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Edited on Sat Feb-28-04 10:33 PM by liberalpragmatist
Many of the views posted here are right on target. Basically, the only liberal section of the state, geographically, is the northwest corner, bordering Chicago, which consists of a number of upscale, educated-professional-rich suburbs like Munster, and Gary, very poor, very Black, and heavily Democratic.
The rest of the state is largely conservative. The southern part of the state is heavily influenced by the South. I'm not as familiar with the area, but ButterflyBlood's comments, specifically hers in #9 are likely accurate. We have a swing district in the state that's in the southwest corner. Central Indiana, however, is VERY conservative. The Indianapolis suburbs, where my family lived for many years, are EXTREMELY Republican -- this is Dan Burton's district after all (the scary part was, he was MY congressman :puke:).
There are liberal or moderate pockets. South Bend, anchored by Notre Dame University is pretty liberal. Kokomo, an industrial town, is pretty Democratic. Bloomington is VERY liberal. Indianapolis itself, is, like ButterflyBlood pointed out, like Cincinnati. It's somewhat liberal, but relatively conservative for a city, with a Democratic mayor, Bart Peterson, and a fairly large population of Blacks, Hispanics, and many educated professionals who work for Eli Lilly. The Western suburbs are pretty diverse and more liberal, and the area is represented by Julia Carson, a liberal Black woman.
It's certainly not true that there are NO liberals in Indiana - I know plenty, mainly the more educated variety, many of the scientists, doctors, lawyers, etc. And there's the excellent artistic hamlet of Broad Ripple, where there are tons of artists, gadflies, restaurants, theaters, and hippies. Most of my teachers in High School when I was there were firmly liberal or, at least, moderate, especially my history and english teachers, some of my science teachers (the Bio teacher in particular), and one of the French teachers.
I, of course, knew many liberals, mainly youth. I'm only 18, and most of my friends were pretty liberal (I find that smart youth generally are). But by and large the state is VERY conservative. It's really part of the Bible Belt, and the state's large rural segment shows that. Central Indiana, despite its liberal pockets and its educated scientists and others, is overwhelmingly Republican - probably 60 or 70%. Democratic demographics just can't overcome that in a national race unless its a landslide.
People are willing to elect Conservative or Centrist Dems to state offices, and the State Democratic Party is very strong, which is why there are so many elected Democratic officials. But in Presidential races, it's not shown an ability to be competitive, with the exc. of '96, in which Clinton did compete in the state, but ultimately STILL lost by 5%.
It's an argument against the electoral college for sure. The liberal pockets of the state - the northwester, parts of the South, the college towns, Indianapolis and its Western suburbs, could be rich voting pools for a Democratic candidate if it were viable for him or her to campaign here. But since the state as a whole is not going to go Dem, there's no incentive to compete where there could be votes.
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