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The intractable problem isn't the one between the Red and Blue states. It's is between cities and rural communities. Rural people's votes have been given massively more power than those of the votes of people in urban areas by the constitution. The top 10 states where voters have the most power are all Red states. https://wallethub.com/edu/how-much-is-your-vote-worth/7932 *Alaska* for heaven's sake, is the most powerful state when it comes to votes. That is why we are in the mess we are in right now. Until we change the constitution, the USA will continue to decline into a failed state. Yet, we aren't able to change the constitution because the power of rural votes prevents change. Rural people are, as Obama put it (and it cost him) driven by guns and religion. They do not care that their children's lives are fouled because, apparently, God wants it this way. Our biggest problems sit behind the pulpits across America, spewing hatred.

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Red town-red county-blue state, that's my situation. Thankfully state law takes precedence, because I have seen what would happen to our natural resources if that was not the case. They would cut all the timber, catch all the sea creatures, and pollute whatever they wish without Democratic leadership that can limit and oversee their business activities.

Think I'll go take a walk and enjoy the marvelous fresh air I have fought the Republicans for. Turns-out not ALL politics are local, some are statewide and some are national.

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I live in Washington State and love it. I do have to put up with Sinclair Media who owns one of the local television stations and wages a constant campaign to attack the Democrat policies.

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Sep 10, 2022·edited Sep 10, 2022

All one needs to do is look at the infant mortality numbers for 2021 for the states. Among the countries with the lowest rate it ranges from Slovenia at 1.53 to as high as Germany's 3.24. For the red states in the south it ranges from 8.27 in Mississippi, 7.53 in Louisiana, 7.45 in West Virginia, 7.33 in Arkansas, 7.18 in Alabama, 6.76 in North Carolina, 6.23 in Kentucky, 6.2 in Tennesseee, and 6.12 in Georgia. The state with the lowest infant mortality is California at 3.69 with its socialist maternity and child care programs.

In the south the blacks went from chattel slavery to prison slavery and wage slavery. Nothing has really changed in the past 400 years with white supremists still used by the elites to divide and conquer, a lesson they learned when white indentured servants joined black slaves in the Bacon Rebellion of 1676 - something left out of school history books.

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One thing you may have overlooked is that Red states are probably over-populated with Chrito-Fascists. evangelicals and religious cultists of all kinds. That reality has a daunting effect on the consciousness of the populace beyond the one foot bubble in which most exist.

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This is one of the areas where we have voted with our feet, and why we, finally, chose to live in rural Tennessee, a so-called Red State, after living in Portland, Oregon, a so-called Blue State, with family, for many, many years. For years, Oregon and Portland had European level quality of life, in my experience, after living and working all over the planet. However, from 1995-2015, Oregon's legislature and Land Use Density laws increased our neighborhood from circa 3,000 to almost 20,000. School districts became overcrowded and, as a result of Oregon's singular take on immigration, many school districts became unable to deal effectively with all their students due to rising levels of non-English speaking students. Metro-Portland, effectively, became the dominant legislative player in Oregon, completely overcoming all the remaining rural areas and voters; the mantra of "Keeping Portland Weird" became a rallying force. As a result, we and many other long-time Oregonians quietly left for a variety of other areas in the US and the World (https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2015/04/tolerance_of_aggressive_vagran.html). We love, and miss, many things about Oregon; legislatively we sorely miss the Vote-at-Home (https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Pages/voteinor.aspx). However, we chose a Red State in the US to retire in a lovely rural area where people still go to church, for example.

As usual, Mr. Hartman's data is interesting, compelling and accurate:

"Blue state taxes heavily subsidize Red states, a fact that’s been well known for decades. As an “AP Fact Check” laid out:

“Mississippi received $2.13 for every tax dollar the state sent to Washington in 2015, according to the Rockefeller study. West Virginia received $2.07, Kentucky got $1.90 and South Carolina got $1.71.

“Meanwhile, New Jersey received 74 cents in federal spending for tax every dollar the state sent to Washington. New York received 81 cents, Connecticut received 82 cents and Massachusetts received 83 cents.”

People in Blue states also live longer, in part because Blue states have expanded Medicaid to cover all their citizens while most Red states still refuse to do so.

“To date, 39 states (including DC) have adopted the Medicaid expansion,” notes KFF, “and 12 states have not adopted the expansion.”

All 12 of them are Red states."

For many residents in Mr. Hartman's "America's 12 Red States" they sincerely have a sense of being Americans, just as the all the residents in the so-called "Blue State." In general, after also living and working in Denmark, New Zealand and Alaska I remain convinced that we all need to refocus on the "us" in the US, and stop demonizing one another for disagreeing on some of the social policies. I believe we would have consensus everywhere, if we used some common sense, to fight for: 1. Medicare health care for everyone who resides in America, 2. Expansion of Social Security, and to be funded by taxes on all income and 3. A National Service Act. requiring all 18 year olds to SERVE two years in either a military or domestic capacity, in return for a completely free education support for each young person up to and including a Master's Degree and a 4-year apprenticeship. While we do that, personally, I subscribe to, respecting the Faith, Points-of-View and other convictions held by my neighbors. For example, at a national level, I consider it deeply troubling that Senator Durbin, a life-long Democrat, and President Biden, a life long Democrat, think it's okay to authorize the FDA to control Alternative Health supplies and decisions, handing the pharmaceutical corporations complete control over our personal health (https://anh-usa.org/senator-durbin-stealth-move-against-supplements/). But, I respect their points of view and simply look for ways, collectively, I can prevent them from seriously harming millions of people who have robust personal health, in part, by having access to supplements and herbs and Naturopathic doctors (https://www.oregon.gov/obnm/Pages/Schools.aspx). Sincerely, if you live in a "Red State" share your insight about benefits you have observed in a "Blue State," and conversely, if you live in a "Blue State" please keep visualize the us in the US and recognize that not all is well even in Blue States.

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