A Political Puzzle...

Red states, blue states? What's up with that anyway?

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• red
• blue
• state
• politics
• parties
• partisan
• Democrat
• Republican
• media
• redneck
• urbanlite
• liberal
• conservative
• rural
• urban

[rouncole1]

So, are you trying to say that it was doctored by the electoral college? I can buy that.

But what is the fullness of your point here?

[Policritic]

@rouncole1

No, the EC has little to do with the sources of our differences. If anything, the EC is an institutional attempt to overcome our differences. Our differences are rooted in opposing preferences over political policy reflected in the political platforms of the two dominant parties. Everything else is noise.

[Policritic]

In a democracy these differences can be compromised and resolved, perhaps not to the complete satisfaction of certain narrow interests, but certainly to the satisfaction of the majority. But fracturing politics into identities and ideologies is not productive - we should not fall into that trap the media and parties lay for us.

[Policritic]

@rouncole1

If you understand the EC you will see that it is an institutional design that favors compromise across geographical regions - this is quite an important function and is perfectly consistent with our principles of democracy. 

[Policritic]

@Pacific

I don't think our differences are anywhere near that serious. This red-blue divide is mostly media fluff. The real differences are amenable to compromise. The benefits of the union far outweigh these compromises, don't you think?

[Policritic]

@21prik

Yes, you are correct - this was the hint in the video. The parties have flipflopped but the divisions are almost the same. My point is that it is not party identification that drives our red-blue polarization, but geography and policy preferences. The parties have merely tried to exploit that.

[21prik]

But in 1896 the democrats used the red and the republicans the blue. So it is complety swich compared with now days. That's because in the past the republicans where more liberal and the democrats where more conservatives.

[STLConservative]

What annoys me is that Red a color associated with the Left and Socialism is used with the Republicans, and Blue the Color of Conservatism is used with Democrats.

[rouncole1]

@Policritic ...over an election undermines the will of the people. The whole election system needs to be reformed if the will of the people is ever to be addressed.

The truest form of an election by vote is to have completely open voting where everyone who casts a vote has there vote known publicly, secret votes, especially today with computerized voting is rigged from its inception, only a completely transparent system will reveal the true desires of the people...

[rouncole1]

@Policritic I have to object, first of all, we are not a democracy, we are a republic, democracy is no more free than a monarchy, in a true democracy the majority, say, 51% can cast the vote to enslave the other 49% and democracy would have prevailed.

A republic is rule by law, law that protects the civil liberties of the minority, as well as the majority.

The EC is an abomination, it destroys the concept of a vote system, allowing any body political or otherwise to have sway of any kind...