To bad N, Dakota's to F%^ Cold

[Great-Kazoo]

http://news.yahoo.com/sen-heidi-heitkamp-reported-obama-gun-proposals-way-155205126--abc-news-politics.html

"I think you need to put everything on the table, but what I hear from the administration - and if the Washington Post is to be believed - that's way - way in extreme of what I think is necessary or even should be talked about. And it's not gonna pass," said Heitkamp, a member of the National Rifle Association.

[Monky]

So.. Romney won by a good margin up there.. yet they're electing all the D's? hmm.. Sounds like what happened before we became a blue state.

You know his plan is going to be extreme.

WhyTF was Boehner elected speaker again? Oh so he can promise no more 'back door' meetings w/ great leader.

[bogie]

Yeah I don't get why ND would be blue. Has all the makings of a red state. Could it be the all the rez population? Seems like the oil boom will push it red again.

[HoneyBadger]

She sounded like a pretty reasonable democrat to me... I don't care what party she officially "affiliates" with, as long as she defends the constitution and serves the people in a principled manner. Then again, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a "Republican" in California...

[Bowtie]

So.. Romney won by a good margin up there.. yet they're electing all the D's? hmm.. Sounds like what happened before we became a blue state..

Farm Subsidies are why they vote for Democrats, also most North Dakota democrats are like the democrats of the 1950's they are much more religious, more conservative.

[Ashton]

I love Bismarck in the summer. Such a nice place with nice people.

[mitch]

She sounded like a pretty reasonable democrat to me... I don't care what party she officially "affiliates" with, as long as she defends the constitution and serves the people in a principled manner. Then again, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a "Republican" in California...

This. So much.

The mentality that voting for a Democrat or Republican means you have to toe the party line - or support the personal position of everything they do - is absurd. Vote for the candidate, not the party. Voting for (or against) a party is what's gotten us into this mess in the first place.

[DD977GM2]

Yeah I don't get why ND would be blue. Has all the makings of a red state. Could it be the all the rez population? Seems like the oil boom will push it red again.


The number of subsidized farmers and ranchers in N. Dakota is why they are a blue state.
They like the gov cheese and vote that way.

[bogie]

The number of subsidized farmers and ranchers in N. Dakota is why they are a blue state.
They like the gov cheese and vote that way.

Not sure why I didn't think of that.. Just looked up some numbers.



$14.0 billion in subsidies 1995-2011.
$6.30 billion in commodity subsidies.
$3.90 billion in crop insurance subsidies.
$2.00 billion in conservation subsidies.
$1.75 billion in disaster subsidies.
North Dakota ranking: 7 of 50 States
16 percent of farms in North Dakota did not collect subsidy payments - according to USDA (http://farm.ewg.org/farms_by_state.php).
Ten percent collected 61 percent of all subsidies.
Amounting to $6.17 billion over 17 years.
Top 10%: $45,980 average per year between 1995 and 2011.
Bottom 80%: $1,712 average per year between 1995 and 2011.

[Pancho Villa]

There's a lot of people who are open to voting for moderate dems, especially locally (where there's less problems you get caucusing with the radical dems on the federal level) due to being uncomfortable with the Republican socialcon agenda.

Those states are never very solidly on either side, they can look schizo that way, but they actually have a fairly consistent political climate in my experience.

Edit: Republicans are pro-farm subsidies too.