South-Central Kentucky

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

what I find interesting though is why eastern Tennessee hasn't swung dem. I know that sounds preposterous but here is my reasoning: East Tennessee is similar to Vermont in the sense that it is largely mountainous, overwhelmingly white, anti-slavery/pro-union, and opposed to the south. When the south started becoming republican by the 90s, Vermont swung to the dems. What separated an area like VT from East Tennessee, which has state republican?

No. Don't try drawing comparisons between ET and Vermont. ET is more like WV without the unions. They might have not wanted to secede, but the are still racist and were eventually able to reconcile their differences with the south.

You do realize that at one point, Vermont elected people like this. It hasn't always been a progressive paradise. It was a Republican bastion that would elect anyone they put up. As such comparing the them in a previous period would have been appropriate as Vermont likely shared the views of most rural areas regarding such matters. Not MS style mind you, but not unlike what you would find in the rural midwest for instance. 

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

what I find interesting though is why eastern Tennessee hasn't swung dem. I know that sounds preposterous but here is my reasoning: East Tennessee is similar to Vermont in the sense that it is largely mountainous, overwhelmingly white, anti-slavery/pro-union, and opposed to the south. When the south started becoming republican by the 90s, Vermont swung to the dems. What separated an area like VT from East Tennessee, which has state republican?

No. Don't try drawing comparisons between ET and Vermont. ET is more like WV without the unions. They might have not wanted to secede, but the are still racist and were eventually able to reconcile their differences with the south.

You do realize that at one point, Vermont elected people like this. It hasn't always been a progressive paradise. It was a Republican bastion that would elect anyone they put up. As such comparing the them in a previous period would have been appropriate as Vermont likely shared the views of most rural areas regarding such matters. Not MS style mind you, but not unlike what you would find in the rural midwest for instance. 

Vermont had a decent demographic shift between 1960-1990, 15% growth of population per decade.

So drawing comparisons between VT and East TN is acceptable then, in certain contexts?