Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, February 21, 2012
??!! Washington Ties Kentucky for Eleventh Most-Liked State
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 11:11 AM
It's been a busy morning for Public Policy Polling. They've just released their state favorability poll, in which they ask Americans for their impressions of each state. Unsurprisingly, our favorite state is Hawaii, followed by Colorado. By one metric—the gap between likability and unlikability—Washington is tied with Kentucky (?!?!!) for eleventh place, with a 26-point gap. (By another metric, that of sheer numbers, we're ahead, with 43% likability to their 42% likability.)
Other factoids that basically mean nothing: We are the second-most-popular state after Hawaii among Democrats. "Black voters dislike 10 of the 14 Southern states." The only states with overall negative likability are California, Illinois, New Jersey, Mississippi, and Utah. Fair enough.
3
A lot of people have left Seattle for Colorado.
It's the fastest growing state among "young people".
You can see that it's true every time you visit.
4
@1, bourbon that you're not even allowed to drink in half of Kentucky. Kentucky is a poverty-stricken, Christ-plagued open pit mine of a shit hole. Who on earth has a favorable opinion of that? In a sensible list, it's third from the bottom (after Alabama and Mississippi).
Utah's nice if you get away from the humans.
Utah's nice if you get away from the humans.
5
@4, I don't think "awesome persons" say exaggerated crap like that. Yeah, we have poverty and environmental issues is parts of the state; I believe WA has those, too.
We have an openly gay mayor and openly gay elected judge. WA got that?
We have an openly gay mayor and openly gay elected judge. WA got that?
6
@4 "Kentucky is a poverty-stricken, Christ-plagued open pit mine of a shit hole. Who on earth has a favorable opinion of that?"
I think there is far too much reality in your analysis.
Kentucky may invoke many different images from people, from bourbon (and its marketing departments), to the Derby (and its marketing department), to Justified (and its marketing department and snazzy writing), and bluegrass (both, and their marketing departments), as well as college sports (marketing departments, cheerleaders and Ashley Judd), all the way to fried chicken (more marketing, even though KFC is deemphasizing Kentucky down to "K" lately).
I think there is far too much reality in your analysis.
Kentucky may invoke many different images from people, from bourbon (and its marketing departments), to the Derby (and its marketing department), to Justified (and its marketing department and snazzy writing), and bluegrass (both, and their marketing departments), as well as college sports (marketing departments, cheerleaders and Ashley Judd), all the way to fried chicken (more marketing, even though KFC is deemphasizing Kentucky down to "K" lately).
8
Colorado is pretty great. My favorite place of the places I've lived in so far (Florida is the worst).
New Jersey gets a bad rap. If you avoid the area closest to New York State (the "Jersey Shore" area) the rest of the state is beautiful and the people are friendly and normal. The whole can't-pump-your-own-gas thing is annoying though.
Oh, and @6, Kentucky is also the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, so it kinda balances that out.
New Jersey gets a bad rap. If you avoid the area closest to New York State (the "Jersey Shore" area) the rest of the state is beautiful and the people are friendly and normal. The whole can't-pump-your-own-gas thing is annoying though.
Oh, and @6, Kentucky is also the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, so it kinda balances that out.
9
@4 - Nobody considered that stuff about Kentucky. They just had visions of blue grass, race horses and mint juleps. Also, everyone think Washington gets more rain than the Amazon.
10
@8 "Oh, and @6, Kentucky is also the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, so it kinda balances that out."
I would argue that most people who recall that Kentucky is the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, when giving a simple thumbs up or down on the state, probably view that as a positive.
Sadly, there is no crosstab to prove my theory.
I would argue that most people who recall that Kentucky is the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, when giving a simple thumbs up or down on the state, probably view that as a positive.
Sadly, there is no crosstab to prove my theory.
11
@5: washington state has poor native reservations, but nothing like appalachian poverty. it has the hanford nuclear cleanup & ugly clearcuts, but nothing like the environmental legacy of coal mining. it has nothing like Rand Paul, and hopefully never will.
