Thanks @shaunmdaniel, I enjoyed your balanced and nuanced response. As a self described liberal who grew up in an urban area and now lives in a rural area (an no it is not an "exurb" it is a small town based primarily on agriculture) I was disappointed to read so many seemingly monarchical comments from Seattle liberals. The overall view expressed seems to be that because people live in a large urban area and make a lot of money they get to decide what should be done throughout the entire state. By that logic should we get rid of state government and have all decisions made in NYC or DC? We all pay a portion of our income so that we can all benefit from a certain level of service that is essential for quality of life, like an education.

Republican or even libertarian does not necessarily equate with conservative. I work with many party line Republicans who will fight to support small family farms and sustainable agriculture or clean energy (which I consider progressive issues). Many people are also very excepting of different view points as it is impossible to isolate yourself with exclusively like minded people and contrary to some of the other posts there is a diversity of viewpoints and backgrounds outside of Seattle.