Posted on 08/12/2005 6:38:26 PM PDT by Reagan Man
This just in: Colorado Springs is a conservative city.
Exactly how right-leaning the town is may come as a surprise, though.
The Springs ranked as the sixth-most conservative city in America out of 237 with at least 100,000 residents, according to a survey released Thursday by a voting-research think tank. More on this topic America's most conservative cities America's most liberal cities
It was the largest city in the top 12, outdistancing the next biggest city on the list by more than 100,000 people.
Colorado Springs’ placement on the list was enough to destroy a main theory of the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, the nonpartisan California group that conducted the survey.
“One of the trends that we thought we were finding was that conservative cities were smaller and liberal cities were bigger,” researcher Lindsay Hogan said. “Colorado Springs helps to prove that being conservative doesn’t mean being in a rural area or being in a small city.”
Colorado’s second-largest city did follow another pattern, however: The lower the population of blacks in a municipality, the more conservative it is.
America’s most conservative town — Provo, Utah — has a 0.5 percent black population, while the most liberal city, Detroit, has 81.6 percent, Hogan noted. African-Americans account for 6.6 percent of Colorado Springs’ residents.
Local conservatives had other reasons for Colorado Springs’ ranking.
Republican Party activist Don Gierard cited the large number of military personnel and religious organizations in the city. Other areas may have more of one of the groups or the other, but few can boast the concentrated combined percentage that occupy Colorado Springs, he said.
Rep. Larry Liston, also a Republican, noted that Colorado Springs has different kinds of conservatives.
“You hear people say: ‘I’m a fiscal conservative and a social moderate.’ Or: ‘I’m a social conservative and a fiscal moderate,’” the self-dubbed “thoughtful conservative” said. “Or they’re hard right on everything.”
Local liberal activists questioned the study’s methodology.
Rankings were based on each city’s 2004 presidential vote, the one race contested in each place, Hogan said. Republican voters counted as conservatives, Democrats as liberals and third-party supporters as whatever label that party’s candidate accepted.
Richard Skorman, who is unaffiliated with a party but is the most liberal member of City Council, believes the moderate wing of the GOP is growing and a simple count of who voted for Bush doesn’t tell the full story.
Ellie Collinson, executive director of the nonpartisan but left-leaning Citizens Project, said she believes locals are more fiscally than socially conservative, defying national stereotypes of the city.
Seven other Colorado cities ranked lower on the list: Arvada (61); Westminster (79); Lakewood (85); Pueblo (107); Fort Collins (108); Aurora (161); and Denver (189).
I think I'm starting to understand what a "liberal" really looks like.
California is well represented.
Credit the Air Force Academy, IMO. It's a wonderful influence, despite the cadets who are carefully screened by left-wing senators before being appointed.
And three of the top four liberal cities are consistantly battling for the #1 spot in murder rates!
You don't want to see "liberal." Most amazing thing I've ever seen... just 20 minutes south of 'Springs. I'm not native to the area but I've lived in Pueblo for four years. It's a stone-cold liberal bastion. The contrast between this town and Colorado Springs could not be more stark... conservative/liberal, prosperous/depression, beautiful/ugly, smart/stupid... on and on and on. Me, my wife and kids all look forward to the day we can move out of here and 20 minutes up the Interstate.
"Rankings were based on each city’s 2004 presidential vote, the one race contested in each place, Hogan said. Republican voters counted as conservatives, Democrats as liberals and third-party supporters as whatever label that party’s candidate accepted. "
And that is what is problematic about the study.
One of their top 50 "liberal" cities was Jackson, Mississippi, which voted for that state's gay marriage ban by a margin of nearly 60%. Jackson of course, has a very large black population.
Realistically, the list should read something like
Berkeley, Austin, Ann Arbor, etc etc. The most liberal enclaves tend to be areas inhabited by wealthy lily whites.
There's hope for LA after all.... pass it on.
-Dan
"The most liberal cities are also the ones that have the most people with their hands out!"
