Funny, Vermont crossed my mind today, too. Alf Landon retuned to Kansas and named his two horses Maine and Vermont after the only two states that he had won. Now, Vermont is home to Ben and Jerry's and Phish.
The crossover came, I think, 25 years ago. Vermont walked the plank for Jerry Ford and yet, were it not for John Anderson, Carter would have won the state in 1980.
Now that's seismic.
The Vermont census is interesting:
Year Population Percent Increase
1960 389,811
1970 444,732 14.1
1980 511,456 15.0
1990 562,758 10.0
2001 612,308 8.8
What happened to Vermont? Flooded with young boomer democrats from neighbouring blue states, that's what. The good Dr. Dean is a typical example.
Vt pop growth 1980-90 was 19th and just above the national avarage
Vt pop growth 1990-00 was 20th and just below the national
