I imagine at that point the cause and effect would become mightily, mightily mixed up. Maybe race is a cause of political affiliation (it certainly isn't an ef

I imagine at that point the cause and effect would become mightily, mightily mixed up. Maybe race is a cause of political affiliation (it certainly isn't an effect), but surely certain factors, like donations, would be an effect of political affiliation. As it already stands, it seems reasonable to me that the urban/suburban/rural split might be equally as much an effect as a cause. As it stands, that sort of analysis might be interesting, but is of little value without separating cause and effect (and surely those will be different for everyone).