That must be because they're using Braille--they can't read, you know.
anti-NEA & pro-Literacy BUMP!
You lucky dog...:-)
The liberal's hand is in your pocket so that you pay for his compassion.
I was in "Springs in June and all the talk at the hotel bar would have been described as "conservative". But these were all out-of towners talking. Granted, each in his own way was headed to the "mountain" on business so I guess the Defense connection attracts more "conservatives"
Yep. Bakersfield. Orange. Probably a dozen more in the top fifty conservative cities. ;)
Pikers. Texas has three cities which beat them.
The fact that Focus on the Family has a huge complex high on a hill overlooking the northern part of town is part of the mystique here.
Btw, regarding Pueblo, that's Mexican. Colorado Springs is American.
Rank City State
1 Provo, Utah
2 Lubbock, Texas
3 Abilene, Texas
4 Hialeah, Florida
5 Plano, Texas
6 Colorado Springs, Colorado
7 Gilbert, Arizona
8 Bakersfield, California
9 Lafayette, Louisiana
10 Orange, California
11 Escondido, California
12 Allentown, Pennsylvania
13 Mesa, Arizona
14 Arlington, Texas
15 Peoria, Arizona
16 Cape Coral, Florida
17 Garden Grove, California
18 Simi Valley, California
19 Corona, California
20 Clearwater, Florida
21 West Valley City, Utah
22, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
23 Overland Park, Kansas
24 Anchorage, Alaska
25 Huntington Beach, California
26 Lancaster, California
27 Tulsa, Oklahoma
28 Rancho Cucamonga, California
29 Garland, Texas
30 Wichita, Kansas
31 Santa Clarita, California
32 Fullerton, California
33 Corpus Christi, Texas
34 Carrollton, Texas
35 Anaheim, California
36 Clarksville, Tennessee
37 Jacksonville, Florida
38 Glendale, Arizona
39 Waco, Texas
40 Pasadena, Texas
41 Chesapeake, Virginia
42 Scottsdale, Arizona
43 Springfield, Missouri
44 Fort Wayne, Indiana
45 Naperville, Illinois
46 Oceanside, California
47 Chandler, Arizona
48 Costa Mesa, California
49 Modesto, California
50 Sioux Falls, South Dakota
51 Lincoln, Nebraska
52 Mesquite, Texas
53 Thousand Oaks, California
54 Boise City, Idaho
55 Omaha, Nebraska
56 Irving, Texas
57 Livonia, Michigan
58 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
59 Springfield, Illinois
60 Evansville, Indiana
61 Arvada, Colorado
62 Houston, Texas
63 Henderson, Nevada
64 San Antonio, Texas
65 McAllen, Texas
66 Torrance, California
67 Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky
68 Irvine, California
69 Riverside, California
70 Mobile, Alabama
71 Fresno, California
72 Vancouver, Washington
73 Topeka, Kansas
74 Sterling Heights, Michigan
75 Fort Worth, Texas
76 Phoenix, Arizona
77 Palmdale, California
78 Chula Vista, California
79 Westminster, Colorado
80 Manchester, New Hampshire
81 Independence, Missouri
82, Indianapolis, Indiana
83 Montgomery, Alabama
84 Shreveport, Louisiana
85 Lakewood, Colorado
86 Waterbury, Connecticut
87 Louisville, Kentucky
88 Green Bay, Wisconsin
89 Chattanooga, Tennessee
90 Grand Prairie, Texas
91 Columbus, Georgia
92 Honolulu, Hawaii
93 Winston-Salem, North Carolina
94 Spokane, Washington
95 Albuquerque, New Mexico
96 Knoxville, Tennessee
97 Peoria, Illinois
98 Salem, Oregon
99 Newport News, Virginia
100 Huntsville, Alabama
101 Reno, Nevada
102 Ontario , California
103 Tucson, Arizona
104 Moreno Valley, California
105 San Buenaventura, California
106 Las Vegas, Nevada
107 Pueblo, Colorado
108 Fort Collins, Colorado
