How did WASPs vote in the past?

[All Along The Watchtower]

My definition of "WASP" for this thread: White Protestants (usually of "mainline" denominations like Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Northern Baptists, Congregationalists, etc. ), usually well-educated and upper-class in status.

Were they strongly Republican in most areas (outside the South, of course)? Or were there a lot of Northern WASP Democrats?

I get the impression that they dominated both parties for a long time, even though they didn't dominate the voter base (obviously).

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Mostly Republican (outside the South) until the 1980's or so (if not still today), but the Democratic presidents were usually WASPs, because Irish Catholics or Southerners couldn't appeal to Northerners. So Cleveland, Wilson, and FDR were all northern bluebloods (except Wilson, but he's close enough).

[old timey villain]

Go to the census bureau and find high income states. Then go to the Pew religious survey and find states with high numbers of mainline protestants. The states that qualify for both would be Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington state, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland. Of course the place where WASPs have the longest history is the Northeast.

Most of these states used to be strongly Republican or swing states but are now Strong Democrat or swing states. A lot of this shift has been from WASPs shifting Democrat.

As a WASP myself (Episcopalian) I can try to explain. You see, Episcopalians and other mainliners, even in the south, hold a more progressive approach to religion. The Baptist preachers stand at the pulpit and go off on gay marriage, the Catholic priests demonize abortion and dole out a big serving of catholic guilt, the Mormons are foot soldiers for conservative causes, but mainliners are much more hesitant to mix religion with politics.

Church services in mainline denominations will be much tamer, and the ministers will almost never take a political stand on an issue in front of the congregation. In the same strand, mainliners believe in a more personal relationship with God that doesn't necessarily rely on dogma and doctrine. We're less fundamentalist and more likely to see value in other faiths as well.

That being said, I think mainliners have watched the GOP transform into a big tent revival and it's turned many off to the party. Even as Christians, it's hard for them to watch many of them drone on about America being a "Christian nation" and use their faith as a means to justify their political crusades that probably aren't that Christ like in the first place. The Democrats pay lip service to Christianity as well, but they're less likely to make it the focal point of their political message and agenda. Men like Obama and Clinton are quieter about their faith than Bush or the current crop of GOPers today. So the Democrats just align themselves better with mainliners views of faith these days.

[NY Jew]

Go to the census bureau and find high income states. Then go to the Pew religious survey and find states with high numbers of mainline protestants. The states that qualify for both would be Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington state, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland. Of course the place where WASPs have the longest history is the Northeast.

Most of these states used to be strongly Republican or swing states but are now Strong Democrat or swing states. A lot of this shift has been from WASPs shifting Democrat.

As a WASP myself (Episcopalian) I can try to explain. You see, Episcopalians and other mainliners, even in the south, hold a more progressive approach to religion. The Baptist preachers stand at the pulpit and go off on gay marriage, the Catholic priests demonize abortion and dole out a big serving of catholic guilt, the Mormons are foot soldiers for conservative causes, but mainliners are much more hesitant to mix religion with politics.

Church services in mainline denominations will be much tamer, and the ministers will almost never take a political stand on an issue in front of the congregation. In the same strand, mainliners believe in a more personal relationship with God that doesn't necessarily rely on dogma and doctrine. We're less fundamentalist and more likely to see value in other faiths as well.

That being said, I think mainliners have watched the GOP transform into a big tent revival and it's turned many off to the party. Even as Christians, it's hard for them to watch many of them drone on about America being a "Christian nation" and use their faith as a means to justify their political crusades that probably aren't that Christ like in the first place. The Democrats pay lip service to Christianity as well, but they're less likely to make it the focal point of their political message and agenda. Men like Obama and Clinton are quieter about their faith than Bush or the current crop of GOPers today. So the Democrats just align themselves better with mainliners views of faith these days.

please explain the blue laws put in place by mainline Protestants?

Opposition to North Eastern Wasps are the main reason why Jews are now Democrat.

Unfortunately only half of those are still what they were 80 years ago.

[Indy Texas]

In regards to the South, the closest thing to WASPs in the South are the people who are descendants of the early English-American plantation families who mainly lived in the Tidewater region of Virginia and the Carolinas and who migrated throughout the rest of the South over time.

The rule of thumb in the 20th century South was that what Protestant church you went to was a marker of socioeconomic status and political preferences.

The 'WASP' Episcopalian in the executive suite voted for Republicans and establishment Democrats who weren't overtly racist or segregationist. The Methodist or Presbyterian bookkeeper in the main office was a party-line Democrat. The Baptist or evangelical who was driving the trucks or working the loading dock favored segregationist and populist Democrats.

[freepcrusher]

the term wasp is a vague term. If by that you mean an old stock american then there is evidence of them still voting republican just look at rural Ohio and Indiana.

[Mechaman]

Go to the census bureau and find high income states. Then go to the Pew religious survey and find states with high numbers of mainline protestants. The states that qualify for both would be Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington state, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland. Of course the place where WASPs have the longest history is the Northeast.

