# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/21 "2004-11-08T16:11:29Z")
Driving across the country, I’ve noticed something else. Red states, excepting some swing states that went red such as Colorado, Ohio and Iowa, are choked with billboards lining the Interstates. Despite some wonerful scenery, there is a lot of litter on a stick along red state freeways. Go to the blue states, and the roads are usually far less cluttered. ---
**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 8, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/22 "2004-11-08T16:14:09Z")
Maybe you need to get off of the interstates then. You won’t get a feel for any state by hugging the main roads like a scared child hugs his mommy. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/23 "2004-11-08T16:18:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Only the coast went blue. The rest of the state went red. **silenus** , you say that as if the “rest of the state” mattered. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/24 "2004-11-08T16:21:46Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Maybe you need to get off of the interstates then. > > You won’t get a feel for any state by hugging the main roads like a scared child hugs his mommy. Regardless, if you compare the interstates in NY, to the interstates in The South (where I’ve also lived, briefly, and travelled through several times), there IS a lot more clutter in The South. Just drive I-87, I-88, I-81 or even the NYS Thruway and you’ll find beautiful scenery and very few billboards littering the roadside. It’s much more pleasant to drive in NY, than through The South, IMHO. Although the cheap cigarettes are one positive aspect. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/25 "2004-11-08T16:23:15Z")
It will be a chilly day in hell before I move to a red state. Not because they’re red, mind you, it just happens to be a coincidence. Move to the South? Not this broad. Live in the bible belt/bread basket? Er, _no_. Yet, I’m a Republican. Hmmm, I guess I like to have my (and your) cake and eat it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/26 "2004-11-08T16:26:56Z")
> [@avabeth](#): > > Thanks for reminding me yet _again_ that I hate where I live. Oz is a red state? ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/27 "2004-11-08T16:29:49Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > **silenus** , you say that as if the “rest of the state” mattered. No doubt. 😛 Sam ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/28 "2004-11-08T16:46:34Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > There’s something to consider here. > > The primary targets of terrorism are blue states or blue cities. And the people serving in the military come disproportionately from red states and red areas. > > So, in essence, the red areas are protecting the blue ones. > > Enjoy DC, Wilson Boulevard, and Old Town all you want, **gobear**. The guys in the fighter planes and helos above DC will be covering your tail while you do so. I agree with **gobear’s** response, both halves of it. And as a New Yorker (currently in self imposed exile) I’d like to point something else out. In my estimation, the chances of an attack are raised, substantially, by Bush’s foreign policy. So the military folk from the red states are protecing us, in part, from a problem which is made worse by the red states. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/29 "2004-11-08T16:49:35Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Oz is a red state? Well, it was until Glinda took over. That damn Wizard put a ban on the Munchkins marrying the Winkies, and kept Ozma in a cell without trial for years. But then again, I’m just hiding, so I could be totally behind on current events. (And I really live in Ohio…it just sounded boring in my location) Ava ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/30 "2004-11-08T16:56:41Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > It will be a chilly day in hell before I move to a red state. Not because they’re red, mind you, it just happens to be a coincidence. Move to the South? Not this broad. Live in the bible belt/bread basket? Er, _no_. > > Yet, I’m a Republican. Hmmm, I guess I like to have my (and your) cake and eat it, too. Well, that’s the point. You GOP urban elite have fooled the working classes in the Red states that you share their values, when really the ownership class you represent uses those values as a smokescree for exploitation. You distract the workers friomasking questions about slashed health care and decreased economic mobility with gay marriage. “No, don’t ask why your CEO closed your factory and shipped your jobs to China, look at the scary gay people. Don’t pay any attention ot the man behind the curtain who is slashing health care benefits, look at the secular humanist who wants to teach evolution to your kids.” ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/31 "2004-11-08T16:59:33Z")
There’s a great quote from Malcolm X about the elites using race as a distraction to keep the workers from banding together against exploitation, but I can’t find it, so I’ll give you this. > [@](#): > > “I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.”–Malcolm X ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/32 "2004-11-08T17:03:04Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > “No, don’t ask why your CEO closed your factory and shipped your jobs to China, look at the scary gay people. Don’t pay any attention ot the man behind the curtain who is slashing health care benefits, look at the secular humanist who wants to teach evolution to your kids.” Oz _is_ a red state! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/33 "2004-11-08T17:05:15Z")
When you say things like ‘decreased economic mobility’ and ‘slashing health care benefits’, you make feel all tingly in my special no-no naughty place. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/34 "2004-11-08T17:09:29Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I always thought we were pretty self-sufficient as far as resources for food and housing went. Please tell me what resources you in the hinterland (and Canada) are providing me. … I dunno about the hinterland down there, but have you used… I don’t know… _paper_ lately? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/35 "2004-11-08T17:10:59Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > When you say things like ‘decreased economic mobility’ and ‘slashing health care benefits’, you make feel all tingly in my special no-no naughty place. “Yes! Yes! … Just say it! Say it!” “Oh, baby. Let me privilege lesbian positionality by destabilizing your bodily metanarrative.” - Alison Bechdel, _Dykes to Watch Out For_ ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/36 "2004-11-08T17:13:52Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I dunno about the hinterland down there, but have you used… I don’t know… _paper_ lately? paper? How quaint. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/37 "2004-11-08T17:14:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Oz is a red state? Only Quadling Country. Munchkinland is, however, a blue state. Gillikin Country is purple and Winkie Country is yellow. And of course, the Federal District is green. So obviously Oz is a multi-party nation. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/38 "2004-11-08T17:16:07Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I dunno about the hinterland down there, but have you used… I don’t know… _paper_ lately? He didn’t say we were 100% self-sufficient, he said we were “pretty” self-sufficient, which we as a state, are. We even produce a bulk of paper products as well as our huge agribusiness. Sam ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/39 "2004-11-08T17:18:13Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > In my estimation, the chances of an attack are raised, substantially, by Bush’s foreign policy. So the military folk from the red states are protecing us, in part, from a problem which is made worse by the red states. Took the words out of my mouth… exactly what I was going to say… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/40 "2004-11-08T17:23:02Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > But let’s get to the real crux of the matter – how are the beaches around there? Come check out [Crane’s Beach](http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/294_crane_beach.cfm), right here in John Kerry’s home state. Oh, and scroll down to “Nearby Places to Visit” links in the left-hand column for more great stuff in my neck of the woods – all within a few minutes’ drive of each other. And all of this is less than an hour’s train ride away from Boston. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644.md?page=3)