4 ms·

Based on the 2016 electoral map - or indeed, almost any from the last 20+ years - the ideologically homogeneity isn't a regional thing but a city vs rural thing

Based on the 2016 electoral map - or indeed, almost any from the last 20+ years - the ideologically homogeneity isn't a regional thing but a city vs rural thing. Take the largest ~20 cities in the US and they would be city-states while literally everything else would be a single country.

maxerickson 10y ago
It's also more like 60-40 40-60, not 90-10 10-90. That is, there are cultural differences between the city and rural majorities, but neither group is particularly homogeneous.
rayiner 10y ago
87% of Maryland lives in an urban area, versus 48% of West Virginia. Maryland would drift way to the left if it wasn't forced into political compromises to accommodate other states.
bobwaycott 10y ago
Yep, this is the big problem. There's simply no viable way to split into urban countries that hold and produce a vast majority of the wealth and the majority of the population, and have a massive swathe of the the most beautiful land in the US as a separate country or countries. It would make the most awkward-looking of maps. Although, on the other hand, splitting off into city-states is a pretty fun thought project. It'd impact the electoral playing field a bit more, as well as provide some interesting effects on congressional/senatorial representation. It'd also very likely deepen the rural-urban divide even further. But rural Californians might like being separate from its more populous city-state neighbors, and I know the city-state of Atlanta would just love to be free of its surrounding rural citizens. Cleveland would likely feel better about holding its own versus the rest of rural Ohio. It's pretty interesting to contemplate what elections would look like if all states simply apportioned their electoral votes according to Maine/Nebraska rules, or a popular-proportion scheme, and disposed of the unit rules entirely.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Maine/Nebraska rules (1 EV to winner of each CD, + 2 to statewide winner) would increase the value (and thus incidence) of partisan gerrymandering, because then it buys you not only House seats but also Presidential EVs.

maxerickson 10y ago

It's also more like 60-40 40-60, not 90-10 10-90. That is, there are cultural differences between the city and rural majorities, but neither group is particularly homogeneous.

rayiner 10y ago

87% of Maryland lives in an urban area, versus 48% of West Virginia. Maryland would drift way to the left if it wasn't forced into political compromises to accommodate other states.

bobwaycott 10y ago

Yep, this is the big problem. There's simply no viable way to split into urban countries that hold and produce a vast majority of the wealth and the majority of the population, and have a massive swathe of the the most beautiful land in the US as a separate country or countries. It would make the most awkward-looking of maps. Although, on the other hand, splitting off into city-states is a pretty fun thought project. It'd impact the electoral playing field a bit more, as well as provide some interesting effects on congressional/senatorial representation. It'd also very likely deepen the rural-urban divide even further. But rural Californians might like being separate from its more populous city-state neighbors, and I know the city-state of Atlanta would just love to be free of its surrounding rural citizens. Cleveland would likely feel better about holding its own versus the rest of rural Ohio. It's pretty interesting to contemplate what elections would look like if all states simply apportioned their electoral votes according to Maine/Nebraska rules, or a popular-proportion scheme, and disposed of the unit rules entirely.

dragonwriter 10y ago
Maine/Nebraska rules (1 EV to winner of each CD, + 2 to statewide winner) would increase the value (and thus incidence) of partisan gerrymandering, because then it buys you not only House seats but also Presidential EVs.