"In recent decades, America's politics have exhibited a new trend, where Red America finds its home base in some of the country's most sprawling places, while Blue America is centered in denser, more compact metros and cities. ... The connection between sprawl and conservatism come through loud and clear in our analysis of more than 200 of America's metro areas. Our correlations suggest that sprawled America is Red America, while Blue America takes on a much more compact geography. The Sprawl Index was negatively associated with the share of voters in a metro who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 (with a correlation of -.44); and it was positively associated with the percentage who voted for Barack Obama (.43). These were among the strongest correlations in our analysis.

This is in line with other research that connects sprawl or density and political affiliation. Researchers have identified a tipping point of roughly 800 people per square mile where counties shift from Red to Blue, as I noted in the weeks following Barack Obama's reelection. Princeton historian Kevin Kruse similarly explained this spatial link between a spread-out landscape and Republican political positions to the New Republic. "There are certain things in which the physical nature of a city, the fact the people are piled on top of each other, requires some notion of the public good," he said. "Conservative ideology works beautifully in the suburbs, because it makes sense spatially.""

The Atlantic Cities

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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Yep seems about right.....hey the tampon does live in the red area........proves that point.

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Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows?
But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Talking about red spawl. 

Why can't Brevard County build a decent highway interchange in spawl areas?  You issue permits for a gogillian people to build in an area.  Do you really think that having the ramps from the highway to the surface streets T into stoplights on each side of the highway overpass is a good idea?  Such interchanges work when there's nothing out by the highway other than sod farms and cow pastures.  But you throw in shopping centers, housing developments, and a government complex...Seems a small fuel tax to improve traffic flow would be a lot cheaper for most commuters than having 10-20 minutes per day of idle time added to their drive everyday.  The fuel cost alone is maddening before you even figure in the time cost.  I know retrofitting interchanges is expensive but Brevard can't even build new interchanges correctly or synchronize stoplights on the majors.  Ever go through CrackLedge on US1?  Eyster/shopping center/Barton; 3 lights in a very short space and you may hit all three whether it is busy Monday afternoon or 7AM on Sunday driving up to Cocoa for a run on Rockledge Drive from the boat ramp park.  Just time the damn lights on the speed limit like International Speedway BLVD between I-95 and Nova.  Except when it is slammed, you fly from I-95 through the area around the speedway except if you get clogged behind a bluehair that drops you below the cycle speed.

-------------------------
...

Confine all libs to areas like Detroit, their utopia.

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Romans 8;18-32 John 3;16-18

Actually, Hawaii is lib prog paradise

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"I remember South Africa in the late 70's, sleeping on the beach at J-bay, smoking ganja with the blacks. On weekends we'd go to the pub in East London to drink beer and fight with the Afrikaners. They liked to fight, I liked to fight. It was a good time"

Most lib-progs live in clusters becasue they feel safety in numbers, just like herd anmials do.  They feel most confident when following one another, and prefer over populating an ecosystem.  As such they must rely on others for sustainment. 

The indenpent and free individual will always feel most secure in wide open spaces left to fend for themselves.  Much like birds of prey, they need follow no one.  They fiercely fight to maintain a population within the carrying capacity of the environment, and thus maintain a sustainable balance.

In the end, and barring a any natural disasters, sprawl will over take it all, and the lib-progs shall inherit the earth.  Speaking of disasters, mother nature has a way of fixing her mistakes, doesn't she?

Amusing.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Comical, Colbertesque

Good post.

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I :heart; Q

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“It is the heart of US policy to use fascism to preserve capitalism while claiming to be saving democracy from communism “ - Michael Parenti

Any of the Tea Partiers read the article?

"And perhaps most importantly for those who argue that the benefits of sprawl – including large home sizes and big swathes of land for each family – outweigh the costs, we found a positive association (.21) between compactness and the happiness and well-being of residents. This reinforces the findings of the Smart Growth America report, which found that residents of compact metros tended to live longer, perform better on a number of health and obesity metrics, and have a better chance at true economic mobility. In contrast, those living in sprawling metros tended to spend more on transportation and housing, exercise less, and experience far less social capital in their communities."

 

You stay on your cookie cutter lot or condo complex, I'll stay on my acreage and watch the deer and eagles from my porch!

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Romans 8;18-32 John 3;16-18

With the view obstructed by that Pontiac on blocks and the stars and bars sagging in the wind...

Mostly Blue--

http://www.escapehere.com/destination/the-10-most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us/10/

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Romans 8;18-32 John 3;16-18

Ooooh, scary!

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.