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The real causality is more like "urban areas have different needs and cultural norms than rural areas/exurbs, so they tend to form separate political coalitions

The real causality is more like "urban areas have different needs and cultural norms than rural areas/exurbs, so they tend to form separate political coalitions." Tangent: my biggest political pet peeve is thinking of the country as red states versus blue states, when it's really cities versus surrounding areas.

one_level_deep 3y ago
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jfengel 3y ago
Politically, states play important national roles. They are winner-take-all in both the Senate and the Electoral College, and gerrymandering makes them nearly so in the House. Sociologically there are bigger differences within the state, but viewed from the outside, a state's main effect on you really is very close to all red or all blue. Only a small number of states play a significant "purple" role, where differences in individual opinion might matter to somebody from outside the state.
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  > They are winner-take-all in both the Senate and the Electoral College Well, except for 2 that aren't in the EC. > and gerrymandering makes them nearly so in the House. 10 out of 41 states with two or more reps have a single-party delegation.
  - jfengel 3y ago
    By "nearly so" I meant that gerrymandering could pack all of other party into a single district. There are another 12 states with only a single representative from the minority party. The most egregious might be my home state, Maryland, with only a single Republican representative out of 9, despite 1/3 of the state having voted Republican in 2020. Similar ratios occur the other way in Tennessee and Alabama. Which is to say, winner-take-all and winner-take-practically-all happen in about half of the state Representatives with more than a single member delegation.
- asdfman123 3y ago
  That's true, but it's annoying when people think in terms of "people from X are like Y." Drive out to rural Oregon, for instance: it's extremely conservative. I guess that's just my gripe as a liberal who grew up in Texas (which is actually threatening to flip purple in the future due to people like me).

one_level_deep 3y ago

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jfengel 3y ago

Politically, states play important national roles. They are winner-take-all in both the Senate and the Electoral College, and gerrymandering makes them nearly so in the House. Sociologically there are bigger differences within the state, but viewed from the outside, a state's main effect on you really is very close to all red or all blue. Only a small number of states play a significant "purple" role, where differences in individual opinion might matter to somebody from outside the state.

dragonwriter 3y ago
> They are winner-take-all in both the Senate and the Electoral College Well, except for 2 that aren't in the EC. > and gerrymandering makes them nearly so in the House. 10 out of 41 states with two or more reps have a single-party delegation.
- jfengel 3y ago
  By "nearly so" I meant that gerrymandering could pack all of other party into a single district. There are another 12 states with only a single representative from the minority party. The most egregious might be my home state, Maryland, with only a single Republican representative out of 9, despite 1/3 of the state having voted Republican in 2020. Similar ratios occur the other way in Tennessee and Alabama. Which is to say, winner-take-all and winner-take-practically-all happen in about half of the state Representatives with more than a single member delegation.
asdfman123 3y ago
That's true, but it's annoying when people think in terms of "people from X are like Y." Drive out to rural Oregon, for instance: it's extremely conservative. I guess that's just my gripe as a liberal who grew up in Texas (which is actually threatening to flip purple in the future due to people like me).