top 5 conservative, liberal states

[MaC]

Judging by the people and the people they elect; on average which states would you rank as top 5 most liberal and top 5 most conservative?

Liberal top 5
1.Massachusetts
2.Washington (the state)
3.Minnesota
4.New York
5.Vermont
with California as a runner up

Conservative top 5
1.Utah
2.Mississippi
3.Indiana
4.Nebraska
5.Idaho and Wyoming tied

[Inverted Things]

I think Wisconsin should probably replace Minnesota on the liberal scale. Coleman & Dayton vs. Kohl & Feingold? no contest.

[ian]

Conservative

1. Utah
2. Kansas
3. Nebraska
4. Idaho
5. Indiana

Liberal

1. Massachusetts
2. Rhode Island
3. Maryland
4. Washington State
5. New York

[Alcon]

Conservative
1. Utah
2. Idaho
3. Nebraska
4. Oklahoma
5. Mississippi, Alabama (tie)

Liberal
1. Massachusetts
2. Vermont
3. Rhode Island
4. Maryland
5. New York, Washington State, California (tie)

[Josh/Devilman88]

lets do the top 5 con/liberal/lib./pop. states... you can't use the same state more then once.

[Akno21]

Liberal
1. Vermont- Basically a scandanavian country
2. Massachusetts- They just flat-out elect Dems (fed.)
3. New York- They've got every type of liberal
4. Maryland- 2 cities, mass of federal workers
5. Rhode Island- Look at the records

Conservative
1. Idaho- Look at the records
2. Utah- It's actually illegal to be gunless some towns
3. Mississippi- Obsessed with religion
4. Nebraska- There just aren't Democrats here
5. Alabama- The heart of dixie

[phk]

Liberal
1. Vermont
2. Massachusetts
3. New York
4. Washington
5. Rhode Island

Conservative
1. Utah
2. Idaho
3. Oklahoma
4. Kansas
5. Alabama

[Rob]

Conservative:

Utah- Religious right hellhole.
Idaho- Lots of Mormons plus small government conservatives.
Oklahoma- See Utah. They elected Tom Coburn, for God's sake!
Mississippi- Dixiecrat to the core.
Wyoming- Much saner than the other states; more libertarian.

I don't feel like doing the liberal states right now.

[bgwah]

CONSERVATIVE
1) Utah
2) Idaho
3) Mississippi
4) Oklahoma
5) Nebraska

LIBERAL
1) Vermont
2) Massachusettes
3) Rhode Island
4) Washington
5) New York

[Moooooo]

Merland aint' librul.

[phk]

CONSERVATIVE
1) Utah
2) Idaho
3) Mississippi
4) Oklahoma
5) Nebraska, Alabama, Kansas, Wyoming-tie!

LIBERAL
1) Vermont
2) Massachusettes
3) Rhode Island
4) Washington
5) New York, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota-tie!

Remove Minnesota, Maryland.

California and Hawaii would be within the top 10 but not in the top 5.

[FerrisBueller86]

2. Utah- It's actually illegal to be gunless some towns

How can this be?  What if you move in and try to buy a gun only to be denied because of something that comes up in your background check? 

I'm just trying to picture the scene:
Officer: You're under arrest because you don't have a gun.
Suspect: But Officer, I can't have a gun because of that armed robbery conviction.

[MaC]

that reply to the libertarian/populist scale, I find interesting.  It's hard to tell since almost everything you ever hear is based on a right/left scale.  I'd probably agree with western states such as Idaho and Wyoming being more right libertarian leaning.  New Hampshire would probably be the quintessential libertarian example (no income tax,no sales tax, more LP members get elected, the free state project).  

Most statist?  Well I don't know about that one.  Depends on the issue.  California is horrible for gun owners.   Missouri did elect John Ashcroft as governor.  Anyone with good opinions on the libertarian/statist scale on the top 5, I'd like to hear

[Ebowed]

CONSERVATIVE:
1.) Utah -- What do you expect from a state where 76% of the population is Mormon?
2.) Idaho -- Scatter some Mormons, potato farmers, and Libertarians and you've got a conservative stronghold
3.) Wyoming -- No comment necessary
4.) Nebraska -- There are no Democrats in this state
5.) Oklahoma -- They have Democrats here, but they all vote Republican anyway

LIBERAL:
1.) Massachusetts -- Nixon didn't have a chance!... at least in this state
2.) New York -- Not the whole state, just the city
3.) Rhode Island -- In modern times they've only voted Republican twice
4.) Vermont -- A progressive, independent state
5.) Washington -- Filled with progressives, especially Seattle

[freedomlover]

I should cut off your blasphemous tonge as practiced by my beloved Mormon church! In America, a blessed nation, a citizen should not be ridiculed for his conservative Christian beliefs.

