# Damn, but it's good to be a Blue stater! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644 "2004-11-08T14:36:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/181 "2004-11-11T02:43:11Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > That it takes 270 to win. That isn’t wisdom, it’s just a simple numerical score needed to win. As in baseball, by the time you know the final score, it’s too late. One more state, and Kerry might have won. I won’t say he would have won, just that he might have. > [@Mr. Moto](#): > > That people in said red states shouldn’t be written off. I’ll buy that, but I thought we were talking about some innate wisdom possessed by people living in red states. Still, what you say is true - “we” did write them off didn’t we. It looks like each man was concentrating on his base and preaching to his own choir instead of trying to capture the whole thing, and GWB beat us there. Guilty as charged. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/182 "2004-11-11T03:35:11Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > January 1st 3.5% pay increase across the board. Basic allowance for housing going up. Increases to combat pay and family separation allowance made permanent. Thanks for your concern. Tours of duty just extended again. Oh, and look out for that flat tax. If it’s going to keep the tax base the same, as Bush promises, that means people on military salaries will see their taxes go up. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/183 "2004-11-11T04:42:56Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > What great wisdom do we blue staters need to learn from the red staters? To increase education funding for red states. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/184 "2004-11-11T13:47:20Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Still, what you say is true - “we” did write them off didn’t we. It looks like each man was concentrating on his base and preaching to his own choir instead of trying to capture the whole thing, and GWB beat us there. Guilty as charged. It may have looked that way to you, but that’s not really what was happening. The Republican Party has gone a long way toward expanding its base. Minnesota, for instance, now has a Republican governor and one Republican senator. The state party organization is considered to be one of the most vibrant in the country. California has now elected a Republican governor, where the last few Republican candidates were less than inspiring. The last two mayors of New York City are Republicans, however nominally. A previous one, Ed Koch, was a prominent Bush supporter. The Democrats aren’t going nearly as far to expand their party. It shows. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/185 "2004-11-11T18:34:22Z")
Yep Falluja is looking real good. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/186 "2004-11-12T02:29:27Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Tours of duty just extended again. Oh, and look out for that flat tax. If it’s going to keep the tax base the same, as Bush promises, that means people on military salaries will see their taxes go up. I hope it does not, they deserve to be paid better and treated better, not taxed more. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/187 "2004-11-12T14:04:08Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > That isn’t wisdom, it’s just a simple numerical score needed to win. As in baseball, by the time you know the final score, it’s too late. One more state, and Kerry might have won. I won’t say he would have won, just that he might have. No. The score is 270. The wisdom is comprehending that that indeed is the score that is required, and therefore not alienating voters who might give it to you. In any competition, _precisely because the outcome is unknown_, it is very important to give the whole of your effort and to score every possible point. Rove was careful not to demonize Democrats as voters. The left camp, on the other hand, was positively incessant with its ridicule and condescension toward voters from the right. (And in fact, it still is.) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/188 "2004-11-12T14:28:57Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Rove was careful not to demonize Democrats as voters. The left camp, on the other hand, was positively incessant with its ridicule and condescension toward voters from the right. (And in fact, it still is.) What a silly, apples-and-baseballs argument; if Rove was circumspect in his comments, the right wing in general was not, labelling Democratic voters with all sorts of scurrilous characterizations. An honest comparison would be Rove and DNC Chairman Terry McAulliffe or Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill, who likewise never had any imprudent comments about Republican voters. But no, instead we are subjected to another disingenuous **Liberal** broadside at the left, crafted by stitching together ragged bits of mismatched cloth. I know you think you have created a dreamcoat **Lib** , but in truth it is just a shabby cloak, threadbare with holes that reveal your emaciated logic. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/189 "2004-11-12T14:38:25Z")
The right wing in general? That would, presumably, include me. And I have tried at all times to be respectful of my Democratic fellow citizens. I’d get in big trouble if I didn’t. Most of my family are union Democrats. I certainly haven’t been as insulting to them as many posters on this board have been to Republicans and conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/190 "2004-11-12T16:35:59Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > The left camp, on the other hand, was positively incessant with its ridicule and condescension toward voters from the right. (And in fact, it still is.) We did? Aw come on. You’re just being wrongheaded and evil now \. But seriously, human nature being what it is, it is very hard to not ridicule things we think are ridiculous. For instance, now there is a whole thread about Jesus horses. It cost us votes, but on the other hand, it can be great fun and we never lacked for material. Besides, on the one hand there was ridicule and condescension (mostly from the constituents, not from the candidates themselves) and on the other hand we had vitriol and righteousness (again, mostly from constituents and not necessarily from the candidates). ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/191 "2004-11-12T17:24:32Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Most of my family are union Democrats. Ugh. I pity you. What did you do to deserve that? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/192 "2004-11-12T17:46:47Z")
I earned it by being born and raised in the Mon Valley, just south of Pittsburgh. Just in my immediate family, my great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and brother all worked directly for the steel industry. I have lots of uncles and cousins who also worked in the mills. The only one still doing it is my brother, and he indeed voted for Kerry. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/193 "2004-11-12T18:13:40Z")
That explains it. You live in “Union Land”, and union people mostly vote Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/194 "2004-11-12T18:38:42Z")
> [@grienspace](#): > > Its that attitude that makes a lot of us who toil in the hinterland to provide the resources to feed and house you elites… No, you don’t. You “toil in the hinterland” to provide yourself with a paycheck. Peddle that self-pitying hogwash elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/195 "2004-11-13T00:47:12Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > That explains it. You live in “Union Land”, and union people mostly vote Democrat. Well, these days I live in the DC area. I moved here after a Navy enlistment. ---
**Author:** ![OliverTwistofLime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b487fb/32.png) [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/196 "2004-11-13T01:03:58Z")
Don’t continue to feel sad or blue that Bush was reelected. There still be many entitlements available for the Bush haters. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/197 "2004-11-13T01:04:43Z")
So how are we doing in Falluja these days? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/198 "2004-11-13T01:31:38Z")
[http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/12/iraq.main/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/12/iraq.main/index.html) > [@](#): > > Friday, November 12, 2004 Posted: 2:39 PM EST (1939 GMT) > > FALLUJA, Iraq (CNN) – As U.S. soldiers advanced into southern Falluja on Friday, violence and combat intensified across Iraq with battles flaring in Mosul, Baquba and Baghdad. > > … > > Twenty-two U.S. troops and five Iraqi soldiers have died in the Falluja operation, Sattler said. > > About 170 troops have been wounded, and 40 of them returned to the battlefield. About 600 insurgents have been killed. ☹ :mad: ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/199 "2004-11-13T01:47:50Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Fallujah will soon be cleaned out of insurgents, though, and Najaf has been quieted. This can only be seen as progress. Some progress we’re making. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/200 "2004-11-13T06:57:26Z")
I’m sure **Mr. Moto** believes the scattering of rose petals at the feet of American forces and the showering of same with loving Iraqi kisses will commence any day now, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644.md?page=9)