Why is suburban Maryland so leftist?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:The people in MoCo are smart and operate with good faith. The Trump supporters are (i) stupid/racist, or (ii) greedy, or (iii) both.


+1
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:No one is focused on the racial component. PG is one of the biggest majority black countries in the United States

That's why

DCUM liberal elites really need to get out of their bubble

DC is supermajority democrat due to the black population as much as the liberal rich white population

Do you realize how racist you are with your comment?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:MoCo and PG really aren't that leftist. They are Democrats but not leftist.

PG County has a lot of African American social conservatives... Black Christians, first generation immigrants who probably think all the talk about gender pronouns and #wokeness is whack. They may vote for Democrats and hate Trump, but I wouldn't be surprised if your typical Black resident is conservative or moderate. Most young black people I know, they want to make money, own guns and are not all about the PC white people speak.

Montgomery County is not really leftist either. The socialist whackos are very few but very loud. Elrich got elected only because the rest of the primary vote was split six ways. The overwhelming majority voted against Elrich (and no, not just choosing another candidate, they really did specifically vote for anyone but Elrich). The other thing is even Elrich himself is not a leftist - he fakes some socialist "red" meat to win over the Bernie Bros but he's underneath it all a Nimby. He's just clever enough to know that you need the young white Bernie Bro vote combined with the gray haired Nimby's to win the election. I'm pretty sure no POC voted for Elrich.

In general I think MoCo and PG want pro-business moderates, they just can't pool their votes together enough to elect them. The most popular as in well liked and favorable politicians are Hogan, Peter Franchot, David Blair (he didn't win, but he came within 70 votes after never having public office and with no name recognition against a 16 year incumbent councilman), Angela Alsobrooks (she is pro-business and pro-development), and MoCo councilman Andrew Friedson also comes to mind. I really don't think your average person believes Montgomery County will become a workers paradise governed by the Revolutionary Vanguard of Takoma Park.

Good analysis, except any Blair has plenty of name recognition in Montgomery County.

You can also just take a look at the 2016 Hillary vs. Bernie totals for Maryland in general and PG/MoCo in particular to reach the same conclusion.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The people in MoCo are smart and operate with good faith. The Trump supporters are (i) stupid/racist, or (ii) greedy, or (iii) both.


+1


There is a huge gap between liberals and Trump supporters. While Montgomery County tends to lean left, there are moderates and conservatives who while they may not espouse the popular liberal positions, don't support Trump either. The problem I've had (even before Trump) is that with most of the MC county liberals "operating with good faith", if you don't automatically agree with the liberal position you are "(i) stupid/racist, or (ii) greedy, or (iii) both". I thought liberals were supposed to be open minded, but never have I encountered such rabid intolerance of differences than I've encountered from the liberals in Montgomery County.

Personally, I tend to be politically conservative but am a registered independent. While I think that liberal political correctness can be nuts, and disagree with Democrats on significant issues, I also think that Republicans have been wrong on several significant issues including the environment/climate change, gun control, health care, and the need to do something about the cost of higher education.

Trump, and the current Republican party, I in no way support. More than opposing their individual policies, I think they are inflicting damage to the instititions of the Presidency and the Congress. I think the Democrats, on the other hand, are at fault for letting them do it. Trump should have been impeached already. Waiting for poll numbers to spontaneously turn against Trump, they are shirking their constitutional responsibilities and compromising the power of impeachment.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:No one is focused on the racial component. PG is one of the biggest majority black countries in the United States

That's why

DCUM liberal elites really need to get out of their bubble

DC is supermajority democrat due to the black population as much as the liberal rich white population

Do you realize how racist you are with your comment?


DP: How exactly?

PP is being quite descriptive. Do you deny that over 90% of blacks vote Dem?
Anonymous
Out of fear? Are leftist views camouflage and survival skills? Are DCUM participants sending a coded SOS to citizens in flyover country?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The people in MoCo are smart and operate with good faith. The Trump supporters are (i) stupid/racist, or (ii) greedy, or (iii) both.


+1


There is a huge gap between liberals and Trump supporters. While Montgomery County tends to lean left, there are moderates and conservatives who while they may not espouse the popular liberal positions, don't support Trump either. The problem I've had (even before Trump) is that with most of the MC county liberals "operating with good faith", if you don't automatically agree with the liberal position you are "(i) stupid/racist, or (ii) greedy, or (iii) both". I thought liberals were supposed to be open minded, but never have I encountered such rabid intolerance of differences than I've encountered from the liberals in Montgomery County.

