Party Colors

[KEmperor]

I'm new to this forum, so this may have been asked before.  Why are the Democrats red and the Republicans blue on this site?  I've always thought the traditional colors are the other way around, at least on every other electoral map I've ever seen.

[Demrepdan]

I feel sorry for Dave, for how many times he has to answer this question. LOL!

[Bandit3 the Worker]

I thought it was because - thanks to the rural Republican trend in 2000 - blue is easier on the eyes. The Republican counties tend to have a larger land area.

[Ryan]

I'm new to this forum, so this may have been asked before.  Why are the Democrats red and the Republicans blue on this site?  I've always thought the traditional colors are the other way around, at least on every other electoral map I've ever seen.

Lol Ur right. It has been asked before once every week or so

I'm going to give Dave a break and post his usual answer here

"Red and blue are chosen for the maps because they both are primary colors and because they both are incorporated in the flag. The choice of which party is represented by which color was somewhat arbitrary. I was perhaps influenced by maps that I had seen in the distant past (I still remember the solid blue field of Ronald Reagan's re-election in my hometown newspaper in 1984 - I was 14 at the time)"

Also while the Red republican, Blue-Democrat is the norm in the US; across the world red is used to represent the parties of the left (as the Dems undoubtedly are in the US) Blue for conservative is not as much of a norm but often used as well.

I'm personally happy with the arrangement cause I like Blue better

[Demrepdan]

You forgot to mention one of the other factors that played in Dave's decision. The fact that donkeys (the symbol of the Democratic Party) have a reddish hue, and elephants (the symbol of the Republican Party) have bluish hue.
   I like this reason for having blue for Republicans and red for Democrats most of all.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Blue for conservative and red for liberal makes a lot more sense compared with traditional colors used in Britain, Canada, and elsewhere.   I'd like to know how the media made its decision and got it so screwed up!

[Demrepdan]

Blue for conservative and red for liberal makes a lot more sense compared with traditional colors used in Britain, Canada, and elsewhere.   I'd like to know how the media made its decision and got it so screwed up!

We don't need to follow Great Britain and Canada, we're AMERICANS! Thats why we do it backwards! lol

[Mr. Fresh]

Well blue is my favorite color, so I'm happy with it.  

[Ryan]

Well blue is my favorite color, so I'm happy with it.  

LOL mine too!! When I was a kid (not that I'm much more now;) ) I was fooled into liking the democratic party cause my uncle told me it was the "blue" party.

Fortunately passage of time corrected that grave mistake but I still felt most disturbed to look at any election result map. It is hard for me to associate blue with the Dems and red (not my favorite color by far) with the GOP.

Dave is to be greately thanked for his very enlightened color selection and the correction of a grave injustice to the GOP and ME

[Ryan]

You forgot to mention one of the other factors that played in Dave's decision. The fact that donkeys (the symbol of the Democratic Party) have a reddish hue, and elephants (the symbol of the Republican Party) have bluish hue.
   I like this reason for having blue for Republicans and red for Democrats most of all.

Well I can confirm the donkey reddish hue thingy by virtue of my knowing many democrats
Seriously though donkeys do have a very slight reddish hue.

Elephants on the other hand do not have a bluish hue and I must reprimand Dave for making me think so. The reason for my newfound eligtenment on the issue of elephant hues is that a couple of days back I actually did see an elephant on the street and went to examine it for bluish hues

I did not eventually find any trace of blue- it was mostly grey all over with some patches being pinkish like behind the ears.

I also posed my query to the mahout (elephant handler) and he too assured me that he had never seen any trace of the all elusive blue in an elephant.

So sorry Dave, I'm gonna take the mahout's word over yours on this matter

[Demrepdan]

Some people say that gray does have a slight bluish hue. And elephants are inarguably gray. If you get a really light blue, add a little tint to it, it has a grayish appearance. Same with the donkeys. Donkeys are not red. They're brown, of course. But if you take a dark red, and add some dark tint to it, it becomes brown.
This now makes me want to take out some paint, and mix the colors to see if i'm right. lol
But if you think about the colors, you can see how both of those animals, may have that certain hue to them. Blue and Red are primary colors. The other colors, like Brown (donkeys) and gray (elephants) must come from some other primary colors. Blue and red are the closest primary colors to brown and gray.

[Demrepdan]

In response to people saying that blue is their favorite color and they are glad that Dave used it for their party. Blue is also my favorite color, and even if he used the color pink on the election map, it wouldn't affect my feelings for one party or the other. Nor would I care which colors were used for each party. I'll say what Howard Dean says about the American flag, "The color blue doesn't belong to one party, it doesn't belong to Rush Limbaugh and George W. Bush, it belongs to ALL of us." lol

     I've been reasearching to discover WHY the media uses Blue for Democrats and Red for Republicans, and have been unsuccessful thus far.

