What is the most liberal/conservative state in the US?

[Jodah]

People saying california need to understand something, along the coasts and in the big cities its very liberal, but as soon as you go inland, it flip flops hard core, most of orange county is very conservative.

The most power full radio station in the country is KFI, is LA based with mostly conservative talk show hosts.

It's the same way in New York. NYC and Buffalo are heavily left leaning but the rest of the state leans to the right.

[obdigore]

It's the same way in New York. NYC and Buffalo are heavily left leaning but the rest of the state leans to the right.

Same with MN. Minneapolis/St. Paul is extremely left, and everything else is pretty conservative. I find that large population centers are generally much more liberal than smaller towns. Perhaps because when you actually meet the people that your 'leaders' are trying to demonize you realize they are just people too? I don't know.

[Raamm]

New York Liberal
Arizona Conservative

---------- Post added 2012-05-01 at 10:57 PM ----------

Its more about poverty only existing in cities it doesn't exist in such direct means in the country side. Also there is less sharing of ideas outside of population centers so therefore tradition becomes a more powerful tool.

And the Basis of conservativism is tradition.

[Fiddycen]

I would say Cali is most liberal but they did vote to ban gay marriage so I don't know the real answer to this.

I don't feel republicans are conservative so allow me to just say the most republican state is Oklahoma.

i would say New York is Liberal.

[Tojara]

Yup.

California instantly comes to mind as being very liberal, but that's mostly large urban centers. As soon as you hit the country side it's almost full blown conservative. Obviously this isn't true everywhere but the general trend is rural = conservative and urban = liberal. One would think that Texas is completely full blown conservative but that really isn't the case. Cities like Houston are completely liberal!

Liberal in Canada and in most places in the world simply mean that you're aligned more or less in the center of the political spectrum, slightly leaning left if anything else. Honestly the U.S really doesn't have a left leaning party at all. You have slightly right and more right. By comparison the Canadian conservative party is more 'democrat' than you're democratic party ;/

[Fahrenheit]

As a outsider living in the US i always wondered what is the most liberal/conservative state in the US?

I must say from what ive read and my generally feeling the most liberal state is vermont and the most conservative is utah

Am i wrong what would you say is the most liberal/conservative state in the US?

Liberal would probably be Massachusetts
Conservative would probably be Mississippi or one of those other states from the bible belt down south.

[Reeve]

Not exactly true. Austin is definitely liberal, but Dallas, San Antonio and Houston are independent at most and probably lean-conservative. All those cities went solidly for Bush in 2000 and '04 - slightly for Obama in 2008...but I definitely wouldn't count on that happening again.

OK, looking at the 2008 numbers, those cities definitely went Obama, but you're right in that they aren't necessarily likely to do so again. If you look at the 2004 map on the first page of this this thread, all those cities are pretty solidly right between Democrat and Republican, just as you said. So I guess with the exception of Austin, which is definitely liberal, the big cities of Texas could go either way, but are slightly more likely to vote Republican.

I guess, given that I live in Houston, and 90% of the people I meet are democrat, I'm letting my personal experiences affect my perceptions of the city. More likely, those are the people I meet because I live in the Inner Loop, not out in the 'burbs, and most of the other oil guys in my office are Dems.

[Sylvre]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Partisan_Voting_Index

[namelessone]

progressive is the other side of conservative not liberal.

progressive sees things not working and want to try something new to make it work.
conservative sees things not working and try to make it more like it was in the past.

Now a liberal is some on that feels liberty is the most important thing in life. sadly this means that most of the time people shit talking liberals are just being liberals them selves.

Which is funny because we have a party in Ontario called Progressive Conservative.

[Stanton Biston]

I'm going to pick Colorado as the most Liberal because they'll prolly legalize pot first.

Most conservative would be one of the former confederate states, though. Texas is really kind of it's own thing. Like Utah.

Though Arizona would be a close second to the former confederacy (sans Florida).