Personally, I tend to be politically conservative but am a registered independent. While I think that liberal political correctness can be nuts, and disagree with Democrats on significant issues, I also think that Republicans have been wrong on several significant issues including the environment/climate change, gun control, health care, and the need to do something about the cost of higher education.

Trump, and the current Republican party, I in no way support. More than opposing their individual policies, I think they are inflicting damage to the instititions of the Presidency and the Congress. I think the Democrats, on the other hand, are at fault for letting them do it. Trump should have been impeached already. Waiting for poll numbers to spontaneously turn against Trump, they are shirking their constitutional responsibilities and compromising the power of impeachment.


I don't know if you're going to looking at this thread again, but I found this comment very interesting.

For context, I used to consider myself a bleeding heart liberal, although I'll admit I'm not particularly happy with the Democrats move to the left. I disagree on some of the policy shifts by the left wing of the party, but mostly I just don't like their approach. I wish they would focus more on a legislative plan that has some chance of moving forward, and tone down the rhetoric. But at the end of the day, what's most important is what gets done. And in any plausible world, I'm absolutely going to prefer the policies that would get enacted by Democratic leaders over Republican leaders.

And that's sort of what I found interesting about your post. You mentioned a number of key issue areas where it sounds like you would side more with the Democrats, but still describe yourself as a conservative despite the path the Republicans have been on for quite some time. Perhaps I'm biased, because those four issues are definitely in my top six public policy concerns, but if those are similarly important to you, what's stopping you from aligning with the Democrats. The only specific thing you mentioned was basically rhetoric, perhaps alluding to the liberal "purity test" that seems to be going on within the party. Is that it? Or are there are areas, perhaps like taxes, non-health-care-related welfare programs, and immigration, that are keeping you from backing the Democrats?

I also find it interesting that anyone besides a bleeding heart liberal would be so supportive of impeachment proceedings. There's probably a good chance I like Trump's policies even less than you, but I would absolutely consider impeachment proceedings to be a massive waste of time. There's no chance of removal. Perhaps if the investigations found a previously-unknown smoking gun that could have been different, but that didn't happen. Absolutely there was a shady relationship between Trump, the campaign and Russia. And I'd say he absolutely crossed lines of appropriateness during the investigations. But it's not clear he did anything criminal, and while it pains me to say it, I don't think the population as a whole has a particular problem with it. Particularly with where we are in the term, it seemed clear to me that the right path was/is to put this up to the voters.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
What's leftist to you is centrist to me, OP. I'm from Europe, where most countries have decent parental leave, subsidized daycares and health care systems that don't fleece patients and the nation. The US Democratic Party is centrist compared to the multiple Left-wing parties in Europe.


You left paradise. Why?


To come here and enjoy the freedom she didn’t have at home, while she works to destroy it.


I'll bite! How does Europe not have freedom??
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Out of fear? Are leftist views camouflage and survival skills? Are DCUM participants sending a coded SOS to citizens in flyover country?


Fair point.

Always easier to go with the flow.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Out of fear? Are leftist views camouflage and survival skills? Are DCUM participants sending a coded SOS to citizens in flyover country?


Fair point.

Always easier to go with the flow.


I can't speak for all of DCUM but I honestly forget the middle of the country even exists, so definitely no SOS. I know, this is terrible.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:MoCo and PG really aren't that leftist. They are Democrats but not leftist.

PG County has a lot of African American social conservatives... Black Christians, first generation immigrants who probably think all the talk about gender pronouns and #wokeness is whack. They may vote for Democrats and hate Trump, but I wouldn't be surprised if your typical Black resident is conservative or moderate. Most young black people I know, they want to make money, own guns and are not all about the PC white people speak.

Montgomery County is not really leftist either. The socialist whackos are very few but very loud. Elrich got elected only because the rest of the primary vote was split six ways. The overwhelming majority voted against Elrich (and no, not just choosing another candidate, they really did specifically vote for anyone but Elrich). The other thing is even Elrich himself is not a leftist - he fakes some socialist "red" meat to win over the Bernie Bros but he's underneath it all a Nimby. He's just clever enough to know that you need the young white Bernie Bro vote combined with the gray haired Nimby's to win the election. I'm pretty sure no POC voted for Elrich.

