> I think the “deeper problem” is thinking that Californians and Iowans share anything in common at all. This is preposterous and I am flatly surprised that mo

> I think the “deeper problem” is thinking that Californians and Iowans share anything in common at all. This is preposterous and I am flatly surprised that more people are not challenging it. Our differences may be more salient, but they are vastly outnumbered by our similarities. We speak the same language, eat the same foods, watch the same sports. We don't have vastly different goals and values -- we have serious differences of opinion about a tiny fraction of public policy and our shared culture. What's more, the differences that do exist break down less along state lines and more along the distance from a city center. There are urban areas in every state, and there are rural areas in every state. Iowa and California are different inasmuch as (by the 2010 census) 95% of Californians were urbanized and only 64% of Iowans were.