The problem is that you're all part of the same State, so your votes are all equally counted (more or less; for Governor, they are). So I have to paint you all

The problem is that you're all part of the same State, so your votes are all equally counted (more or less; for Governor, they are). So I have to paint you all with the same brush: that's just the way the system is set up. Sorry. I do realize (as should anyone) that not everyone in any given State is the same, and that every state has different regions where people think differently. This rural vs. urban fight isn't confined to NC, it's happening in most states now. (Maybe not Wyoming or Montana...) But you had to realize before moving to NC that that state was like that. Like every Southern state which votes "red" in the Presidential elections, there's a large number of conservatives there, and the conservatives in the South tend to be even more religious than the average conservative. So I don't think it's quite fair to move to urban NC and then complain about the rural voters giving you shitty laws: there was never any indication that this state, overall, voted more progressively. If you want a state that really is more progressive overall, you have to go someplace like New York or Massachusetts or Connecticut or Washington (state). But of course, the cost of living isn't as low in places like that as it is in the South; that's the price you pay.