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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

US Population Shifting from Blue to Red States


US Population Shifting from Blue to Red states
The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau reported their official numbers, and the subsequent impact on population shifts from the slow growing northeast and Midwest to the faster growing South and Western United States.   According to www.realclearpolitics.com 
Overall, this represents a continued shift in the Electoral College from blue-leaning states to red-leaning states.  The U.S. Census Bureau today announced its long-awaited final population and reapportionment numbers. The official population of the U.S. as of April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538, up from 281,421,906 in 2000. The Northeast grew 3.2 percent, the Midwest grew 3.9 percent, the South grew 14.3 percent and the West grew by 13.8 percent. Overall, it was the slowest growth in the country since the 1930s.
The apportionment winners were: Texas (4 seats), Florida (2 seats), Arizona (1 seat), Georgia (1 seat), Nevada (1 seat), South Carolina (1 seat), Utah (1 seat), Washington (1 seat). The losers were: New York (2 seats), Ohio (2 seats), Illinois (1 seat), Iowa (1 seat), Louisiana (1 seat), Massachusetts (1 seat), Michigan (1 seat), Missouri (1 seat), New Jersey (1 seat), Pennsylvania (1 seat).  The rest of the states are holding their own, including Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon.    For the first time since 1920, California did not gain a Congressional seat.

The last time California did not gain seats was in 1920, when rural congressmen refused to reapportion seats, and the power that went with them, to urban states.  The new numbers reflect a generational shift of population and political power from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West. In the Congress that’s seated in January 2013 the largest House delegations will be from California, Texas (36 members), New York and Florida (27 each). To put those numbers in perspective, since 1970 when the Sunbelt began to grow, Texas and Florida have each gained 12 seats while California has gained 10. The biggest losers over that 40-year span have been New York, which has now lost 12 seats, Ohio and Pennsylvania (seven seats each) and Illinois (six seats). http://totalbuzz.ocregister.com 

Political pundits and campaign strategists can see the impact of the this 2010 population shift, as the big northeast states of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois have lost a combined 32 Congressional seats since 1970, while Texas, Florida and California have gained 34 seats.     The Rustbelt is declining and the Sunbelt continues to grow.   And blue states (Democrats) are flat to declining while the red states (Republican) are growing.   The new Census will impact the 2012 Presidential election by favoring the growing red states at the expense of the flat or declining (in population, votes and political power) blue states.

© 2010, Jasper Welch, Four Corners Media, www.jasperwelch.org

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Current Events and Newsmaker on Video


Do You Want to Watch a Current Political Video?

In this day of sound bites, 30 second spots, talking points, spin and Twitter, we often miss the full context of statements by an elected politician, an appointed official or even the President of the United States (POTUS).   Rather than trying to understand political decisions and what is happening from bits and pieces, you can click through to the Video sections of some key web sites and actually watch the full press coverage, or interview or debate that you are interested in.    Politico, YouTube, RealClear Politics all have video and multimedia resources to watch and allow you to receive a full context on news, newsmakers, politicians and elected officials.   


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video  from Real Clear Politics

 For years, we have just waited for the mainstream media (MSM) to pull together sound bites from newsmakers with commentary from news anchors to “see and hear” the news.    Or wait a day or two before the local newspaper prints the story or news article.   In fact, a 30 minute MSM news program, such as ABC, NBC or CBS, consists of about 12 minutes of news and 18 minutes of commercials.    On-line, you’ll see some 15 seconds ad clips, but mostly you can just watch the full context of what is going on, whether it is a speech, interview or debate.   In 2010, you can watch and see the newsmaker without commentary, political spin or editing.   And you can make up your own mind.

© 2010, Jasper Welch, Four Corners Media, www.jasperwelch.org