Political Demographics 101

[Perky]

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/2006ELECTIONGUIDE.html?currentDataSet=senANALYSIS

This is a nice little tool for Campaign '06

But here is the data in a nutshell only 20% of the congressional districts are considered urban. 40% are suburban and the remaining 40% are classified as rural-mixed.

As one might expect Dems hold 75% of the Urban house seats, but only 39% of the suburban and rural districts. The challenge that progressive dems face is that the suburbanization of America has allowed folks to disassociate themselves with the urban areas in a variety of ways. Urban areas are riddle with crime and have poor schools or so goes the image. Suburbanites now hardly ever have a reason to go downtown since edge cities provide Mini-urban office parks and towers people do not even work downtown anymore. This is becoming an important geo-demo-socio-economic shift which many progressives on DU do not get. How willnwe attract suburban moderates when we are out of Iraq?

There are twice as many suburban districts as Urban and presently the GOP hold 60% of them. To the extent that people end to vote on multi-issues, the greater the disassociation with urban issue, the less an abjectly liberal view will resonate.

My suspicion is that DUers have the progressive bent that they do because we as a group are more urban. I would like to get some sense to validate this theory.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

1. By demographics, I am the proverbial suburban "soccer mom"

I "appear" to be the standard GOP demographic: White, married, upper-middle class suburbanite with the required number of children/cars/bedrooms/etc.

But, you must understand, some of us have educations and critical thinking, and, therefore, find the current GOP theocratic/neocon agenda putrid.

I cannot classify myself in your poll but am part of a large, misunderstood group: I am a suburban mother who considers herself liberal on social issues but fiscally responsible (not fiscally liberal).

[Perky]

2. Understand that I am not saying the politics are wrong

or that liberals are not out there in boonies. just that they are fewere and fewer and that local bias against liberal causes become further engrained as on moves farther and farther out.

[Perky]

3. Self delete (dupe)

[Perky]

4. kickety kick kick for more votes

[SmokingJacket]

5. I never can figure out where I fall demographically.

I live in an old neighborhood on the edge of a small city in a vast rural wasteland.

I smell equal parts cowshit and bus exhaust every morning.

So, suburban I guess! But I walk to work and am extremely liberal.

:shrug:

[fasttense]

6. I love the countryside and find rural living a paradise

But I have always been a liberal. I believe in helping others and the GOP believes in helping themselves.

[LWolf]

7. Rural liberal.

There are more republicans than democrats rurally, at least around here. Some of the areas of contention are:

guns

war/patriotism

government "telling us what to do" in the area of environmental/conservation issues.

If that helps any.

[Perky]

8. kickety kick kick for more votes

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. Rural Anarchist.

[ms liberty]

10. Ultra liberal and rural here...

but I grew up in a large city. My husband grew up here in rural-ville, and he's as liberal as I am.