I think people totally get the red/blue color coded maps of the U.S. wrong. They are too generalized. What these maps don’t show is there still are a lot of people in the Northeast, Pac NW and CA coast that vote Republican, but of course a minority of the population. A lot of the higher income people and business owners in these areas. There are a lot of people (working in knowledge based industries) who lean to the right on fiscal issues, taxation, pro-business, entitlements, unions. But then lean to the left on gun control, abortion, war, climate change, environment. Kind of “Bloomberg Republicans”.
I think a big problem with the Republican Party is a “branding” issue. B/c of the heavy association with the Republican Party and the bible belt social conservative issues. When many Republican moderates are more fiscal conservatives and not social conservatives. I think more Independents who were undecided would have voted for Romney if Repubs had better branding and didn’t associate so heavily with the social conservatives and the Rush Limbaugh crowd. People look at these color coded maps and think NOBODY in Coastal CA, Pac NW, Northeast voted Repub or are fiscal conservatives, which would be a wrong interpretation of the maps IMO. People look at the red/blue maps and make an association with the flyover states as representing 100% of the Repub party, and coasts 100% of Dem party, and associate the Repub party with those areas of the U.S. as being perceived as more backward. I think this is a shame, because the moderate side of the Repub party would appeal to more Americans living on the coasts if it was branded better. When they start taking a look at what’s left of their paychecks in the near future, they will be looking for a better answer.
