Posted on 11/03/2004 6:23:56 PM PST by M. Peach
I thought I had all the answers regarding politics until my one of my teen aged sons asked me (and yes, I'm proud to say both of them are conservative) why large cities tend to vote Democrat, and rural areas - or mostly the rest of the country, Republican?
Can I get some opinions out there?
Handouts.
Because urban folk think meat comes out of a plastic wrapper. Think about it.
lol! :)
It's an evolution of patronage and the subversion of the system at the ward level which is the historic province of the Democratic party.
The Democrats have always had a less-than-stellar respect for the franchise. They treat it as a form of currency, to be controlled and doled out to those they favor. This evolved throughout the 20th century with the largesse-campaign-vote cycle that centered around welfare.
They buy votes with money in the form of 'entitlements'. It is a simple and odious evolution of patronage since it makes the patron the Master and the voter into a slave.
Democrats buy votes with threats of mob agitation and promises of free lunch. Of course, throwing in a bit of class envy for all to indulge in as they indoctrinate their starving audience in class warfare is just considered 'light' entertainment.
In short, the cities vote Democrat because the people there have either been bribed, been titillated with hate, been bought outright, or have been told they have no hope but the Party.
Actually, now that I've summarized it - I am struck with the hideous, precise evil of it all.
In the book "The Bell Curve" one can learn of several factors which correlate highly, including.
Low IQ, unemployment, crime, prison, out of wedlock births, etc. These tend to cluster in certain urban centers.
Thus democrats can be found in centers of low IQ.
In contrast, people in urban areas are generally dependent on others for just about everything. They are not very self-sufficient. Most city folk I know can't even change a tire. They call AAA when they get a flat. They expect the government to plow their roads, fix their potholes and run city buses for transportation. Without these government services, they would be lost. So they respond favorably to politicians who promise more of this type of thing and they tend to vote against any politician that speaks of "cuts" and "downsizing" of government freebies.
I think it has something to do with living in the midst of covenience. Personally I think it would be a good thing to cut the cities off from their convenience for a few days every so often. It might serve as a powerfull reminder that they can't survive without flyover America.
I've thought about this a few times myself.
I think that people in rural areas tend to be much more in touch with nature, and nature, itself, tends to bring about an appreciation of and respect for a creator, making us much more amenable to accepting that there are moral laws, as well as natural.
The choice of where one lives, as well, might indicate a certain amount of ruggedness or independence - or lack therof.
On the flip side, urbanites really do have some values as well, but they are based much more upon relationship, as these skills are important in a large city.
This overvaluation of realationship based values might make one much more inclined to dialectical thinking, which had it's roots in socialism to begin with.
That's about the best way I can figure it.
Alternatively, maybe city folk are just all messed up. Why else would they opt to live in such cesspools to begin with?
Griz
As an urbanite and former liberal, I'll tell you why.
2 words. Scare tactics.
Pretty much, if a Republican wins, automatically, they think that how they're going to be victims of racist conspiracies.
to be apolitical - the reason is simple - compare the large cities with beehives or ant colonies - they require a communist/socialist organization simply to survive - they know NOTHING else.
A friend of mine, one of the last remaining WWII vets, was a tank commander in Europe during that war. He recounted stories of the farmers in the country dumping rotted foodstuffs because they had so much extra --- but --- less than a mile away, in the cities, people were starving to death.
WHY? The city dwellers were the socialists/communists who had known nothing but being provided for by a centralized govt. They could not even figure out that food is grown on farms and the farms were just outside their city limits.
Were they "evil commies"? no! They were simply ignorant, bred and raised to be a cog on a wheel.
People who care about property rights get away from cities if they can.
Because urban areas are largely populated by many people who are in many ways on the public dole, and also by uneducated people who fall for liberal "promises" of one sort or another. It's a maddening situation, but we are making some inroads here. It's also the reason why the electoral college exists, so a high density population center cannot dictate policy to rural areas.
They know that if you get masses of asses in to a small area...they are easliy controlled and can be mad to be dependent on government for their survival.
They then work on controlling the center of government to control the rest of the country.
Country Boys can survive!!!!!!!!!
The city dwellers look around them, and behold all that the taxpayer has bought for them; and they want more. Let's face it, city dwellers realize benefits far in excess to their individual tax burden.
They see the Billion dollar subway system, and they want it made new again. I mean, it only costs them 50 cents to ride; and they 'deserve' the best. It's Democrats who take the tax dollars, and spend it so the city dwellers can live in convenience and luxury. Do you think the farmers and people outside the city limits enjoy all that the mighty taxdollar has wrought.
The city dwellers see the handouts, the low income housing, the free clinics, food stores, new roads, sports stadiums; and then do the math. "Hey, I can use the stadium any time I want, and it's cheap for me" is as far as their train of thought will go. They never consider the fact that people on the other side of the state were taxed to build stadiums, airports, roads, free clinics, Planned Parenthood, malls and other things; that these people will neither ever use, or even be told of their existance.
Now, add to that the bums looking for handouts; the Unions who thrive in non-competitive city environments, the students brain-washed by liberal professors; and it all starts to make sense.
Two words: work ethic
Lefties love to be in charge of things, and there are TONS of things to be in charge of in big cities. That doesn't mean they are good at running all those things. They stink. But they don't care. They just loving have stuff to command. Have you ever worked with a lefty in an office? They work in the office like they would work in the Dept. of Crap and Junk. "Here, let me copy this for you." "Here, let me call for a staff meeting."
Idiots.
That's why I now work for myself and moved to Texas, where there is a ton of Red County land.
The big city trade unions indoctrinate the members into thinking that the union is their sole means of support and without the union, they would have no job. (And in some cities that is true - if you are a plumber, you are not going to work in Philly if you are not a union plumber.)
Then you have the government employee unions. The Democrats run the cities and since the unions are in bed with the RATS, it is a symbiotic relationship.
The union mentality is groupthink, and when the union leadership says "vote DemocRat", many of them do.
(I have a friend who is afraid to vote Republican because he thinks the union will find out he did. This is a grown man - and I'm not so sure he's not crazy. I've read stories about how unions check the voter rolls to make sure their members have registered with the "proper" party.)
The rural areas are primarily homeowners. We feel the pinch when the gov't reaches into our pocket. Therefore, we desire a smaller, less intrusive gov't. The urban areas do not pay property taxes and usually get gov't handouts. They then tend to vote for the person who promises them everything. Its call redistribution of wealth or socialism.
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