In general I think MoCo and PG want pro-business moderates, they just can't pool their votes together enough to elect them. The most popular as in well liked and favorable politicians are Hogan, Peter Franchot, David Blair (he didn't win, but he came within 70 votes after never having public office and with no name recognition against a 16 year incumbent councilman), Angela Alsobrooks (she is pro-business and pro-development), and MoCo councilman Andrew Friedson also comes to mind. I really don't think your average person believes Montgomery County will become a workers paradise governed by the Revolutionary Vanguard of Takoma Park.


A lot of what you write is questionable at best, but this takes the cake. I'm black and no one I know owns guns.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:No one is focused on the racial component. PG is one of the biggest majority black countries in the United States

That's why

DCUM liberal elites really need to get out of their bubble

DC is supermajority democrat due to the black population as much as the liberal rich white population

Do you realize how racist you are with your comment?


DP: How exactly?

PP is being quite descriptive. Do you deny that over 90% of blacks vote Dem?
Because it implies that we are also not assuming intelligence or education. Very similar to the Biden statement...Poor kids can .......just like rich white kids.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Good question. Proximity to DC, I guess? I'm a bleeding heart liberal in MoCo and love it here, but some of my conservative neighbors can't stop ranting about it.


And folks like me, a moderate Democrat, are tired of the silly SS and TP types that currently dominate MC politics. MC is well on the road toward being another CT, with serious financial problems and dwindling population of taxpayers. Enjoy! I am moving!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:No one is focused on the racial component. PG is one of the biggest majority black countries in the United States

That's why

DCUM liberal elites really need to get out of their bubble

DC is supermajority democrat due to the black population as much as the liberal rich white population

Do you realize how racist you are with your comment?


DP: How exactly?

PP is being quite descriptive. Do you deny that over 90% of blacks vote Dem?
Because it implies that we are also not assuming intelligence or education. Very similar to the Biden statement...Poor kids can .......just like rich white kids.


Not even close.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:MoCo and PG really aren't that leftist. They are Democrats but not leftist.

PG County has a lot of African American social conservatives... Black Christians, first generation immigrants who probably think all the talk about gender pronouns and #wokeness is whack. They may vote for Democrats and hate Trump, but I wouldn't be surprised if your typical Black resident is conservative or moderate. Most young black people I know, they want to make money, own guns and are not all about the PC white people speak.

Montgomery County is not really leftist either. The socialist whackos are very few but very loud. Elrich got elected only because the rest of the primary vote was split six ways. The overwhelming majority voted against Elrich (and no, not just choosing another candidate, they really did specifically vote for anyone but Elrich). The other thing is even Elrich himself is not a leftist - he fakes some socialist "red" meat to win over the Bernie Bros but he's underneath it all a Nimby. He's just clever enough to know that you need the young white Bernie Bro vote combined with the gray haired Nimby's to win the election. I'm pretty sure no POC voted for Elrich.

In general I think MoCo and PG want pro-business moderates, they just can't pool their votes together enough to elect them. The most popular as in well liked and favorable politicians are Hogan, Peter Franchot, David Blair (he didn't win, but he came within 70 votes after never having public office and with no name recognition against a 16 year incumbent councilman), Angela Alsobrooks (she is pro-business and pro-development), and MoCo councilman Andrew Friedson also comes to mind. I really don't think your average person believes Montgomery County will become a workers paradise governed by the Revolutionary Vanguard of Takoma Park.


A lot of what you write is questionable at best, but this takes the cake. I'm black and no one I know owns guns.


depends on where you live

If you're in the DC-metro area, you're probably right - unless, of course, you ignore the illegal guns used by gangs. But that's a national problem.

We moved out of the DC area. The minorities, although fewer here and mostly black, hunt and go target shooting. Some are farmers, although they are in the minority in that field, too. Guns are part of the culture at THIS POINT in time. The area is quickly changing, however, bc of urban flight, which is sort of ironic. So eventually, there may be a culture clash.

Unless you've been out of the uber liberal DC-metro area, you really don't know how others live. When we were in Mo Co, it was all about Mo Co, as the area is large, offering many activities and events to attend, as well as opportunities to join various groups. People don't look outside of the boundaries. So while there's this belief that people are "enlightened," you're truly never enlightened until you've expanded your horizons.

I've seen both ends - and I say this as someone who spent most of my life in DC-metro area. Being in this semi-rural area has indeed enlightened me. Not everyone fits a stereotype.
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