[Angella]

Washington, D.C. is like 90% liberal. I'd go with that for liberal. Conservative is definitely Utah. Also like 90% conservative.

[GW2lacky]

As a outsider living in the US i always wondered what is the most liberal/conservative state in the US?

I must say from what ive read and my generally feeling the most liberal state is vermont and the most conservative is utah

Am i wrong what would you say is the most liberal/conservative state in the US?

Its regional...not statewide. Every state I've been to has conservative parts and liberal parts in differing ratios.

I lived in the bible-belt of Kansas where people are practically fundamentalist Christians in several areas and I also lived in parts of the state that were incredibly liberal (like Lawrence, Ks). I grew up in a very liberal part of California but now live in an conservative, church going part of Orange County (Mission Viejo, Ca).

My suggestion is to find a state you want to live in and then look at what the individual cities are like.

[stabetha]

Now a liberal is some on that feels liberty is the most important thing in life. sadly this means that most of the time people shit talking liberals are just being liberals them selves.

completely wrong liberals are more into equality and using government regulation to make sure everything is equal (the opposite of liberty) the term liberal comes from being free with money not liberty.

lib·er·ty   [lib-er-tee]
noun, plural lib·er·ties.
1.freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
2.freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
3.freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.

the party that seems the most in line with that is libertarian

O.T.
Connecticut is a very progressive state
Arizona is very conservative (except for San FranTucson)

[obdigore]

Washington, D.C. is like 90% liberal. I'd go with that for liberal. Conservative is definitely Utah. Also like 90% conservative.

You are aware that D.C. is not a state, right?

[Tore]

Washington State is a pretty liberal place, as is Oregon. Something about the northwest corner of the country turns people into hippies.

[starlord]

Washington State is a pretty liberal place, as is Oregon. Something about the northwest corner of the country turns people into hippies.

must be the rain.

anyways theres no real way to quantify states as being "most liberal or conservative". theres states that have a history of voting one way or another as a whole though.

[Treno]

While I don't know if it is the most, Idaho is VERY staunch conservative with only one or two areas that are largely liberal (Sun Valley). The college campuses tend to be a congregation of liberals as well, though this may be due to a sense of rebellion from the bulk of them growing up in such a conservative atmosphere.

[Sylvre]

completely wrong liberals are more into equality and using government regulation to make sure everything is equal (the opposite of liberty) the term liberal comes from being free with money not liberty.

lib·er·ty   [lib-er-tee]
noun, plural lib·er·ties.
1.freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
2.freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
3.freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.

the party that seems the most in line with that is libertarian

O.T.
Connecticut is a very progressive state
Arizona is very conservative (except for San FranTucson)

You realize that 'liberal' means many different things? The Liberal Party is the right-wing party in Australia. For that matter, in Europe I believe the word "liberal" usually refers to free market (or what you call "libertarian") policies which are based on "liberal" economic theories (or neoliberal, classical liberal, etc). Adam Smith was a "liberal" who railed against "conservatives" who were status-quo mercantilists. John Locke and J.S. Mill were founders of "liberalism" not conservatism or libertarianism.

Get out of the American cable-TV echo chamber.

[Stanton Biston]

http://mercatus.org/freedom-50-states-2011

The lighter colored the states are the most liberal. Liberal in the real sense of the word. Not meaning "left".

Of course, this isn't 100% accurate, it also doesn't have much to do with political parties either... both are pretty much the same.

For example. Ohio is very heavily republican and not liberal AT ALL. New York and California are heavily democrat and less liberal than pretty much every other state in the union. NY and CA may be "progressive" but they are hardly liberal.

http://mercatus.org/freedom-in-the-50-states/OR

Fuck yeah #1 personal freedom!

SUCK IT, TREBECK!

[Reeve]

http://mercatus.org/freedom-in-the-50-states/OR

Fuck yeah #1 personal freedom!

SUCK IT, TREBECK!

I guess I don't like the brand of "freedom" espoused in that study. The darker the state, the more likely it's a place I want to live in.