
My bil is one of the people who was relatively nice and fun until the '08 election season and then lost his damn mind over defending Sarah Palin and Obama being elected. Changed his entire personality and I don't like to even be around him. He has lost a lot of friends since then too so I know it's not just me.
Post by ChillyMcFreeze on Aug 8, 2014 13:39:40 GMT -5
My two BFFs are Republicans, so I think that counts double. I just assume that most people I encounter where I live are conservative, so it would be easier to number my liberal friends.
Post by anastasia517 on Aug 8, 2014 17:22:53 GMT -5
I'll approach this from a Canadian parties perspective. The area I'm in is hugely NDP, which is the far left. My riding has only ever elected NDP and Liberal Members of Parliament since it was formed in the early 50s.
That said, I have plenty of NDP and Liberal friends and family. But I honestly don't know if I have friends or family who vote Conservative. The closest I can think of is a couple of DH's college friends and people I could only describe as acquaintances I'm only still updated on thanks to Facebook.
Post by iammalcolmx on Aug 8, 2014 17:58:22 GMT -5
If someone messes with origami @helenabonhamcarter Ciceroteflepdruidpy4mIIOY Imma cut them. So yah I am down with conservatives. Don't fuck with my clique.
ETA: julief too!! Don't mess with my FOLKS. I am oppressed too??? SHIT!!
I'm probably in the 5-15 camp. I'm not counting all the people I knew growing up in OC, CA who claim they're Republican because oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-I-have-to-pay-taxes-in-this-country. What's so funny is that my parents were so liberal that I didn't even realize Orange County was conservative until I moved away and people assumed I was one. ::Blinders::
Ha! But you're right, OC conservatives are very much of the fiscal conservative/no tax sort vs. the social conservative/no gay marriage/no abortion kind.
Growing up, my parents were pretty much the only liberals on both sides, so I was used to all of my aunts/uncles/cousins and their conservative ideals. I can also remember staying very quiet about my parents political views in elementary school because I grew up in a Republican rich area. Now, as an adult, I'm very used to and comfortable with having differing political views from my family and friends. I think it also gave me a unique perspective in that, aside from a few radical beliefs, there isn't much (politically) that would make me dislike someone.
This reminds me of how worried my mom was about my sister going to Berkeley because it was going to turn her liberal. My dad ended up looking up the stats on how many republicans there were there to reassure her .
Ha! But you're right, OC conservatives are very much of the fiscal conservative/no tax sort vs. the social conservative/no gay marriage/no abortion kind.
Yup
I should have also added that that's why I don't have many issues, if any, with conservatives in my social circle. We don't differ all that much on social issues and the fiscal ones feel more like having different solutions to a problem instead of different problems, kwim?
I've got a couple friends who are fiscal conservatives and vote Republican. But I couldn't be super close with someone who is socially conservative. Even if there's warmth and affection, it's always like two people from different cultures who speak different languages but make nice overtures with food and pantomimes.
And even with my friends who vote Republican for fiscal reasons, it bums me out that they would support people who, in addition to espousing fiscal conservatism, also push policies that oppose civil rights.
If someone messes with origami @helenabonhamcarter Ciceroteflepdruidpy4mIIOY Imma cut them. So yah I am down with conservatives. Don't fuck with my clique.
ETA: julief too!! Don't mess with my FOLKS. I am oppressed too??? SHIT!!
Well, I am a Republican living in MA. However, believe it or not MA DOES actually have some Rs! Many of my friends and family are Republican, but of course I have many friends and family that are very liberal. My SIL is pretty much as liberal as you can get. We all agreed a long time ago that we do not talk about politics at family gatherings. It does sometimes happen and she will now just get up and leave the table, lol.
My husband and I are former MA republicans. We live in Virginia now.
More of my friends are democrats than republicans. But I'm a relatively moderate republican, probably a product of being from such a liberal state.
A lot of things people mentioned in this thread are reasons why I no longer discuss politics on FB, save for some rare head-exploding occasions. I grew up in a few red areas and now live in a blue one. I know many people of all political viewpoints, and though I admit my conservative friends make me crazy I still more or less refuse to engage. Even when they post shit that I'm sure is posted solely to get a rise out of someone.
Quite frankly I'm happier this way. I get my CEP on here. That's WHY I'm here. I value my friendships with people I've known since the 3rd grade more than I value being right. I have never seen a political argument go well among friends on FB. It always resorts to "oh yeah, well I lied to your mom for you 15 years ago!"
