here is red state blue state from univ of michigan
The Republicans CANNOT win the west and south and elect a president. William Jennings Bryan carried the west and south for the Democrats in 1896 and 1900, and lost big time. FDR expanded the Democratic party, to include great lakes industrial states, NY and California.
McCain won more counties than Obama. However, Obama won the counties with the most votes.
There is still a rural urban split that was apparent in past elections. Sarah Palin talked about the small towns, and she is right; that is where Republicans have their greatest strength. But they need urban areas too, where there are lots of voters.
The Republicans will have to find a way of combining rural areas with urban vote. The status of the so called Christian evangelical right wing is also in question: male self identified evangelical christians for Obama easily outvoted those for Mc Cain. The Republicans will have to find a way of getting james Dobson out of the Republican party. The southern born agains are ruining the Republican Party. Ever since 1994, when Newt took over the House, the republicans have had to put up with these right wing moralistic voters - most Americans dont like them, dont like their candidates. W. Bush understood them and how to use them to get votes. But along with those votes comes the moralistic expectations of their supporters. The Shiavo case in Florida really alienated most Americans from the james Dobson's of America. Remember Sen. Frist from Tennessee? he looked at videos (he is a doctor) of Terry Shiavo and claimed she had brain functioning. Her autopsy revealed her brain had shrunk, she had to consciousness at all.
What happened to the party of Lincoln, or Teddy Roosevelt?
1 comment:
I was talking about McCain with a friend yesterday. I agree - he blew it by alienating people from the more populous areas. He allowed his campaign, and particularly Palin, to spread irrational fears about his Democrat counterpart. My gut feeling is that this type of approach can backfire - and badly.
Funny how the parties have both veered away from the basic concepts differentiating them and into the morals territory. Here again I sense that more urban and suburban voters are uncomfortable with such rhetoric. Sticking to economic and foreign policy issues might allow the parties (esp. Republicans) regain some of that demographic.
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