Most of these states used to be strongly Republican or swing states but are now Strong Democrat or swing states. A lot of this shift has been from WASPs shifting Democrat.

As a WASP myself (Episcopalian) I can try to explain. You see, Episcopalians and other mainliners, even in the south, hold a more progressive approach to religion. The Baptist preachers stand at the pulpit and go off on gay marriage, the Catholic priests demonize abortion and dole out a big serving of catholic guilt, the Mormons are foot soldiers for conservative causes, but mainliners are much more hesitant to mix religion with politics.

Church services in mainline denominations will be much tamer, and the ministers will almost never take a political stand on an issue in front of the congregation. In the same strand, mainliners believe in a more personal relationship with God that doesn't necessarily rely on dogma and doctrine. We're less fundamentalist and more likely to see value in other faiths as well.

That being said, I think mainliners have watched the GOP transform into a big tent revival and it's turned many off to the party. Even as Christians, it's hard for them to watch many of them drone on about America being a "Christian nation" and use their faith as a means to justify their political crusades that probably aren't that Christ like in the first place. The Democrats pay lip service to Christianity as well, but they're less likely to make it the focal point of their political message and agenda. Men like Obama and Clinton are quieter about their faith than Bush or the current crop of GOPers today. So the Democrats just align themselves better with mainliners views of faith these days.

Well, if you have your rose tinted glasses off by now, may I ask who it was that advocated blue laws?

Otherwise, good post.

[morgieb]

Assuming you mean WASPs as those Northeastern blue bloods, traditionally very Republican.

[old timey villain]

Go to the census bureau and find high income states. Then go to the Pew religious survey and find states with high numbers of mainline protestants. The states that qualify for both would be Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington state, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland. Of course the place where WASPs have the longest history is the Northeast.

Most of these states used to be strongly Republican or swing states but are now Strong Democrat or swing states. A lot of this shift has been from WASPs shifting Democrat.

As a WASP myself (Episcopalian) I can try to explain. You see, Episcopalians and other mainliners, even in the south, hold a more progressive approach to religion. The Baptist preachers stand at the pulpit and go off on gay marriage, the Catholic priests demonize abortion and dole out a big serving of catholic guilt, the Mormons are foot soldiers for conservative causes, but mainliners are much more hesitant to mix religion with politics.

Church services in mainline denominations will be much tamer, and the ministers will almost never take a political stand on an issue in front of the congregation. In the same strand, mainliners believe in a more personal relationship with God that doesn't necessarily rely on dogma and doctrine. We're less fundamentalist and more likely to see value in other faiths as well.

That being said, I think mainliners have watched the GOP transform into a big tent revival and it's turned many off to the party. Even as Christians, it's hard for them to watch many of them drone on about America being a "Christian nation" and use their faith as a means to justify their political crusades that probably aren't that Christ like in the first place. The Democrats pay lip service to Christianity as well, but they're less likely to make it the focal point of their political message and agenda. Men like Obama and Clinton are quieter about their faith than Bush or the current crop of GOPers today. So the Democrats just align themselves better with mainliners views of faith these days.

Well, if you have your rose tinted glasses off by now, may I ask who it was that advocated blue laws?

Otherwise, good post.

Well, if you're trying to portray modern day WASPS as more fundamentalist because of blue laws then you might as well also argue that Massachusetts is the most conservative state in the nation because of the Puritans.

People change, politics change, faiths change.

[Mechaman]

Go to the census bureau and find high income states. Then go to the Pew religious survey and find states with high numbers of mainline protestants. The states that qualify for both would be Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington state, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland. Of course the place where WASPs have the longest history is the Northeast.

Most of these states used to be strongly Republican or swing states but are now Strong Democrat or swing states. A lot of this shift has been from WASPs shifting Democrat.

As a WASP myself (Episcopalian) I can try to explain. You see, Episcopalians and other mainliners, even in the south, hold a more progressive approach to religion. The Baptist preachers stand at the pulpit and go off on gay marriage, the Catholic priests demonize abortion and dole out a big serving of catholic guilt, the Mormons are foot soldiers for conservative causes, but mainliners are much more hesitant to mix religion with politics.

Church services in mainline denominations will be much tamer, and the ministers will almost never take a political stand on an issue in front of the congregation. In the same strand, mainliners believe in a more personal relationship with God that doesn't necessarily rely on dogma and doctrine. We're less fundamentalist and more likely to see value in other faiths as well.

That being said, I think mainliners have watched the GOP transform into a big tent revival and it's turned many off to the party. Even as Christians, it's hard for them to watch many of them drone on about America being a "Christian nation" and use their faith as a means to justify their political crusades that probably aren't that Christ like in the first place. The Democrats pay lip service to Christianity as well, but they're less likely to make it the focal point of their political message and agenda. Men like Obama and Clinton are quieter about their faith than Bush or the current crop of GOPers today. So the Democrats just align themselves better with mainliners views of faith these days.