109 Cedar Rapids, Iowa
110 Fayetteville, North Carolina
111 Yonkers, New York
112 Charlotte, North Carolina
113 Tempe, Arizona
114 Rockford, Illinois
115 Joliet, Illinois
116 Santa Ana, California
117 Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee
118 Miami, Florida
119 San Diego, California
120 Coral Springs, Florida
121 Laredo, Texas
122 Grand Rapids, Michigan
123 El Paso, Texas
124 Warren, Michigan
125 Aurora, Illinois
126 Stockton, California
127 Beaumont, Texas
128 Augusta, Georgia
129 San Bernadino, California
130 Tampa, Florida
131 Fontana, California
132 Downey, California
133 St Petersburg, Florida
134 Orlando, Florida
135 West Covina, California
136 Little Rock, Arkansas
137 Brownsville, Texas
138 Hampton, Virginia
139 Bellevue, Washington
140 Athens, Georgia
141 Des Moines, Iowa
142 Tacoma, Washington
143 Salt Lake City, Utah
144, Virginia Beach, Virginia
145 Austin, Texas
146 Stamford, Connecticut
147 Glendale, California
148 Burbank, California
149 Pembroke Pines, Florida
150 Raleigh, North Carolina
151 Portsmouth, Virginia
152 Fort Lauderdale, Florida
153 Oxnard, California
154 North Las Vegas, Nevada
155 Columbia, South Carolina
156 Salinas, California
157 Norfolk, Virginia
158 Concord, California
159 South Bend, Indiana
160 Columbus, Ohio
161 Aurora, Colorado
162 Lowell, Massachusetts
163 Norwalk, California
164 San Jose, California
165 Hollywood, Florida
166 Greensboro, North Carolina
167 Sacramento, California
168 Long Beach, California
169 Savannah, Georgia
170 Erie, Pennsylvania
171 Tallahassee, Florida
172 Lansing, Michigan
173 Pomona, California
174 Fremont, California
175 Alexandria, Virginia
176 Sunnyvale, California
177, Kansas City, Kansas
178, Kansas City, Missouri
179 Durham, North Carolina
180 Worcester, Massachusetts
181 Santa Rosa, California
182 Cincinnati, Ohio
183 Elizabeth, New Jersey
184 Eugene, Oregon
185 Toledo, Ohio
186 Pasadena, California
187 El Monte, California
188 Richmond, Virginia
189 Denver, Colorado
190 Akron, Ohio
191 Jackson, Mississippi
192 Jackson, Mississippi
193 Syracuse, New York
194 Springfield, Massachusetts
195 Bridgeport, Connecticut
196 Dayton, Ohio
197 Vallejo, California
198 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
199 Memphis, Tennessee
200 Los Angeles, California
201 St. Paul, Minnesota
202 Rochester, New York
203 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
204 Madison, Wisconsin
205 Hayward, California
206 Dallas, Texas
207 Atlanta, Georgia
208 Daly City, California
209 Portland, Oregon
210 Jersey City, New Jersey
211 Ann Arbor, Michigan
212 Buffalo, New York
213 New Orleans, Louisiana
214 Boston, Massachusetts
215 Providence, Rhode Island
216 Minneapolis, Minnesota
217, New York, New York
218 St. Louis, Missouri
219 Birmingham, Alabama
220 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
221 Chicago, Illinois
222 Seattle, Washington
223 New Haven, Connecticut
224 Baltimore, Maryland
225 Paterson, New Jersey
226 Hartford, Connecticut
227 Cleveland, Ohio
228 Flint, Michigan
229 San Francisco, California
230 Cambridge, Massachusetts
231 Newark, New Jersey
232 Inglewood, California
233 Oakland, California
234 District of Columbia
235 Berkeley, California
236 Gary, Indiana
237 Detroit, Michigan
Yes. Not my imagination then. HELP!!!
"Texas has three cities which beat them."
Little Texas: "God blessed Texas with his own hands..."
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