3D red/blue map

A 3D county map of the US, showing votes by county as elevation, linked by WildBloater.

click on the image to see a much larger one

Interesting (I love graphics!), but I question the accuracy, based on the metro Atlanta counties. The "tallest" county in GA is shown as DeKalb (the one shaped like a mini-GA), the county where I live, which only had 360,758 votes for Kerry vs. 57,133 votes for Bush. Fulton, just west of DeKalb, is where the City of Atlanta proper is, had 166,202 votes for Kerry vs. 113,222 for Bush, but it is shown as much "shorter." I suppose the map preparers could have just reversed the two by mistake, but it makes one wonder about the accuracy in general.

But, that aside, the map does show that city dwellers tend to prefer Kerry, in general, though I've read there are quite a few significant exceptions (I'd have to find them. St. Louis doesn't look very tall. East St. Louis -- not my kind of town -- is taller.) This is not really surprising, when you consider the demographics of downtown areas and the massive move-out to the suburbs by most people over the past several decades.

The map also shows that SUBURBAN dwellers (those just outside the high-rise buildings) prefer Bush. At least that's what I deduce from the metro Atlanta area, which now includes 21 counties and extends about 1/2 way across North GA. Contrary to what BloggerGoneWild thinks, the woods of N. GA are FULL of relatively new homes. Notice the many raised RED counties surrounding the four "intown" blue Atlanta counties. [I gave those demographics in an earlier post, via a link to an LA Times article.] Gwinnett County, just NE of Atlanta and the fastest growing county in the country, with many upscale younger people building new homes, voted 138,756 for Bush, and only 71,633 for Kerry. Most of these people are not driving around in pickups with gun racks in the window, Wild. I see a lot of Beamers and Mercs in that area.

Notice how much of NY State outside the City is red. What does that tell you?

Like the majority of Americans, I don't have much in common with people who want to live downtown. The only way I'd even consider it would be if I could afford a $900K highrise condo (high enough to not hear all the racket on the streets below) with a gated parking lot. And only because I have a lake place 100 miles away to go to on weekends. Even so, I'd be constantly asking myself why I was paying so much to live like I do when I'm on a business trip, staying in a hotel. Of course, I'd be "packing" when I walked the streets, where the freeloaders who want the rich to pay for their foodstamps are.

To blame Kerry's woodshed beating on Evangelicals, rednecks, the uneducated, and barefoot and pregnant women is to deny the demographics provided by the LA Times. The majority of those who make over $40K/yr voted for Bush. Only the income groups near poverty level voted mostly for Kerry. The Democratic Party is pushing an agenda the MAJORITY of Americans of all types (with a few exceptions) are not buying. Time to find a bigger tent! In catering to certain minority groups, you've marginalized your party.

So, what are we to conclude from this. I'd say it tells us the Democratic Party has been reduced to the party of the City Dwellers near large bodies of water on the outer edges of our society.. Until our population increases to 4-5X what it is now, that makes the Democratic Party a minority party which cannot elect Presidents or many Senators, and only some Representatives. It must move closer to the center, and broaden its appeal if our two-party system is to survive (as I hope it will).

BTW, I'm PROUD (and somewhat surprised) to say the City of Decatur, the county seat of DeKalb County, and heavily loaded with Lesbians and Gays, went Republican!