Interesting map. It's a microcosm of what is happening in the nation today- the Democrats are losing their populist base and gaining elitist Republicans.
an extreme example of the democrats' loss of their populist base is west virginia:
Anyone know why this is happening? Are the democrats shifting from a populist-leaning party to a libertarian-leaning party?
well, to put it all in context, as the Democratic Party becomes more heavily dependant on corporate donations, as well as donations from the wealthy, and therefore kowtows their votes to win corporate favor -especially in light of the implosion of labor unions in the early to mid 1980s that robbed the Democratic Party of their primary source of funding- they become more and more a party of the well-to-do, including Rockefeller Republicans who tend to be economically conservative and socially liberal, and live in major cities, especially along the coasts. this in turn lends credence to charges by Republican partisans that the Democratic Party has become a party of the 'limousine liberals' and 'latte liberals', though not entirely given that the poorest of Americans still vote Democratic, even in the Deep South.
as the Democratic Party puts less and less emphasis on economics, so do working class Americans put less emphasis on economic matters when they vote. this is why social hot-button issues like abortion, gay marriage, gun control, etc., are given such prominence, and is what has given the Republican Party its majority, and why it is making inroads into such traditionally economically liberal states like West Virginia and Wisconsin.
to put it frankly, my answer to your second question is 'yes'...unfortunately.
