Eastern Sagebrush region vs. Western Sagebrush region
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  Eastern Sagebrush region vs. Western Sagebrush region
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Author Topic: Eastern Sagebrush region vs. Western Sagebrush region  (Read 2119 times)
FerrisBueller86
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« on: June 16, 2005, 09:44:11 PM »

I'm sure most of you have read about the political regions of the United States in this article:
http://www.massinc.org/commonwealth/new_map_exclusive/sagebrush.html

This article lumped in New Hampshire (swing state) and Maine (Democratic state) with heavily Republican places like Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, western Texas, and the Nebraska panhandle.

New Hampshire and Maine have made a major Democratic swing over the last several election cycles.  New Hampshire went from being Bush's 2nd strongest state (behind only Utah) in 1988 to voting for Clinton 4 years later.  Maine was one of only two states that FDR never carried, so it was once even more heavily Republican than Utah.

So why has the Eastern Sagebrush region made such a big swing towards the Democrats while the Western Sagebrush region has not?  I know that Western Sagebrush people love their guns and oppose gun control, but the same applies to Eastern sagebrush people as well. 

What about social issues?  I know that the Mormons make Utah and Idaho heavily right-wing.  I know that New Hampshire and Maine are liberal on social issues.  Does right wing ideology on social issues prevail in the rest of the Sagebrush region?  Interestingly enough, the vote to legalize medical marijuana passed in Montana.  I highly doubt that could happen in Mississippi, Alabama, or South Carolina.

Could the importance of the New Hampshire primary be a reason that Eastern Sagebrush votes so differently from Western Sagebrush?  Every 4 years, New Hampshire voters hear Democratic talking points, and the tipping point must have been reached in 1992.  Maine is the neighboring state, and the New Hampshire Primary buzz is heard by those voters as well.  On the other hand, the Western Sagebrush region is ignored by both parties during the primary season because their primaries don't take place until the nomination has already been decided.  So Western Sagebrush has voted Republican out of habit and tradition for most of the past century.
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Smash255
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« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2005, 11:51:29 PM »

Social issues
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DanielX
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« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2005, 09:37:59 AM »

Also, the Eastern Sagebrush (especially New Hampshire) is receiving net immigration from states like Massachusetts, which is giving a leftward tilt.

The effect isn't as big in the West, although some states (notably Nevada) are receiving immigration from California.
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muon2
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« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2005, 05:36:14 PM »

The problem is with the construction of the regions. They concentrated too much on making each region equal 10% of the population and focussed on political affiliation at the expense of other lifestyle issues.

The attitudes of NH and ME can still be found in many of the small towns of MA, VT, and CT. They are much more of one New England region than they are separate.

We've had this discussion on some other threads, and I have a number of complaints about other regions from the MassINC map as well.
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jfern
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« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2005, 09:24:33 PM »

Time to expand the Upper Coasts region to more than 10%.

Give it more of NH, ME, and the Monterey, CA area.
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muon2
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« Reply #5 on: June 18, 2005, 02:34:02 AM »

Time to expand the Upper Coasts region to more than 10%.

Give it more of NH, ME, and the Monterey, CA area.

I'd split the Upper Coasts as well. Other than their support of national Democrats, there is quite a bit of political difference between a Boston resident and their Seattle counterpart. I don't easily picture the local Boston pols I watched run in the West. The national candidates will by nature do better at expressing a common message in a wide range of regions.
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jfern
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« Reply #6 on: June 18, 2005, 06:17:42 PM »

Time to expand the Upper Coasts region to more than 10%.

Give it more of NH, ME, and the Monterey, CA area.

I'd split the Upper Coasts as well. Other than their support of national Democrats, there is quite a bit of political difference between a Boston resident and their Seattle counterpart. I don't easily picture the local Boston pols I watched run in the West. The national candidates will by nature do better at expressing a common message in a wide range of regions.

Areas like Humbolt County, CA and Vermont probably have quite a bit in common.
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socaldem
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« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2005, 05:44:29 AM »

Time to expand the Upper Coasts region to more than 10%.

Give it more of NH, ME, and the Monterey, CA area.

I'd split the Upper Coasts as well. Other than their support of national Democrats, there is quite a bit of political difference between a Boston resident and their Seattle counterpart. I don't easily picture the local Boston pols I watched run in the West. The national candidates will by nature do better at expressing a common message in a wide range of regions.

I can see Seattle's Jim McDermott in Boston...I also see the links between VT/ME progressivism and NW progressivism...  Boston and parts of RI, in many ways, deserve separation from New England suburbs  and need to be linked with urban ethnic voters in NY...
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