Brandon Finnigan reminds us at National Review Online that the idea of “red” and “blue” states is more myth than fact.
It is foolish to look at the national map as a collection of red and blue states. Over the long march of time, all of them are purple.
Utah voted for Johnson. Georgia voted for Clinton. Texas for Carter. New York for Reagan. California for H.W. Bush. Minnesota for Nixon.
States may favor, for a variety of reasons, one party, but they are not permanently locked in — crackpot conspiracies of deliberate demographic changes through immigration and equally crackpot proclamations of demographics-driven eternal victories be equally damned.
It is much better to think of the states as giant continental plates, always slowly moving across a mantle of voter restlessness. This continues until a candidate, event, or some combination forces a political earthquake — like 2016. The changes are constant, and are almost always evident if you look carefully enough.
