Why is suburban Maryland so leftist?

[Anonymous]

OP, I wonder the same thing!

Best I figure is that there are a lot of super wealthy liberals in the County who benefit directly from liberal policies and so they pretty much control the county politics.

Plus the media is insanely left leaning so people hear the same narrative over and over. Plus social pressures to be ‘liberal’.

[Anonymous]

Because we are highly educated for the most part. Because educated people are open minded. Because we are doing good financially but are not rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is but it also isn't. Don't forget the megachurch people and the people who live in the suburbs or exurbs and who are afraid to come into the city.

Huh? Why are you equating fear of going into the city with being conservative? That makes no sense.

Also, where are there actual megachurches in MoCo? WaPo did a list of the largest churches in the DC area in 2014 and no MoCo churches made the list.

Agree. That’s ridiculous. What, so no conservative-leaning fed employees in DC?

And I can’t think of a single megachurch in a 10 mile radius of my neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because we are highly educated for the most part. Because educated people are open minded. Because we are doing good financially but are not rich.

Yes! Exactly this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because we are highly educated for the most part. Because educated people are open minded. Because we are doing good financially but are not rich.

Funny because my FB friends who are the most vocally liberal are not highly educated.

I find that people who are actually highly educated are better able to see the nuance in certain issues. And don’t simply regurgitate what they hear/see in the liberal media. Truly intelligent people are better able to see both sides of every story and that every decision has potential pros and cons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nanny stating is a fetish for liberals. It’s literally a sex act for them

This and the majority suck from the government/federal teet and don’t want that gravy train to ever end. So they vote for their self interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, national elections were about "the battle for the suburbs"... the middle ground voter between the urban liberals and the rural conservatives. You hear about the proverbial suburban moderate, small business owners who would like a tax cuts, suburban soccer moms who care about gun control, that sort of thing. At least that's what the mainstream media or a lot of political conventions like to portray.

Why then is suburban Maryland (specifically the DC metro, white people in Baltimore County less so) extremely leftist? Not just Democratic, but far left Democratic? I guess Arlington and Alexandria VA are sort of like that, but not Fairfax or Loudoun. But places like Bethesda seem to be full of California-type farmers market-shopping, NPR listening, Prius driving liberals, and Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Hyattsville, College Park downright socialist. There were a bunch of socialists that won Maryland state and local elections too.

Why is suburban Maryland politically more like urban DC rather than other suburbs of metropolitan areas, like Orange County or like suburban Chicago, Philly, or Houston?

"Far left"? Nuh uh. When someone starts calling for nationalizing the means of production, let me know.

Also, why the focus on white (non-Hispanic) people? Non-Hispanic white people are a minority of the Montgomery County population, let alone the Prince Georges County population.

[Anonymous]

Education - the more educated you are, the more likely you are to be a liberal. MoCo suburbs have a lot of educated people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny stating is a fetish for liberals. It’s literally a sex act for them

This and the majority suck from the government/federal teet and don’t want that gravy train to ever end. So they vote for their self interest.

DP

I think part of this is true. Not just social service programs, but there are a crap ton of non-profits in the area that directly benefit from the federal government (grants, etc).

They have great jobs, making good money and are somewhat sponsored by taxpayers. It’s a fantastic set up. Some are ridiculously corrupt and some are true non-profits doing decent work, but getting a LOT of federal money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, national elections were about "the battle for the suburbs"... the middle ground voter between the urban liberals and the rural conservatives. You hear about the proverbial suburban moderate, small business owners who would like a tax cuts, suburban soccer moms who care about gun control, that sort of thing. At least that's what the mainstream media or a lot of political conventions like to portray.

Why then is suburban Maryland (specifically the DC metro, white people in Baltimore County less so) extremely leftist? Not just Democratic, but far left Democratic? I guess Arlington and Alexandria VA are sort of like that, but not Fairfax or Loudoun. But places like Bethesda seem to be full of California-type farmers market-shopping, NPR listening, Prius driving liberals, and Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Hyattsville, College Park downright socialist. There were a bunch of socialists that won Maryland state and local elections too.

Why is suburban Maryland politically more like urban DC rather than other suburbs of metropolitan areas, like Orange County or like suburban Chicago, Philly, or Houston?

"Far left"? Nuh uh. When someone starts calling for nationalizing the means of production, let me know.

Also, why the focus on white (non-Hispanic) people? Non-Hispanic white people are a minority of the Montgomery County population, let alone the Prince Georges County population.

Agreed.

There has been a huge increase in the Hispanic population in MoCo over the past decade. They are generally very supportive of ‘liberal’ immigration policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, national elections were about "the battle for the suburbs"... the middle ground voter between the urban liberals and the rural conservatives. You hear about the proverbial suburban moderate, small business owners who would like a tax cuts, suburban soccer moms who care about gun control, that sort of thing. At least that's what the mainstream media or a lot of political conventions like to portray.