[Paul]

Actually, I think that Rush Limbaugh has been funnelling some of his money into a secret account in order to take out a fifty year lease on the color blue.

[Demrepdan]

Actually, I think that Rush Limbaugh has been funnelling some of his money into a secret account in order to take out a fifty year lease on the color blue.

lol ...I wouldn't doubt it.

[Mr. Fresh]

lol...just sayin I was happy 'cause I like blue more than red.

[CHRISTOPHER MICHAE]

I'm new to this forum, so this may have been asked before.  Why are the Democrats red and the Republicans blue on this site?  I've always thought the traditional colors are the other way around, at least on every other electoral map I've ever seen.

Ryan, you sound like Howard Dean when you say that: across the world, red is used to represent the liberal party which the DEMS surely are. You are basically reiterating what Dean represents, that the United States is just one country among the entire world and no more important than any other. So, Ryan, why should we follow that? The United States has always, and should always stand out as a shining symbol, an example, a leader, not a follower of other countries. So, I also think that the colors should be reversed.

Lol Ur right. It has been asked before once every week or so

I'm going to give Dave a break and post his usual answer here

"Red and blue are chosen for the maps because they both are primary colors and because they both are incorporated in the flag. The choice of which party is represented by which color was somewhat arbitrary. I was perhaps influenced by maps that I had seen in the distant past (I still remember the solid blue field of Ronald Reagan's re-election in my hometown newspaper in 1984 - I was 14 at the time)"

Also while the Red republican, Blue-Democrat is the norm in the US; across the world red is used to represent the parties of the left (as the Dems undoubtedly are in the US) Blue for conservative is not as much of a norm but often used as well.

I'm personally happy with the arrangement cause I like Blue better

[Ryan]

err Chris ol boy.....no idea whatsoever what ur talking about

When I say America is and should be different; I'm talking about putting faith in the abilities and potential of the common people, leaving money in the hands of private enterprise/wealth creators rather than government/wealth-spenders, encourage not discourage belief and trust in God etc etc
I support our being different for reasons that make us better than the rest; not being different on every minor point where we can be different. I also think we should call "French fries" French fries.

[Sibboleth]

...Even though they are actually Belgian

[Gustaf]

...Even though they are actually Belgian

Hah, hah, you silly Americans! Colouring the Reds blue, and the Blues red. Calling the socialists liberals and the liberals, eh, well nothing, you hardly seem to have any. Naming the pommes frites from Belgium French Fries. Seriously, why do you do so many weird things??

[© Tweed the Younger]

...Even though they are actually Belgian

Hah, hah, you silly Americans! Colouring the Reds blue, and the Blues red. Calling the socialists liberals and the liberals, eh, well nothing, you hardly seem to have any. Naming the pommes frites from Belgium French Fries. Seriously, why do you do so many weird things??

Every foreign culture appears strange.

[Gustaf]

...Even though they are actually Belgian

Hah, hah, you silly Americans! Colouring the Reds blue, and the Blues red. Calling the socialists liberals and the liberals, eh, well nothing, you hardly seem to have any. Naming the pommes frites from Belgium French Fries. Seriously, why do you do so many weird things??

Every foreign culture appears strange.

I WAS KIDDING!

[© Tweed the Younger]

...Even though they are actually Belgian

Hah, hah, you silly Americans! Colouring the Reds blue, and the Blues red. Calling the socialists liberals and the liberals, eh, well nothing, you hardly seem to have any. Naming the pommes frites from Belgium French Fries. Seriously, why do you do so many weird things??

Every foreign culture appears strange.

I WAS KIDDING!

OH.  

[jravnsbo]

always had republicans as Blue and Dems red, before 2000 election when news witched them, don't know why???

But remember watching the liberals say looka t all those red bush states.

[mtwhitney]

I have followed the last ten Presidential elections, and until recently the Republicans have always been blue and the Democrats red. The last election is when I noticed a change. The old way makes more sense, mainly because of the association with the colors used by the two political parties in the United Kingdom (blue for Conservative, and red for Labour).

Also, back in the day when the Republicans were associated mainly with Old Money (blue-bloods), and Democrats were associated with the working class ("workers of the world, unite!" = Reds)

[jravnsbo]

Welcome MT, a person from hawaii is refreshing

Especially a Republican

I have followed the last ten Presidential elections, and until recently the Republicans have always been blue and the Democrats red. The last election is when I noticed a change. The old way makes more sense, mainly because of the association with the colors used by the two political parties in the United Kingdom (blue for Conservative, and red for Labour).

Also, back in the day when the Republicans were associated mainly with Old Money (blue-bloods), and Democrats were associated with the working class ("workers of the world, unite!" = Reds)