Author Topic: Map shows that we live in 2 different Americas (Read 812 times)

Matthew · « **on:** April 11, 2017, 03:19:20 AM »

If you're like most Americans, you don't live around or socialize with people with whom you disagree with politically. This self-sorting by political ideology is why so many people were shocked Donald Trump won last November ("But I don't know anyone who voted for him") while half(ish) of the country knew it was happening all along.
A new map courtesy of the Cook Political Report shows just how divided we are along partisan lines. Here it is:

The map shows two things: 1) How few competitive districts there are in the country and 2) just how geographically isolated we are, politically speaking.

First, a bit of explanation. The Cook Political Report assigns each of the 435 House districts a Partisan Voting Index (PVI) score that seeks to compare how each seat performs politically against every other seat. A seat with a PVI of R+8, for example, means that the district performed eight points more Republican than the national average in the 2016 presidential election.

Generally speaking, a district with a PVI score between R+5 and D+5 is considered competitive. Seats with a PVI of +10 (or more) for either side are generally regarded as safe.
According to calculations made by the Cook Political Report's David Wasserman, there are lotsmore of those sorts of seats than there were in 1997. Twenty years ago, there were 81 seats with a PVI of D+10 and 76 with an PVI or R+10. Today, there are 118 seats with a PVI of D+10 and 133(!) seats with a PVI of R+10.
A little math yield this: In 1997, there were 157 "safe" seats in Congress -- or about 36% of the entire House. Now there are 251, which constitutes almost 58% of all congressional districts.
That's bad enough! But, one look at the Cook map above shows that not only do we tend not to live in the same congressional districts with people about whom we disagree on politics and policy, but we often don't even live in the same state or region.
The entirety of the Midwest and Upper Plains are filled with solidly Republican House districts. Both coasts are stacked with heavily Democratic districts. The areas with even marginal competition in them -- Mid-Atlantic, Southwest -- are shrinking.
It's hard to overstate how self-sorting has fueled polarization -- in our media, in our news consumption, in our lives -- over the past decade or two. When you never run into anyone who you respect but who disagrees with you on something, and you never watch anything that challenges your beliefs, you become convinced that what you think is a) what everyone should think and b) totally, 100% right.
You also tend to vote for members of Congress who reflect your views and regard any attempts by those elected officials to work with colleagues across the aisle as capitulation. You punish those who stray from rigid ideology. And then you complain why Congress can't get anything done.
So, yeah.

Matthew · « **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2017, 03:23:08 AM »

As an exercise, see if you can find the signs that the author of this article is a DEMOCRAT (besides the fact that he works for CNN.com, I mean).

Ready?

Scroll down for the answer....

Here are the two sentences that gave him away:

"2) just how geographically isolated we are, politically speaking."
Only the Democrats are "isolated" in small enclaves known as "major cities". Republicans are the normal, working class Americans living all over the country -- as evidenced by all the RED on the map. And it matches the reality on the ground: I don't feel like my beliefs (mostly common sense) are rejected by most people on the street. On the contrary, I think we're the "silent majority".

"Today, there are 118 seats with a PVI of D+10 and 133(!) seats with a PVI of R+10."
You can tell that 133 seats really bugs him -- he had to put in a little exclamation point, as if he's shocked that SO MANY people can be stupid Republicans.

JezusDeKoning · « **Reply #2 on:** April 13, 2017, 10:18:50 PM »

This is how most countries are, Matthew.

Example:

The above map is Ireland's divorce referendum in the 90s. Red is NO, Blue is YES and the heavily blue area is Dublin, the largest city and capital.

RomanCatholic1953 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 15, 2017, 09:42:12 PM »

A Great Saint wrote when Ireland returns to paganism. The end of the world is not far off.
Many of the Priest and Nuns when I attended parochial school in the 1950's and the 1960's were
from Ireland.

JezusDeKoning · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2017, 04:38:54 PM »

Quote from: RomanCatholic1953 on April 15, 2017, 09:42:12 PM

A Great Saint wrote when Ireland returns to paganism. The end of the world is not far off.
Many of the Priest and Nuns when I attended parochial school in the 1950's and the 1960's were
from Ireland.

My point is that the big cities are always going to be more liberal than the rest of the state. That's how it is in pretty much every country.

Author Topic: Map shows that we live in 2 different Americas (Read 812 times)

Matthew

Map shows that we live in 2 different Americas

Matthew

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JezusDeKoning

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RomanCatholic1953

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JezusDeKoning

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