Obama Wins 303 : 206

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Obama Wins 303 : 206

Residents In More Than 30 States File Secession Petitions

[Aeni]

Re: Obama Wins 303 : 206

Actually it's not quite that simple. The reason the modern US electoral map looks very similar to a century ago isn't necessarily because nothing has changed. Rather, it has much more to do with the deliberate policy shifts over time.

Shortly after the Civil War, most of the South was actually a Democratic stronghold because it was the Republicans who championed the cause of outlawing slavery (strange, but true! Lincoln was a Republican). Nearly all of the states there were heavily Democratic until the mid 1960s, when the tables flipped, and it became the Democrats who would push for civil rights, alienating much of the South in the process (but more or less cementing the Democratic hold on the African-American vote).

The problems Republicans have now is that minorities are now growing in the most influential states in the South: Florida and Texas.

Those two states have heavy representation from minorities, and not coincidentally have a large bloc of electoral votes as well. Florida is already a swing state. Texas is projected to become a swing state in less than two decades, as the young Hispanics who are living and moving there reach voting age. With the GOP losing the Hispanic vote 3-to-1 (and that's WITH Cubans included; if you remove the Cubans from the equation it's more like 4 to 1), they have a big, big problem. If Texas becomes a swing state and Florida continues its slide to the left due to the influx of Northern retirees and a population explosion amongst Hispanics, in two decades we're going to be looking at presidential elections where Democratic candidates will start off with around 220 electoral votes already locked up, and only needing to win a handful of other swing states.

That doesn't mean the Republicans lose everywhere, of course. Utah's predominantly white and will probably stay so indefinitely, and so will states like Wyoming and Kansas. But the smaller rural states where the GOP holds its strength simply don't have enough population (and hence electoral votes) to matter in anything other than the House of Representatives. Losing Texas as a stronghold will push the Republican party into minority status, and that's something they simply cannot afford to have happen.

I expect cooler heads in the GOP will try to find a way to mend the rift between Republicans and minorities. The big question is whether they can do so with the ultra-conservatives and Tea Party shouting them down the whole way.


Icemage

EDIT: Can't count.

I think most people don't realize that the Republican party of a century ago is not the same as it is now. Ideologies have undergone massive transformation in the intervening years. I believe the most significant change came during Nixon's first bid for the US Presidency and from that point on the culture and the values were definitely placed on very conservative ideologies with entrenched Christian doctrine to combat at the time what was considered "communist/liberal disease".

The Democratic party has long roots to the Federalists in the late 1700s and then branched off in the mid 1800s, split along country lines (Union and Confederates) as well as ideologies (the party split along the issue of slavery) The party reformed after a time under FDR while the "Dixiecrats" remained estranged and alienated up to and throughout the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, you can currently find these Democrats as they call themselves "Conservative Democrats", which they are really just Republicans in Democrat clothing since they're largely in "Blue" Congressional districts down in the South and along Appalachia.

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Residents In More Than 30 States File Secession Petitions

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet...tates/TDD212hQ


Peacefully grant the city of Austin Texas to withdraw from the state of Texas & remain part of the United States.

Austin Texas continues to suffer difficulties stemming from the lack of civil, religious, and political freedoms imposed upon the city by less liberally minded Texans. It is entirely feasible for Austin to operate as its own state, within the United States, in the event that Texas is successful in the current bid to secede. It is important for Austin to remain in the union as to do so would protect it's citizens' standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers.

We would also like to annex Dublin Texas, Lockhart Texas, & Shiner Texas.

While we're on the topic ... just be glad electoral seats aren't awarded by economic contribution. California (8th largest economy in the world separate from the US, ranked with other countries) would easily get 2/3 of all electoral seats in the country and basically put in Blue leaning power every 4 years.

[Malacite]

Re: Obama Wins 303 : 206

While we're on the topic ... just be glad electoral seats aren't awarded by economic contribution. California (8th largest economy in the world separate from the US, ranked with other countries) would easily get 2/3 of all electoral seats in the country and basically put in Blue leaning power every 4 years.

I wouldn't mind seeing it happen even just once. There hasn't been a truly liberal president (of note) since FDR.