The conventional wisdom has it that when people move out of an area for ideological reasons, they become the polar opposite of what they where when they lived in their previous area. People move out to suburbs, from the city, are usually some of the most hard core conservatives, as are those people who move from the rustbelt to the sunbelt.
Maybe.
But if anything, when I was a college student at Plattsburgh, like five years ago, I felt the most active and included in the Upstate and Rural Democrats that dominated that area. The Clinton County Democrats where not dominated by a bunch of liberal extremists out to remake our state in their vision. For the most part, they were just happy to grab whatever little coat tails of power they could grab.
I have never viewed myself as a right-winger, but I do cringe at many of the things liberals advocate for in our state. More regulations and taxes on working folks, just do not seem the right direction for our country. We certainly don’t need any more gun control or people telling us how to live our lives. At the same time, we need a government that stands up for working folks against big corporations.
I feel if I lived in a place where my own political party was not the enemy, then I could be much more involved and active in politics. It’s always more fun being in the minority, and fighting the good fight for the reforms you want to see, against the opposition, rather then being disappointed with your own people for not living up to their own ideals.
