As for the rest, I think there are enough conservatives living in the Mohawk Valley to give a conservative a halfway-decent chance to stand for office, and a voice in public affairs. Which is drowned out now by the downstaters.
What would be fun is watching the Big Apple and Boston wither, after their blood-funnels into American life and business are finally cut off. No more vamping on the rest of the country, so sad.
I have a hard time dealing with the requirement for more densely populated areas needing support from more sparsely populated places. One would think that there should be greater efficiencies associated with closer proximity and greater specialization. Obviously, other factors dominate.