Why then is suburban Maryland (specifically the DC metro, white people in Baltimore County less so) extremely leftist? Not just Democratic, but far left Democratic? I guess Arlington and Alexandria VA are sort of like that, but not Fairfax or Loudoun. But places like Bethesda seem to be full of California-type farmers market-shopping, NPR listening, Prius driving liberals, and Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Hyattsville, College Park downright socialist. There were a bunch of socialists that won Maryland state and local elections too.

Why is suburban Maryland politically more like urban DC rather than other suburbs of metropolitan areas, like Orange County or like suburban Chicago, Philly, or Houston?

"Far left"? Nuh uh. When someone starts calling for nationalizing the means of production, let me know.

Also, why the focus on white (non-Hispanic) people? Non-Hispanic white people are a minority of the Montgomery County population, let alone the Prince Georges County population.

Marc Elrich does so on his facebook page all the time, and he just called for a state (MD) run cannabis industry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny stating is a fetish for liberals. It’s literally a sex act for them

This and the majority suck from the government/federal teet and don’t want that gravy train to ever end. So they vote for their self interest.

DP

I think part of this is true. Not just social service programs, but there are a crap ton of non-profits in the area that directly benefit from the federal government (grants, etc).

They have great jobs, making good money and are somewhat sponsored by taxpayers. It’s a fantastic set up. Some are ridiculously corrupt and some are true non-profits doing decent work, but getting a LOT of federal money.

Doesn't explain why places like NYC and Bay Area are uber liberal. I'll give you a hint: it's about education.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/education-gap-explains-american-politics/575113/





https://www.npr.org/2016/04/30/475794063/why-are-highly-educated-americans-getting-more-liberal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Education - the more educated you are, the more likely you are to be a liberal. MoCo suburbs have a lot of educated people.

This.

https://www.degreequery.com/most-educated-places-us/

Look at the top 10 most educated cities/counties in the country. Half of them are in this area.

For MoCo local politics, the other issue is most of the people who actaully get involved are in Takoma Park and they are ultra-left. Most of the county councils members are from the TP/Silver SPring area, including the County exec. I wish Elrich would visit upcounty like Clarksburg and Germantown more often, and talk to real families at the park or out shopping. He'd learn a lot -- these people don't think public transit is the solution to all problems, and probably aren't as fond of his attempt to make MoCo into a pseudo-sanctuary county (they do honor ICE detainers, but loosely, like calling an ICE agent's personal cellphone on a holiday and if no response in 6 hours, they release instead of calling the ICE 24-hour hotline).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, national elections were about "the battle for the suburbs"... the middle ground voter between the urban liberals and the rural conservatives. You hear about the proverbial suburban moderate, small business owners who would like a tax cuts, suburban soccer moms who care about gun control, that sort of thing. At least that's what the mainstream media or a lot of political conventions like to portray.

Why then is suburban Maryland (specifically the DC metro, white people in Baltimore County less so) extremely leftist? Not just Democratic, but far left Democratic? I guess Arlington and Alexandria VA are sort of like that, but not Fairfax or Loudoun. But places like Bethesda seem to be full of California-type farmers market-shopping, NPR listening, Prius driving liberals, and Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Hyattsville, College Park downright socialist. There were a bunch of socialists that won Maryland state and local elections too.

Why is suburban Maryland politically more like urban DC rather than other suburbs of metropolitan areas, like Orange County or like suburban Chicago, Philly, or Houston?

"Far left"? Nuh uh. When someone starts calling for nationalizing the means of production, let me know.

Also, why the focus on white (non-Hispanic) people? Non-Hispanic white people are a minority of the Montgomery County population, let alone the Prince Georges County population.

Agreed.

There has been a huge increase in the Hispanic population in MoCo over the past decade. They are generally very supportive of ‘liberal’ immigration policy.

Majority of educated support liberal policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, national elections were about "the battle for the suburbs"... the middle ground voter between the urban liberals and the rural conservatives. You hear about the proverbial suburban moderate, small business owners who would like a tax cuts, suburban soccer moms who care about gun control, that sort of thing. At least that's what the mainstream media or a lot of political conventions like to portray.

Why then is suburban Maryland (specifically the DC metro, white people in Baltimore County less so) extremely leftist? Not just Democratic, but far left Democratic? I guess Arlington and Alexandria VA are sort of like that, but not Fairfax or Loudoun. But places like Bethesda seem to be full of California-type farmers market-shopping, NPR listening, Prius driving liberals, and Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Hyattsville, College Park downright socialist. There were a bunch of socialists that won Maryland state and local elections too.

Why is suburban Maryland politically more like urban DC rather than other suburbs of metropolitan areas, like Orange County or like suburban Chicago, Philly, or Houston?

"Far left"? Nuh uh. When someone starts calling for nationalizing the means of production, let me know.

Also, why the focus on white (non-Hispanic) people? Non-Hispanic white people are a minority of the Montgomery County population, let alone the Prince Georges County population.

Marc Elrich does so on his facebook page all the time, and he just called for a state (MD) run cannabis industry.

And he refuses to let the county get out of the liquor sales and distribution business monopoly they have.