Of all the splits that define the Red/Blue divide in American politics, the most dominant one may be the one that runs through everyday life, where we live. Those environmental differences are a crucial part of what makes the partisan divide so intractable.
The Democratic Party is increasingly tied to urban neighborhoods and urban living. The Republicans, on the other hand, are the nation’s rural party. When you look at election results since 2000, that urban/rural divide supersedes even the regional divides that we use to understand the country. CONT.
Dante Chinni, NBC News