general state voting trends, pa specifically

[Lennonite]

OK, I'm from Pennsylvania, a blue state. the democratic challenger to a US senate seat got spanked, he was running against a third-term incumbant. the democratic condidate for atty. general got spanked by republican candidate, no incumbancy. these were two higher profile races in pa, both go to republican candidates. however, the state went to Kerry. how can we vote overwhelmingly for republican candidates in our state races and vote for the democratic challenger in the national race?

[Crimson King II]

Um...it's pretty easy, really. See it's far more complicated than Dems and Reps. The reps tend to have a broader range of ideas in their party...we have liberals and conservatives. Northeastern Reps tend to be conservative, liberal, or libertarian. Northeastern Dems tend to be all liberal. In the northeast, it's quite possible to vote for the liberals unanimously and end up with Rep and Dem winners. However, when faced with a Conservative head of the ticket and a liberal Dem....you'll always select the Dem.

But yet, the Reps are the simple-minded, religion addled, naive cavemen who paint with broad brush generalities??? Hardly.

[Crimson King II]

And like most "blue" states...there is a heavy red population in Pennsylvania, too. I'm proud to say not a single county in Oklahoma went blue, though we have many, many, many, many, many good Dems around, and have in fact controlled the legislature for years, and currently control the Governorship....

[Lennonite]

Originally posted by Crimson King II
Northeastern Reps tend to be conservative, liberal, or libertarian. Northeastern Dems tend to be all liberal.

well, for at least Pa, i'm going to disagree. one of our senators is considered the most liberal republican. The National Review did an article on how he was the worst republicn. and also any republican I've talked with at lenth about politics is conservative and only conservative and wont vote anyother way.

[Crimson King II]

Oh my god....please make my point a bit easier for me. My point is only that you can find Reps of all ideologies in the Northeast, but not in the South. Just because Arlen Specter is liberal does not mean there is no conservative in Pennsylvania...there are, and many voted for Bush.

My point is not that there are no liberal Republicans...there are. My point is that there are far more liberal Republicans than there are conservative Democrats. If you vote all liberal (as opposed to simply all Democrat), you can easily get liberal Republicans in office. If you vote all conservative, you will not likely elect very many, if any Dems. You asked how Pa can vote Kerry and elect state Reps. You can do it by voting liberal, not necessarily for the party.

[Crimson King II]

My guess is also that your "conservative" friend in Pennsylvania, by sheer sampling alone, doesn't know what it is to be a conservative. Were you in Georgia, I would weigh such a comment far heavier.

[Lennonite]

Originally posted by Crimson King II
In the northeast, it's quite possible to vote for the liberals unanimously and end up with Rep and Dem winners.

I don't think i understand this. Seems like double speak to me. You've obviously going to end up with a winner, either Rep or Dem. Maybe i don't understand what you are getting at.
our state went to Kerry, but the other state level leaders went to conservatives.

you said:
However, when faced with a Conservative head of the ticket and a liberal Dem....you'll always select the Dem.

That makes sense for Kerry, but what about our conservative state leaders. how did that vote go conservative when the conservatives on the state ticket were pretty conservative -- that doesn't add up. and maybe i'm just too dense to figure it out

[Lennonite]

Originally posted by Crimson King II
My guess is also that your "conservative" friend in Pennsylvania, by sheer sampling alone, doesn't know what it is to be a conservative. Were you in Georgia, I would weigh such a comment far heavier.

your obvoiusly conservative, and i'm going to stop this before it goes too far. I can see where you are coming from with the whole north conservative V. south conservative. However, a republican chairperson in the county I cover said "a good republican will always vote for a republican no matter what." with that said, i'm considering parties only, not liberal V. conservative. and if the chairperson is right, then liberal or conservative shouldn't matter.

[Crimson King II]

No...you're double-speaking.

First, a Rep is not a conservative, and a conservative is not a Rep.
A Dem is not a liberal, and a liberal is not a Dem.

Your first post mentioned only Reps. Arlen Specter is NOT a conservative. Kerry is a Dem. Bush is a conservative. If the ticket looks like this:


Bush (C)(R) v. Kerry (L)(D)
Specter (L)(R) v. Smith (L)(D)
Andrews (L)(R) v. Manny (L)(D)

Then you can vote Kerry, Specter, and Andrews and you've picked two Reps, you've selected Kerry, and you've yet to vote for a single Conservative.

And see...now you've said it yourself...you're considering parties only, not liberal v. conservative. Well...that's the answer to your question...that's how you get split tickets in Pennsylvania. The short answer to your question is, "Don't think all Reps have the same beliefs...don't use generalities."

[Crimson King II]

I will also say that county chairmen tend to be super-ideological cranks....don't listen to them...they will be the rightest-right of the right, and the leftest, left of the left.