12
Urgutha: The last I heard, you hadn't even gotten up into the mountains yet. If you think Denver and Boulder are great, you ain't seen nothin' yet. E-mail me once the warm weather gets here and we'll have to see if we can do something about that.
13
*Deletes Comment*
If you can't say anything nice... Wait!
If you like Florida then it is at least technically possible you are an attractive, intelligent person with only a marginal chance of having some kind of brain parasite. Your values are in line with at least a portion of the mainstream populace, statistically speaking. Your opinion and comportment regarding fashion, civic life, motor-vehicle driving, culture, and proper conduct in a polite society at least narrowly avoids terms like "unspeakably terrible, in a bizarrely fascinating, sort of Lovecraftian sense", "neandertholic", "bro-statically atrocious", and "Hague-worthy". Best of all, if you chose to live there with other like-minded people, then we don't have to! See, it's win-win!
If you can't say anything nice... Wait!
If you like Florida then it is at least technically possible you are an attractive, intelligent person with only a marginal chance of having some kind of brain parasite. Your values are in line with at least a portion of the mainstream populace, statistically speaking. Your opinion and comportment regarding fashion, civic life, motor-vehicle driving, culture, and proper conduct in a polite society at least narrowly avoids terms like "unspeakably terrible, in a bizarrely fascinating, sort of Lovecraftian sense", "neandertholic", "bro-statically atrocious", and "Hague-worthy". Best of all, if you chose to live there with other like-minded people, then we don't have to! See, it's win-win!
14
Rand Paul, 2010: 55.7%
statewide voting for US House, 2010: 62.4% Republican
statewide voting for US House, 2008: 54.6% Republican
John McCain, 2008: 57.4%
Mitch McConnell, 2008: 53.0%
statewide voting for US House, 2006: 48.8% Republican, a plurality, barely
statewide voting for US House, 2004: 62.2% Republican
Jim Bunning, 2004: 50.7% (the stupidest man in the Senate)
George W. Bush, 2004: 59.6%
That about covers it. Bush to Paul: a decade of "achievement".
statewide voting for US House, 2010: 62.4% Republican
statewide voting for US House, 2008: 54.6% Republican
John McCain, 2008: 57.4%
Mitch McConnell, 2008: 53.0%
statewide voting for US House, 2006: 48.8% Republican, a plurality, barely
statewide voting for US House, 2004: 62.2% Republican
Jim Bunning, 2004: 50.7% (the stupidest man in the Senate)
George W. Bush, 2004: 59.6%
That about covers it. Bush to Paul: a decade of "achievement".
15
how can California be at the bottom of this list? Sure, they have problems, but it is the most Geographically and otherwise diverse state. No accounting for taste, I guess.
If you worded the question: would you rather live in California or Kentucky, I doubt it would be the same...
If you worded the question: would you rather live in California or Kentucky, I doubt it would be the same...
18
@11, I think @5 got the right answer. @14, I didn't vote for any of those people. And I don't think any Kentuckians got to vote for WA's attorney general.
19
There is nothing not to like about California and there is nothing to like about Washington. That poll is worthless.
21
Washington has got to be at or near the top among billionaires and multimillionaires. Hyper-regressive taxes, servile media and government, lots of moderately well educated (for now) non-union wage slaves... What's not to like?
22
@18, OK then. That makes one good guy for sure in Kentucky, while Washington has AT LEAST twenty.
23
This kind of reminds me of those quizzes that tell you what kind of a person you are based on your name.
Totally pointless and non-informative..
Totally pointless and non-informative..
24
Just passed a marriage equity law, a few votes away from legalizing weed, and have the 6th largest military on Earth. Most of the Shiny Fucktards we grew up with elsewhere, moved elsewhere. We can ski down a real mountain, hike a forest and stand in a real desert in one afternoon. What's not to fucking love?
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