On January 8, "Useless Eaters" commented:If secession occurred then goes for the Canadians would be doubly true for us albeit without beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, streams.
Have you thought what a Red State Nation would be like? Its not like they'll be stewing quietly in some weird collective fundamentalist gated community. These are the folks who want to hasten the Rapture by whatever means possible. They also have guns.
"The new ideology of the red-state bourgeoisie seems to actually believe that the US is God marching on earth – not just godlike, but really serving as a proxy for God himself." *When anticipating the level of cordiality between a Red USA and a Blue USA, Think Poland, circa 1939.
It may be that we have to accept living with meaningless health insurance, election fraud, fraudulent wars, and a dumbed down education system if it means that we keep the yahoos from killing us all.
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Yep. Because they'll "know", as Hitler down to the Romans did, that they'll get you if you don't get them first. If it comes to shooting, it really will be the Civil War all over again. Like that one was a fight between the 20th century (North) and the 18th century (South), this one's a tussle between progress and stagnation. History shows that progress usually wins.
But just because we're liberals don't mean we're sissies. We've got more people, the industry, the ports and a decent supply of food-making territory. We've also got 'em surrounded for the most part, completely if our brother nation waving the maple leaf comes on board.
Best of all, they've got the jihad thing about being willing to die. History shows that the people eager to die in a war usually end up doing the most dying, which is rarely the way to come out on top. General Patton, bless his Red State heart, was right about that, in the opening monologue of that cool, if inaccurate, movie about him.
But all that's messy, of course, so I go back to my original premise that the path to better Blue State living is to just smile at the Red Staters and go about our business within the glorious Federal Union. Let's let Bob marry George in our states and if they can't get it honored anywhere else, good, we'll get the business. I'm working on getting single payer health insurance to California (go here for even more about this). Business will come here because employees will be covered with less cost to the businessowner. We'll benefit, the Blue states will suffer. Let it be.
By an amazing coincidence, this post was interrupted right here by a pollster calling to ask my opinion about a health care provider.
Yes, it means we'll have to put up with certain annoyances as a consequence, like always starting behind in the Electoral College every presidential election. But as we've seen in the last two elections, if we can stop them from stealing the relatively small number of votes which push them over the winner's line, we can do it. But it shouldn't keep us from building our our Liberal's Garden of Paradise in our own back yards.
The Socialist Right does it. Whole developments are sold as "family-friendly" by Christian real estate missionaries. "Fast Food Nation" documents how the Rocky Mountains, which used to give us Mo Udall, Frank Church and Bruce Babbitt, were conquered by Christian missionaries from Texas and Orange County who took over the new suburbs which developed in the '70s and '80s. Colorado Springs, Colorado is reportedly conscious nest and informal "capital" of this silliness. Others have recently called to convert South Carolina, where the Civil War started of course, into a Christian colony. How that would look different from today, where George W. Bush is considered a moderate, is beyond me.
So if they can do it, why can't we? If they want to wallow around in a rotting imaginary snapshot of 1955, I say let 'em. The 21st century won't miss 'em at all.
2 comments:
Are "red" states all red? I think Erich had some good links to sites on the U Michigan project looking at voting patterns. There is considerable variety within these states.
I think with all the movement, especially coastal northerners heading south, voting patterns are starting to show some change, and will continue to do so. We can see this with the influx of liberal democrats in our state (California)that are moving inland. I'm sure a lot of the emmigrants are at the more moderate end of the liberal spectrum (or they would not be moving), but they are changing the voting patterns of the central state.
Dear Missus,
I agree. This is why I wrote previously that I think that the several states should agree to award electoral votes based on who wins congressional districts, with the Senate seats going to the statewide winner.
Maine and Nebraska currently do something like this. Among other things, it would force presidential candidates to actually campaign in all states, since every state would have electoral votes to offer.
Nor would this require a constitutional amendment, as each state already has the authority to do this.
With every congressional district in play, blue pieces of red districts and red pieces of blue districts would rise up and roar and possibly effect the outcome.
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