-A proud Mormon in Utah

[Akno21]

I should cut off your blasphemous tonge as practiced by my beloved Mormon church! In America, a blessed nation, a citizen should not be ridiculed for his conservative Christian beliefs.

-A proud Mormon in Utah

Fine. Just lay off athiest liberals alright?

[Smash255]

Most liberal

1.  Vermont
2.  Massachusetts
3.  Rhode Island
4.  New York
5.  Washington

Most Conservative
1.  Utah
2. Mississippi
3.  Idaho
4.  Alabama
5.  Wyoming

[nclib]

Liberal:

1. Massachusetts
2. Vermont
3. Rhode Island
4. New York
5. Connecticut, California, Minnesota, or Hawaii

Conservative:

1. Mississippi
2. Utah
3. Idaho
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama

[RJ]

No one posted Illinois on the liberal side or Texas on the conservative. To me, these are two established strongholds for the respective parties in the last 25 years. I can't see either flipping anytime soon.

[dazzleman]

Everybody is basically coming up with the same states, and that makes sense.

I would consider adding Illinois to the list of the most liberal states, at this point.  It is becoming like California and New York, with the politics of the state being poisoned by overwhelming Democratic voting in the major urban center(s).

I would also remove Minnesota from the list of most liberal states.  Minnesota was liberal in the old New Deal sense but is moving in the direction of becoming more conservative.

I don't think I'd consider Connecticut one of the top 5 liberal states.  It is more moderate than its neighbors, mainly because it lacks a large urban center population-wise.  Unfortunately, it is definitely one of the more liberal states, however.

[Josh/Devilman88]

let not just look at how they vote for presdient... look at how they vote within the state.

[dazzleman]

let not just look at how they vote for presdient... look at how they vote within the state.

The way they vote for president is the best indicator of where they fall within the national context.

State parties can be significantly out of step with the national parties.  As an example, most northeastern states right now have Republican governors.  The state Republican parties are much more liberal than the national party, so it's hard to make a comparison on that basis.  There are probably many northeastern Republicans who are more liberal than many southern Democrats.

[Josh/Devilman88]

let not just look at how they vote for presdient... look at how they vote within the state.

The way they vote for president is the best indicator of where they fall within the national context.

State parties can be significantly out of step with the national parties.  As an example, most northeastern states right now have Republican governors.  The state Republican parties are much more liberal than the national party, so it's hard to make a comparison on that basis.  There are probably many northeastern Republicans who are more liberal than many southern Democrats.

well what I am talking about is for ex: NC don't have a lotter(howevery yo spell it) but SC does...

[dazzleman]

let not just look at how they vote for presdient... look at how they vote within the state.

The way they vote for president is the best indicator of where they fall within the national context.

State parties can be significantly out of step with the national parties.  As an example, most northeastern states right now have Republican governors.  The state Republican parties are much more liberal than the national party, so it's hard to make a comparison on that basis.  There are probably many northeastern Republicans who are more liberal than many southern Democrats.

well what I am talking about is for ex: NC don't have a lotter(howevery yo spell it) but SC does...

It's hard to say.  Politics is very contradictory.  As an example, New York is one of the hardest states in which to get a contested divorce.  Yet it is one of the most liberal states.  Oklahoma I believe, a solid Republican state, has the highest divorce rate.  And the bible belt states of the south have some of the highest rates of illegitimacy and teen pregnancy.

There are many contradictory indicators.

[Josh/Devilman88]

let not just look at how they vote for presdient... look at how they vote within the state.

The way they vote for president is the best indicator of where they fall within the national context.

State parties can be significantly out of step with the national parties.  As an example, most northeastern states right now have Republican governors.  The state Republican parties are much more liberal than the national party, so it's hard to make a comparison on that basis.  There are probably many northeastern Republicans who are more liberal than many southern Democrats.

well what I am talking about is for ex: NC don't have a lotter(howevery yo spell it) but SC does...

It's hard to say.  Politics is very contradictory.  As an example, New York is one of the hardest states in which to get a contested divorce.  Yet it is one of the most liberal states.  Oklahoma I believe, a solid Republican state, has the highest divorce rate.  And the bible belt states of the south have some of the highest rates of illegitimacy and teen pregnancy.

There are many contradictory indicators.

Yea you are right. AK has one of the highest Tax on cigs..