did you guys know that there are 101 counties that voted for Mondale in 84 and McCain in 08?

[RobertPlant]

I was shocked by that. I will list them and I want to see if anybody either lives in one of those counties or knows of those counties. I want to know what your explanation. Sorry for the long list.

1. Davis, IA
2. Monroe, IA
3. Ringgold, IA
4. Dallas, IA
5. Jackson, MN
6. Anoka, MN
7. Chisago, MN
8. Keeweenaw, MI
9. Mercer, PA
10. Lawrence, PA
11. Beaver, PA
12. Westmoreland, PA
13. Armstrong, PA
14. Fayette, PA
15. Greene, PA
16. Buchanan, VA
17. Dickinson, VA
18. Russell, VA
19, Tyrell, NC
20. Edgefield, SC
21. McIntosh, GA
22. Telfair, GA
23. Mitchell, GA
24. Webster, GA
25. Marion, GA
26. Taylor, GA
27. Crawford, GA
28. Wilkinson, GA
29. Greene, GA
30. Jackson, AL
31. Lawrence, AL
32. Colbert, AL
33. Allen, LA
34. West Feliciana, LA
35. Pt. Coylee, LA
36. West Baton Rouge, LA
37. Swisher, TX
38. Cottle, TX
39. Dickens, TX
40. Stonewall, TX
41. Fisher, TX
42. Morris, TX
43. Robertson, TX
44. Newton, TX
45. Orange, TX
46. Greenlee, AZ
47. Franklin, IL
48. Lake, TN
49. Stewart, TN
50. Humphrey, TN
51. Benton, TN
52. Henry, TN
53. Perry, TN
54. Hickman, TN
55. Robertson, TN
56. Trousdale, TN
57. Smith, TN
58. Overton, TN
59. DeKalb, TN
60. White, TN
61. Van Buren, TN
62. Warren, TN
63. Cannon, TN
64. Grundy, TN
65. Franklin, TN
66. Lincoln, TN
67. Ballard, KY
68. Livingston, KY
69. Marshall, KY
70. Lyon, KY
71. Union, KY
72. Webster, KY
73. Muhlenberg, KY
74. Gallatgin, KY
75. Morgan, KY
76. Breathilt, KY
77. Perry, KY
78. Letcher, KY
79. Harlan, KY
80. Pike, KY
81. Floyd, KY
82. Knott, KY
83. Magoffin, KY
84. Mingo, WV
85. Logan, WV
86. Lincoln, WV
87. Wyoming, WV
88. Fayette, WV
89. Clay, WV
90. Hancock, WV
91. Brooke, WV
92. Coal, OK
93. Hughes, OK
94. Haskell, OK
95. Oregon, MO
96. Reynolds, MO
97. Mississippi, MO
98. Clark, AR
99. Hot Spring, AR
100. Lincoln, AR
101. Jackson, AR

[Jennicut]

1. Populations can change in twenty four years.

Voters that were not voting in their twenties are now in their fourties and may be more conservative, growing up with the "Reagan revolution".

[DJ13]

2. The EPA should check the water in those counties

[bluestateguy]

3. Demographic and/or generational changes

Westmoreland, PA used to be very unionized, full of steelworkers who voted Democratic.

Now most of the good steel and factory jobs are gone, unions are much weaker and yes, as Obama said (though it was unpopular), people have justifiably grown bitter about it. That leaves room for talk radio hosts and teabaggers to exploit that anger and blame it on liberals, immigrants, Hollywood and "big gubmit".

[jobycom]

4. What surprises you about that?

:shrug: Populations shift, parties change, marginal districts flip the other way. Hardly a surprise.

Notice most of those are southern, too. The South still had some Democratic loyalty in the early 80s, and lost it by the 90s.

[bluestateguy]

5. As for the Iowa counties

The 80's were not a good decade for Iowa farmers; there were many foreclosures and crop princes tanked. Iowa was actually Mike Dukakis's best state in 1988.

[leftstreet]

6. What percentage of people voted in 84 vs 08?

:shrug:

[Art_from_Ark]

7. Clark, Hot Spring, Lincoln, and Jackson counties

in Arkansas are overwhelmingly white. Also, they might have been impressed with McCain's military service, among other things.

Another thing-- Lincoln County is dry. The dry counties tend to vote Republican.

[Pirate Smile]

8. How many went the other way?

[Davis_X_Machina]

9. Residual Dixiecrats -- now all dead, or nearly so.

Rustbelt Union workers, now dead, or non-union, or Foxified.

In coal country, both.

[PM Martin]

10. Interesting.

[madinmaryland]

11. So you are calling out DUer's from those counties??

Alerting.

and un-reccing.

[scheming daemons]

12. I can explain #9 through #15

Those are all in Western Pennsylvania.

In 1984, they were heavily unionized mining and steel mill towns. They were just beginning to "die".

The mills closed, and the unions went away. The population dropped and the demographics changed.


What was left was the "angry, bitter, old white men".

[depakid]

13. Mostly Southern Counties- probably no surprise there

Republicans most likely hadn't overcome Dixiecrat tradition yet.

[BurtWorm]

14. What don't you understand, Bob?

What is getting past you?

[RobertPlant]

15. on the other hand here are some counties Reagan did extremely well in that Obama won

Dallas County, TX Reagan won 66% of the vote in 1984. Conversely, Obama won 57% of the vote in 2008.
Palm Beach County, FL Reagan won 61% of the vote in 1984. Obama won 61% of the vote in 2008.
San Diego County, CA Reagan won 65% in 1984. Obama won 54% in 2008.
Harris County, TX Reagan won 61% in 1984. Obama won a little over half in 2008
Hillsborough County, FL Reagan won 64% in 1984. Obama won 53% in 2008

[BurtWorm]

16. Amazing to think that a country that elected FDR four times elected Reagan twice, too, isn't it?

[blm]

17. Bob doesn't 'get' that GOP cronies bought control of newsmedia in the 80s and 90s

especially bROADCAST MEDIA. They didn't do that so the American people would have easy access to the information they needed.

Still planting, eh Bob?

[WI_DEM]

18. In some of those counties in PA & WVA , for example...

It doesn't surprise me that Mondale ran better than Obama did in some of those areas in PA & WVA which were coal mine counties. Mondale was strongly Union and the Miners Union was stronger back in '84 than in '08--and some of those long time union members were New Dealers who voted Democratic going back to FDR have died off since '84. Interestingly, West Virginia was one of the most democratic states in a presidential election. Even Mike Dukakis won it. Mondale lost it, but still ran higher than his national average there. But it's also an older state demographically and many of those people who always voted Democratic are now dead--and since 1996 has moved steadily to the right.

[WI_DEM]

19. Since the late 90's West Virginia has moved steadily to the right--had Gore

won West Virginia and it's 6 electoral votes in 2000 he would have won the presidency without Florida or his home state of TN. West Virginia between 1932 and 1996 voted Democratic in every presidential campaign except McGovern in '72 and Mondale in '84--even Dukakis won it. Plus McGovern and Mondale did better than their national averages in the state. But since '96 those coal miners who voted Democratic every four years since FDR have died off.

[salguine]

20. There are over 3.000 counties in the United States. I'm turning this over and over

in my head, and I don't understand what's so shocking, or what this whole thread is even about. Why is this not a complete non-issue?

[WI_DEM]

21. It is some interesting statistical information. Maybe not shocking but it still

got you to open the thread and post.