While New York may not be a swing state, and few expect Republican candidate Mitt Romney to win the state's 29 electoral votes, the upcoming election has certainly fueled a major debate among state residents about who should lead the country in the next four years, shown by the heated comment chains we've seen on Patch.
But do you really know which presidential candidate best matches your stance on the issues?
A new website launched earlier this year to help voters match up with their ideal candidate, and it's quickly gaining popularity through social media channels. In fact, according to iSideWith.com's homepage, more than a million people have taken the free quiz to determine their ideal candidate since it launched in March.
The quiz covers everything from social issues to foreign policy and answers can be fine tuned: You can choose general or more detailed responses, and a scale allows you to set the level of importance for each issue. Your responses are then analyzed to determine your ideal candidate, complete with a breakdown of your response matches.
Among the people who took the quiz in New York, their positions matched President Barack Obama's 58 percent of the time — more than any other candidate. New Yorkers' views matched Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 51 percent, followed by Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson's positions 45 percent of the time, and GOP candidate Ron Paul at 32 percent
And what about Romney? Just 29 percent of New Yorkers who took the quiz have the same views as he does on the key issues.
Seems to be a pretty handy tool, but does it work? You tell us. Take the free quiz on iSideWith.com and let us know what you think. Is the candidate it matched with you the candidate you plan to vote for?
"Aidan" - who gripes about almost everything from the safety of an array of secret identities - and now "Clemona" - another brave debater - purport to be laughing - although neither appears to be the type who laughs very often, unless derisively. Silly laughter aside, recent history supports my statement, but you'd have to read critically to know that. It's easier to gripe about food stamps and call people stupid. The truth is we have some of the most intelligent people on the planet living in New York State. We send more in taxes to Washington than we get back. No doubt we support those backward "red" states where the citizens are too stupid to know we're supporting them. As you see, I can be as inflammatory as Aidan and Clemona. The difference is the facts back me up. This Democrat is happy with Governor Andrew Cuomo, and would choose him again over Rick Perry, Jan Brewer and Rick Scott combined. Nothing is stopping "Aidan" and "Clemona" et al from packing up their trailer and decamping to points south if they are so unhappy with life here. Or they can stay and gripe anonymously. It's a free country.
Checked out VA lately? How about PA, FL, NM, CO, or MO? Texas and AZ are slowly shifting blue due to demographic changes, one cause being northern migration south. Only an idiot believes that moving to a Red State makes you Red. Ask Colorado how the influx from CA has been turning out for them!
Student Loan debt, poor wages, and high housing costs all drive them south and out of state. It's going to be a major regional economic problem for the Northeast once the boomers start thinning out. Meanwhile, little progress is being done to keep them in state. NIMBYism and an affront to density in the name of "property values", a focus on "luxury" and "don't build, blocking my view" drive up prices, and drive them south.
I'd rather be a lampost in New York than the King of Georgia
The population boom in the South occurred with the advent of widespread use of air conditioning. Simply put, without air conditioning there would be no Las Vegas and no Disney World. None of your "witty" comebacks can refute that fact. Sometimes answers are obvious, but perpetual complainers would rather blame someone else for their dissatisfaction with life. If you are so sure the future lies in backward southern states then why on Earth are you all here?
PS I'm not "blaming" air conditioning. You need to read. It's a wonderful thing, reading.
Since that time there have been other factors and Florida being a "right to work state" which really should read "right to abuse the workers state" made it cheaper for people to work there. Believe me, jobs that pay 100K in New York don't pay near that much in Georgia or Florida. Walt: The Eddie Eagan you refer to as dying in 1967 wasn't the Eddie Eagan I was referring to. The one I referred to died in 1995, he was the lead Detective in the French Connection Case and even though he's now gone I still believe New York City is the greatest city in the world and I stand my by previous statement.
For those who don't - sell your property at a loss. You'll soon recoup your money in sunny Alabama where you can buy a home for 60K. Your property taxes will be three figures and life will be just peachy. Then you'll meet your neighbors...
Facts are pesky things, as you know it is so much easier to make arguments if you don't care about them! Charmian, Thanks for the facts, I had never put the two together before. "On top of immigration from areas outside the U.S., the Sun Belt's population also grew via migration from other parts of the U.S. in the 1970s. This was due to the invention of affordable and effective air conditioning. It additionally involved the movement of retirees from northern states to the south, especially Florida and Arizona. Air conditioning played an especially significant role in the growth of many southern cities like those in Arizona where temperatures can sometimes exceed 100°F (37°C)." http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/sunbelt.htm
Technology, of course, had an impact. But infrastructure also played a key role. Airport hubs, rails and roads, water technologies (the great dams of the southwest and the vast irrigation networks), and especially the perfection of the high rise played important roles. Air conditioning was a factor, but one among many. The region has always been populated and coveted ... we went to war over these lands and saw massive migrations even before the modern technology of a/c. To offer a/c as the single greatest factor ... and no other ... is akin to explaining Columbus' success to a favorable ocean drift. Air conditioning is but a piece of the larger technological explosion.
I can't control for articulate people agreeing with me and expanding on what I've written. Your statements have little chance of becoming a cause celebre because no one even knows who you are, on top of the fact that all you've done up to this point is sneer and ridicule. That only attracts people like Francis and Clemona, which is to your detriment. As to history, the prior massive migrations were northern for the most part, not southern. And the western migration was toward Oregon and California, not Arizona and Nevada, prior to a/c. I'll take your conciliatory tone as an apology, as untidy as it may be. After all, what's more untidy than making bombastic statements from the safety of an alias? PS Your Columbus analogy is lame. ; )
The fastest growing states in the last few years contain but a few Sun Belt locales. In fact, the top five growth states are Texas, Utah, Alaska, Colorado and North Dakota. The next 10 states contain just two Sun Belt states (Arizona no. 7 & New Mexico no.15). And included in that bunch are states such as Wa, NC, SD, Va, Ca, SC. Georgia and FL are in this crowd ... but their population growth has been steady for decades. The next five (nos. 16 thru 20) are Idaho, Ok, Hawaii, Oregon and Delaware. The motivating factors for leaving the northeast are cost of living (including housing taxes) and employment opportunities. Many states make the list because of natural resources now being tapped ... i.e., the Dakotas, Alaska, and Texas. Odd that many of these same states have state governments that are less intrusive (and even more welcoming) of entrepreneurs and professionals. That's a more sophisticated understanding of today's population swivel. Your original premise was too simple. And your defense is likewise.
Another thing, it is YOUR president that does the following [People who complain all the time and blame others for their discontent tend to take that baggage with them.] Well that is true of the President, so when he leaves the white House I do hope he takes HIS baggage with him.
Columbus' success? What? Are you serious? Perhaps you can teach me. Have at it.