Patchwork Nation: Do You Match Your Patch?

According to Patchwork Nation, I live in a Monied Burb. Those of you who’ve followed my blogs may be thinking, “What? I thought you lived in the ‘hood?” I do. I don’t exactly match my patch. Patchwork Nation is a project by Dante Chinni that attempts to expand the political categories in the U.S. beyond red and blue. The project categorizes every area of the United States using the same kind of market research that the candidates’ speech writers use: income, education level, profession, and religion. Though it has its limitations, the Patchwork map of the U.S. is a much more vibrant quilt than the Blue State/Red State map we’ve all seen so many times!

The creator of the site reports that the idea springs from evidence that voting choices are informed by the area in which people live. We all tend to self-segregate. We choose our communities based on our desire to live among like-minded people. In my case, I choose to live in a community that has a high level of education. According to Patchwork Nation, the Monied Burbs lead the nation in college degrees. We have a fairly young population; the majority of residents in the Monied Burbs are between the ages of 35 and 49, and the under-49 population as a whole makes up more than fifty percent of the group. The higher level of education goes hand in hand statistically with overwhelming whiteness. The Monied Burbs are 81% white. The median household income is $55, 599 annually.

Candidates use this information to determine where they will campaign and what they will say in each community. The other community categories are Boom Towns, Industrial Metropolis, Evangelical Epicenters, Tractor Country, Immigration Nation, Minority Central, Emptying Nests, Military Bastions, Service Worker Centers, and Campus and Careers. Each of these community types gets a tailored message from the candidates.

One excellent feature of the Patchwork Nation site is the breakdown of where the candidates spend their time. The Monied Burbs were a battleground in the 2004 election. They were nearly evenly split between bush and Kerry. McCain is all over that statistic. He has spent fifty percent of his time campaigning in the Monied Burbs. Obama and Clinton have spent more time wooing the Boom Towns and the Industrial Metropolis communities. These are labor communities that traditionally vote Democrat, so obviously, they are important to winning the Democratic nomination. The campaigns will surely shift focus once one or the other takes on McCain. (And hurry up, already, you two!)

My neighborhood does not match the Monied Burb patch that envelops it. Hennepin County is 80.53% white. My neighborhood is 45% white. The median income is $22,000. I don’t have the statistics on educational level, but an informal survey of my neighbors tells me college degrees are rare. Many of my neighbors don’t even have high school diplomas. My neighborhood looks more like the Minority Central group. This means that when a candidate passes through Minneapolis, they are not speaking to my neighbors in a way that appeals to them. They are speaking to a crowd with money and education, and they are not addressing the issues of race, poverty, and equal access to education. I wonder if this contributes to the voting apathy I see among my neighbors?

This is the problem with market research. It relies upon generalizations that often leave entire groups disenfranchised. Granted, the Patchwork Nation is far more accurate than the Red and Blue boxes upon which pundits have relied in the past. Still, the presidential campaigns are not much different than television commercials that are disproportionately populated by affluent white people during certain hours, people of color during others, and beer commercials and boobs during sporting events. This is why it is our responsibility to seek out a candidate’s whole message, and not just what they say at the local rally. Is their message consistent across all demographics? Are they contradicting themselves when they speak to different demographics? (Well, McCain isn’t, but that’s because he doesn’t bother campaigning among young people, the working class, or minorities. He only campaigns among Evangelical Epicenters, Monied Burbs, and Industrial Metropolis communities).

How well do you match your patch? Are the candidates speaking to you, or to some idealized vision of you? Look up your community on the website and fill out the questionnaire that rates how well you match up with other people in your community. Then read about the candidates and learn what their plans are for your community. Don't just vote based on what the people around you plan to do! Patchwork Nation is a valuable tool for becoming an informed voter who thinks independently.

Check it out:

http://www.csmonitor.com/patchworknation/

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