It's a common assertion that Democrats are the party of the poor. Just for fun, let's take a look at the states in order of median household income and how they voted in the past two presidential elections, D for Gore/Kerry, R for Bush, S for states that switched and Florida.
1 Maryland - $65,144 D
2 New Jersey - $64,470 D
3 Connecticut - $63,422 D
4 Hawaii - $61,160 D
5 Massachusetts - $59,963 D
6 New Hampshire - $59,683 S
7 Alaska - $59,393 R
8 California - $56,645 D
9 Virginia - $56,277 R
10 Minnesota - $54,023 D
11 Nevada - $52,998 R
12 Delaware - $52,833 D
13 Washington - $52,583 D
14 Colorado - $52,015 R
15 Illinois - $52,006 D
16 District of Columbia - $51,847 D
17 Rhode Island - $51,814 D
18 New York - $51,384 D
19 Utah - $51,309 R
20 Wisconsin - $48,772 D
21 Vermont - $47,665 D
22 Wyoming - $47,423 R
23 Arizona - $47,265 R
24 Michigan - $47,182 D
25 Georgia - $46,832 R
26 Pennsylvania - $46,259 D
27 Oregon - $46,230 D
28 Florida - $45,495 S
29 Kansas - $45,478 R
30 Nebraska - $45,474 R
31 Indiana - $45,394 R
32 Texas - $44,922 R
33 Ohio - $44,532 S
34 Iowa - $44,491 S
35 Maine - $43,439 R
36 Idaho - $42,865 R
37 Missouri - $42,841 R
38 South Dakota - $42,791 R
39 North Carolina - $42,625 R
40 North Dakota - $41,919 R
41 South Carolina - $41,100 R
42 Montana - $40,627 R
43 New Mexico - $40,629 S
44 Tennessee - $40,315 R
45 Kentucky - $39,372 R
46 Louisiana - $39,337 R
47 Alabama - $38,783 R
48 Oklahoma - $38,770 R
49 Arkansas - $36,599 R
50 West Virginia - $35,059 R
51 Mississippi - $34,473 R
Anybody see something strange? Now, to be fair, a lot of the states in the bottom ten (mostly Southern states) do send a lot of Democrats to the House. In fact, I believe Arkansas has sent one Republican to Congress since Reconstruction, and a lot of these states voted for Bill Clinton. However, it does seem that the Democrats claim to be the party of the working class does not depend on what the working class has to say about it. I don't know why Gore did so poorly among these States (although he came very close in Tennessee, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Louisiana), but I definitely know why Kerry did. Kerry was the stereotypical wealthy yankee, a limousine liberal, if you will. While Bush actually grew up in Connecticut, didn't move to Texas till he was about 20, and even when he did, being from the family he was, I doubt he was living next to Hank Hill, Still, he didn't come off as condescending. He looked comfortable around farmers and mill workers, around a small rural Southern community, who certainly were not benefiting from tax cuts for the rich. He didn't look stupid on a tractor.
Now this upcoming election will probably be different. I would be thrilled to be able to choose from John McCain and Barack Obama. I think they are both respectable men who are not willing to compromise their integrity. They are leaders. They realize that the president is elected president of the whole country. Conservatives too often try to isolate the liberals and gays and non-Christians, exclude them, take back the country from them. Liberals are the same way with "rednecks." They have this perception that the right is full of "rich rednecks", which is itself a contradiction. I saw a dude on the Colbert Report who had written a book called "Whistling Past Dixie" about how Democrats should ignore the South to win. That means ignore the region that has, by far, the most poverty. I urge liberals to think about who they are supposed to represent. I urge them to ask themselves why they have so much more money than the "rich" rednecks who are ruining the country
the problem with your analysis is that in those RED states, the cost of living is much lower. for example, the cost of RENT in maryland, (i live there) is about $750-1000 for a one bedroom apt. I can garantee that in Georgia, or Mississippi it is around $300-700 for the same. now couple that with your stats.
the median family income in Maryland is $65,144
in Mississippi it is only $34,473, but in Georgia the median is $46,832.
so an average family in Georgia makes about $18,500 less than a family in Maryland, but the cost of living in Georgia is about half of what it is in Maryland.
Clearly, poverty it is not about median family incomes, but a mix of the families income coupled with regional living expenses. I.E. gas, food, utilities, transportation.
ok, then I guess poverty is about the poverty level, perhaps? Let's look at that then
States with the highest percent of people living in poverty
1. Mississippi-21.6%
2. Louisiana -19.4%
3. New Mexico- 19.3%
4. DC- 18.9%
5. Arkansas- 17.9%
6. West Virginia- 17.9%
7. Kentucky- 17.4%
8. Texas- 16.6%
9. Alabama- 16.1%
10. South Carolina-15.7%
11. Oklahoma-15.3%
12. North Carolina: 15.2%
13. Georgia: 14.8%
14. Tennessee: 14.5%
15. Idaho: 14.5%
16. Montana: 14.2%
44 Massachusetts: 9.2%
45 Vermont: 9%
46 Maryland: 8.8%
47 New Jersey: 8.5%
48 Minnesota: 8.3%
Cost of living is a factor, but, in general, states with lower incomes have more poverty. The main thing that costs differently is land. But a lot of other things cost the same