# Out of touch politicians **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642 "2020-10-23T00:08:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/81 "2020-10-25T17:05:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > For Wisconsin, in particular, it almost undoubtedly refers to one’s preferred way of preparing a brandy old fashioned. Close. It’s knowing the proper way to make an Old Fashioned. Using bottled mix is sacrilege and in some counties it is punishable by banishment to the central flatlands. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/82 "2020-10-25T17:41:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There are people in New York City who think Upstate starts at 110th Street. Which is in contrast to all the people who live in place likes Yonkers, Scarsdale, Nanuet, Peekskill, Middletown, Newburgh, Cold Spring, Monticello, and Poughkeepsie who feel they live in the Greater New York City area. > > Me? I grew up in the northern Adirondacks. As far as we were concerned, downstate began around Glens Falls. Go Habs go and fuck ta APA. I went to college in Allegany County and had the same problem - most Americans had no problem as long as I said “New York **state** ” instead of merely “New York,” but just about every non-American would think I was going to college in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/83 "2020-10-25T17:53:09Z")
In Oregon it’s the average price of a gram of top shelf. 😉 Seriously, though, a politician from here better know the minimum wage for cities vs rural areas, that would sink someone in a hot minute. In recent times I found Nancy Pelosi standing in front of 25K worth of fancy freezers going on about how she’s getting through COVID lockdown with her stock of ten bucks a pint ice cream to be pretty fucking tone deaf. Especially considering the unemployment numbers for those who work in her district, who have to commute in since there’s no way they could afford to live there. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/84 "2020-10-25T23:46:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There are people in New York City who think Upstate starts at 110th Street. > [@Colibri](#): > > I overheard a guy who was trying to pick up a girl tell her that he was from “Upstate New York. Westchester,” “Upstate” is definitely a relative term. I’ve tried explaining it as ‘in New York City, the line’s somewhere around Westchester and ‘upstate’ is the pejorative term. Anywhere north of there, the line’s about 20 miles south of wherever the speaker lives, and it’s ‘downstate’ that’s the pejorative.’ > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > In Rochester, you’d need to know what it means to order a plate Which Rochester? And how do you say “Chili”? – for that matter, how do you say Oregon? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/85 "2020-10-26T02:17:45Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Which Rochester? The one where you need to know what it means to order a plate, of course. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > And how do you say “Chili”? With the same i you use for Lima. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > – for that matter, how do you say Oregon? South Washington ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/86 "2020-10-26T02:41:12Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > The tricky one in the south-west of England us “[Jam first or cream first](https://afternoontea.co.uk/blog/the-afternoonteacouk-team/the-nation%E2%80%99s-biggest-debate-settled-%E2%80%93-jam-or-cream-first-on-scones-(1)/#:~:text=The%20rivalry%20between%20Cornwall%20and,with%2042%25%20preferring%20cream%20first.)?” Cream first! But that’s because my first cream tea was in Devon. I only found out recently that I’m about 5% Cornish, so maybe I should switch? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/87 "2020-10-26T09:23:54Z")
I thought Rochester you had to know what Brother Wease’s radio station is. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/88 "2020-10-26T11:56:11Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > “Upstate” is definitely a relative term. > > I’ve tried explaining it as ‘in New York City, the line’s somewhere around Westchester and ‘upstate’ is the pejorative term. Anywhere north of there, the line’s about 20 miles south of wherever the speaker lives, and it’s ‘downstate’ that’s the pejorative.’ Or 20 miles east of wherever you live if you’re in Western New York. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/89 "2020-10-26T14:04:25Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Or 20 miles east of wherever you live if you’re in Western New York. The pop line. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/90 "2020-10-26T16:36:26Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I’m struggling to think of something for Missouri. Where do you buy your walnut bowls? I can’t think of a single Missouri- based question that won’t piss off at least half the people in the state, starting with the most basic of all: Missou-REE or Missou-RUH Of course you can try saying “M-I-Z” and seeing if the politician answers “Z-O-U” But since Kit Bond went to Princeton and U. Va., John Ashcroft went to Yale and the University of Chicago, and our current Governor went to the Universities of Hawaii and Maryland, that doesn’t carry as much clout as it used to. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/91 "2020-10-27T03:41:36Z")
Most of these, like 90+% seem more like tests if you truly are from where you say you are than out-of-touch tests. An out-of-touch politician here in Northern Colorado might not realize there are major traffic issues whereas the Are-You-A-True-Coloradan test is if they call it “Bronco Country” rather than “Bronco Nation”. Two completely different ideas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642.md?page=4)