Well, if you have your rose tinted glasses off by now, may I ask who it was that advocated blue laws?

Otherwise, good post.

Well, if you're trying to portray modern day WASPS as more fundamentalist because of blue laws then you might as well also argue that Massachusetts is the most conservative state in the nation because of the Puritans.

People change, politics change, faiths change.

I'm sorry, it seems I misinterpreted part of your post.

[NY Jew]

Go to the census bureau and find high income states. Then go to the Pew religious survey and find states with high numbers of mainline protestants. The states that qualify for both would be Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington state, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland. Of course the place where WASPs have the longest history is the Northeast.

Most of these states used to be strongly Republican or swing states but are now Strong Democrat or swing states. A lot of this shift has been from WASPs shifting Democrat.

As a WASP myself (Episcopalian) I can try to explain. You see, Episcopalians and other mainliners, even in the south, hold a more progressive approach to religion. The Baptist preachers stand at the pulpit and go off on gay marriage, the Catholic priests demonize abortion and dole out a big serving of catholic guilt, the Mormons are foot soldiers for conservative causes, but mainliners are much more hesitant to mix religion with politics.

Church services in mainline denominations will be much tamer, and the ministers will almost never take a political stand on an issue in front of the congregation. In the same strand, mainliners believe in a more personal relationship with God that doesn't necessarily rely on dogma and doctrine. We're less fundamentalist and more likely to see value in other faiths as well.

That being said, I think mainliners have watched the GOP transform into a big tent revival and it's turned many off to the party. Even as Christians, it's hard for them to watch many of them drone on about America being a "Christian nation" and use their faith as a means to justify their political crusades that probably aren't that Christ like in the first place. The Democrats pay lip service to Christianity as well, but they're less likely to make it the focal point of their political message and agenda. Men like Obama and Clinton are quieter about their faith than Bush or the current crop of GOPers today. So the Democrats just align themselves better with mainliners views of faith these days.

Well, if you have your rose tinted glasses off by now, may I ask who it was that advocated blue laws?

Otherwise, good post.

Well, if you're trying to portray modern day WASPS as more fundamentalist because of blue laws then you might as well also argue that Massachusetts is the most conservative state in the nation because of the Puritans.

People change, politics change, faiths change.

Bergen County

[Torie]

Oh, you can be a WASP without being religious at all. It is a cultural thing. I consider myself a WASP, and so did my parents and brothers. None of us were or are religious. The Yankee (living in or traceable back to New England) cohort of WASPS all over the fruited plain (check out Rock County, WI), started shifting Dem with the Civil Rights movement.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Oh, you can be a WASP without being religious at all. It is a cultural thing. I consider myself a WASP, and so did my parents and brothers. None of us were or are religious. The Yankee (living in or traceable back to New England) cohort of WASPS all over the fruited plain (check out Rock County, WI), started shifting Dem with the Civil Rights movement.

Are they solidly Dem now, or are there still a lot of Republican WASPs (besides you, of course )

[Torie]

Oh, you can be a WASP without being religious at all. It is a cultural thing. I consider myself a WASP, and so did my parents and brothers. None of us were or are religious. The Yankee (living in or traceable back to New England) cohort of WASPS all over the fruited plain (check out Rock County, WI), started shifting Dem with the Civil Rights movement.

Are they solidly Dem now, or are there still a lot of Republican WASPs (besides you, of course )

Oh sure there are plenty of WASP Pubs of course. But the Yankees used to be the base of the GOP. Now they lean pretty clearly Dem.  The balance of the non-Yankee WASPS still vote GOP, but by rather narrow margins overall. Scots Irish and the Southern Baptists (they heavily overlap of course) don't count as WASPS for purposes of this discussion, using the word from a cultural perspective.

[Indy Texas]

Oh, you can be a WASP without being religious at all. It is a cultural thing. I consider myself a WASP, and so did my parents and brothers. None of us were or are religious. The Yankee (living in or traceable back to New England) cohort of WASPS all over the fruited plain (check out Rock County, WI), started shifting Dem with the Civil Rights movement.

Are they solidly Dem now, or are there still a lot of Republican WASPs (besides you, of course )

Oh sure there are plenty of WASP Pubs of course. But the Yankees used to be the base of the GOP. Now they lean pretty clearly Dem.  The balance of the non-Yankee WASPS still vote GOP, but by rather narrow margins overall. Scots Irish and the Southern Baptists (they heavily overlap of course) don't count as WASPS for purposes of this discussion, using the word from a cultural perspective.

I know one who lives in CO (originally from CT; boarding school, Mayflower ancestors and all that). When he was living in TX, I thought he was one of the most liberal people I knew. He voted for Kerry in '04, was very vocally opposed to the same-sex marriage ban Texas passed in '05, was a staunch environmentalist. Then I come to find out he considers himself a Republican. It was like a mirror image of all those conservative old people in rural East Texas who love guns, hate abortion rights, think Obama is a communist infiltrator and will still tell you "I was born a Democrat and I'll die a Democrat."