The Big Sort : Rural voters

It's Time Now To Allow Politicians To Do Their Jobs

Bill Bishop — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:20:00 GMT

Anthropologist E.E. Evans-Prichard studied the Nuer, a pastoral people living in the Upper Nile region of Africa, herders who moved with their animals to the tune of the region's rivers. In flood times, Nuer tribes retreated to higher ground, and when...(read more)

An Election Story for Those Who Like To Watch

Bill Bishop — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:05:00 GMT

Enough already with the words. Think of this as The Big Sort scorecard for the election, several different ways of seeing how the geographic clustering of like-minded citizens plays out in presidential elections. First, the sort itself . Here we compare...(read more)

Learning a Lesson From the "Redneck Caucus"

Bill Bishop — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Jeffrey Goldberg of The New Yorker went to "central casting" in the spring of '06 to find the candidate who could win in Bush-red communities. Goldberg recounted a stilted encounter between the Kerrys (John and Teresa Heinz) and a Missouri hog farmer,...(read more)

If This Is a "Change" Election, Then What's Changed?

Bill Bishop — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:56:00 GMT

Let's consider what's not new in this election. There's a lot. The last five or six elections have been pushed along by trends that have been in place since the mid-1970s. Despite the extraordinary circumstances this year, the basic political contours...(read more)

Rural Voters in Battleground States Love Palin, Back McCain

Bill Bishop — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:43:00 GMT

Rural voters in battleground states support John McCain by about the same percentage that they backed George Bush at this point in the 2004 election. In September 2004, Bush held a 13-point lead over John Kerry among rural voters in battleground states....(read more)

Will Rural Voters Make It Three in a Row for Republicans?

Bill Bishop — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:28:00 GMT

Rural and exurban voters made George Bush president—twice. You can see that in the chart below. It simply counts the vote in rural, exurban, and urban counties and subtracts the John Kerry totals from the Bush totals. Kerry won the nation's metro areas...(read more)