I can, however, get well-reasoned alternative viewpoints from other folks here. Which is why I'm here. It's not always to crack stupid jokes and make fish puns.
That said, I have some rather annoying lib friends too. I don't engage them either.
I have spent my entire life in places that are predominately liberal. Most of my family is liberal. Where I live now, it's just assumed you are liberal, and people will frequently just comment on politics to me knowing nothing about me.
There were no Republicans at my college because it was in Canada. My best friend from college married a Republican and if we lived in the same city, I'd probably know him better.
My law school was very liberal, but my best friend from there was Republican. Though, judging by her facebook statuses over the last few years, she is no longer.
There are no Republicans in my line of work, nor my husband's line of work.
I don't know where I'd meet any.
(wilted) At an LA GTG
Awwwwww.....I loved meeting you! And we would totally hang out if we lived in the same city!!!
I just do not know where to find them around here!
Unfortunately, I'm my own worst enemy. If I go somewhere new, and someone asks what I do, people can make safe assumptions about my political beliefs based on my life spent suing big companies. And as a result, either one of two things inevitably happens -- someone in the group either respond in a way that suggests their political beliefs align with mine, or some asshole in the group decides to start making bad lawyer jokes and rant about frivolous lawsuits.
I do try to read the audience and reflect upon why I'm at that particular event, and based on that, there are times that I engage, and times when I try to deflect and change the subject. But the reality is, the way a plaintiff's lawyer gets clients is to know a shitton of regular people, so I often elect to engage, particularly if it's the former, because professional networking for me is selling my job to random people during MeetUp happy hours and small talk at the dog park.
I'm sure that as a result, I alienate many different types of regular people that I would otherwise get along well with.
I don't think there is a way around this, short of a new job.
A lot of things people mentioned in this thread are reasons why I no longer discuss politics on FB, save for some rare head-exploding occasions. I grew up in a few red areas and now live in a blue one. I know many people of all political viewpoints, and though I admit my conservative friends make me crazy I still more or less refuse to engage. Even when they post shit that I'm sure is posted solely to get a rise out of someone.
Quite frankly I'm happier this way. I get my CEP on here. That's WHY I'm here. I value my friendships with people I've known since the 3rd grade more than I value being right. I have never seen a political argument go well among friends on FB. It always resorts to "oh yeah, well I lied to your mom for you 15 years ago!"
I can, however, get well-reasoned alternative viewpoints from other folks here. Which is why I'm here. It's not always to crack stupid jokes and make fish puns.
That said, I have some rather annoying lib friends too. I don't engage them either.
This is pretty much me.
I mean, I realize conservatives on this board probably find me annoying as fuck (hell, half the liberals probably do, too, because SUVs are the devil and I have strong opinions on food), but I kind of got over talking politics with all but a few IRL friends (including on Facebook) probably 8 years ago.
I do love discussing politics as theater, and I find that can be a fun topic with people of all political stripes. I mean, debate drinking games are always fun.
A lot of things people mentioned in this thread are reasons why I no longer discuss politics on FB, save for some rare head-exploding occasions. I grew up in a few red areas and now live in a blue one. I know many people of all political viewpoints, and though I admit my conservative friends make me crazy I still more or less refuse to engage. Even when they post shit that I'm sure is posted solely to get a rise out of someone.
Quite frankly I'm happier this way. I get my CEP on here. That's WHY I'm here. I value my friendships with people I've known since the 3rd grade more than I value being right. I have never seen a political argument go well among friends on FB. It always resorts to "oh yeah, well I lied to your mom for you 15 years ago!"
I can, however, get well-reasoned alternative viewpoints from other folks here. Which is why I'm here. It's not always to crack stupid jokes and make fish puns.
That said, I have some rather annoying lib friends too. I don't engage them either.
You're speaking my language. I do not discuss politics on FB, or IRL much anymore unless I know the person well enough to have a fun and civil discussion. I need anonymity (ha!) to discuss politics now. My FB has people all over the spectrum and I'd like to stay friends with them, as you said.
Post by cookiemdough on Aug 9, 2014 5:53:35 GMT -5
I don't really do politics irl. Even some friends / family that I have that are of the same political party still have some stances on certain social issues that I am not in agreement. I know these things but they are not in your face about it and therefore I don't bring it up.
I am the odd liberal out in my family and I grew up in GA so I'd say nearly all of my family and a good portion of my friends are conservative (definitely more conservative than the cons on this board).
And as a bonus, I have good friends who are close friends with the Cathy family - yes, the Chickfila Cathys.