After the 2008 and now the 2012 election, it has been fashionable among liberal/progressive/lefties to post two maps that purport to show the similarities between the 2008 and now 2012 electoral map and the slave vs. free state map. Can we please stop with this comparison, as it is bogus? Proceed after the jump to see why...
The map is a kind of armchair history that is bad for all of us, as it reinforces false dichotomies between North and South, and is laced with an age-old condescension toward southerners by non-southerners. The reality of America and the electoral landscape is MUCH more complicated. So, let's all agree to stop with the simplistic stuff, leave that the Right and delve into the complexity.
To that end, here is what the map really looks like, courtesy of Cousin Cole:
I made this because 1) I wanted to see what it looked like and 2) I think it's kinda important. Talking about red states versus blue states in a monolithic way is reductive and annoying.
UPDATE: Wisconsin is the wrong color on this map. I have corrected it here: https://www.facebook.com/...
Update: I have just posted a black/white version for people who are
colorblind: https://www.facebook.com/...
Several people have asked how this was done. The numbers were taken from MSNBC. I matched the percentage of blue in an RGB color picker to the percentage of the vote Barack Obama got and did the same for Romney and red. Green stayed at zero.
So if a state had voted 100% for one or the other, you would see the bluest blue or reddest red your computer screen can produce. The reason all the colors are more or less in the middle is because no state went more than ~70% for one side or the other. Although if you zoom in you can see that DC is very bright with 91% for Obama.
This should have been on the original image for reference: https://www.facebook.com/...
A few people mentioned that they'd like to see this done by county. Personally I don't think the county map would be that useful unless it reflected the population disparity between counties (which is harder, but maybe possible). I'm thinking about it.
Update: Here are some more maps, including a county map, made by Mark Newson, who seems to be much more of a pro at this than I am. http://www-personal.umich.edu/...