...regarding what he's saying about Texas; he says that Texas is a taker state, but everything I've seen shows Texas as a donor state.

where CA provided a higher "net" more than received vs TX and might be reflecting more recent data. From 2023 - https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-contribute-the-most-and-least-to-federal-revenue/

Some other data - https://www.moneygeek.com/resources/states-most-reliant-on-federal-government/

But if you look at the data under the header "Nineteen states sent more to the federal government than they received in 2023", and then the sub-header "State Paid More", it shows Texas as having paid $67B more than it received back.

I get Gov. Newsom's point about California paying more, but then again, on a per capita basis, California is middle of the road in donor state.

and since the numbers there aren't matching what the conversation was about, then I expect they are talking more "recent" data than 2023.

I.e. -

Are things like "federal disaster aid" (that CA and TX and FL tend to get) included in those numbers? Most of CA's issues would be for wildfires, mostly in more rural/less populated areas, with the worst just recently in the urban Palisades area and beyond in LA County. But for TX, they have had massive urban damage from major hurricanes and flooding hits almost continually for the past decade. And then there's the winter time ice storms and damage to the overtaxed power structure.

For example as reported last year - https://www.axios.com/2024/10/08/fema-direct-payments-state-recipients



(I threw myself a rope ladder to try to get out... )

And you'd better hold on to that rope ladder, I'll fight you for it.

were not nice guys. At those times of greatest division, you never heard them talking about healing the nation. We need mean. Newson has it; Maybe some others do too. Kick MAGA in the balls, and go on kicking them when they are down.

they have been systematically brain washed for
years. in hindsight, our messaging should have
been as strong and constant as theirs. let's move
forward as a country with vigour.

we took them on.

I didn't realize FDR was the same. I knew he was a fighter, and I knew he'd call them as he saw them. But I'd never put him on the same level as LBJ in that regard. Actually makes me admire him even more. And we so very much need a kick-ass Democrat to run and win the presidency. I love Obama, but no more of this Looking Forward. No more of our vaunted Tolerance. I want someone who will take back our Country -- the one the Founders bequeathed us -- and either deport, execute, or jail all the traitors of the past 10 years.

But read some autobiographies about him and how he did it.

He was friends with head of FBI, had files on most people in congress and blackmailed many of them into signing for stuff.

He was tough as nails.

Now we could use someone with balls like that but his methods....

I married a Texan and lived there for over 20 years, myself. I've no allusions about LBJ, but I still say his kind of toughness and lack of need for civil tongue at times was what we needed then... and even more what we need now from a democratic leader. a take no prisoners approach. It was not easy to step into JFK's shoes so quickly...

saying blue states are getting ripped off and being taken advantage of. They give more than they take or use.

...but I don't believe that emphasizing the fed/state balances are the right approach for a party that says those with more should help those with less.

I think a much better approach is what was mentioned in the headline of this thread, i.e., that blue cities/states, for the most part, spur a huge percentage of the economic activity in this country.

JMO.

as well or better than anyone IMO.

I have been on this for years here on DU. Dems need to use the conditions in Red States vs the conditions in Blue States politically and they need to hammer it daily.

Republicans have gotten insane miles out of some of California's problems without having to answer one time for MS, AL, MO, WV, TN, AR, SC, or LA and the terrible conditions most of the residents of those states have to endure.

Yeah, California isn't perfect, no state is, but my word, the deep Red States are almost 3rd World conditions in every possible way and it's never discussed. Look at what the GOP has done to their states in terms of poverty, crime, incomes, economies, education, environment, health, life span etc etc. Start holding them accountable before they turn the entire country into Mississippi.

And even in the states Red States with good economies, much of that is due to liberals moving there to vacation or live in retirement. Texas has natural resources driving their economy, but the tech industry gaining traction there is mostly educated liberals moving there to start businesses.

Conservative policy leads to despair. Those Red State inhabitants deserve better. You start by making sure everyone in the country sees the facts around what states are failing and what states are prosperous.

...on the type of spending that places states into the taker category.

Take West Virginia (red state), for example. Median income of ~$32,000, population of ~1.8 million, ~1,200 active duty military members, and ~26,000 federal employees

Low income, small population -> not much going to the federal government in taxes
Small federal/military workforce (~1.5%) -> not much coming into the state for federal/military salaries

Based on these numbers, it's fair to assume that the ~$20 billion that WV received in excess of what they paid in 2023 was weighted heavily towards social programs (TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, etc.)

Now look at Hawaii (blue state).

Median income of ~$44,000, population of ~1.5 million, ~55,000 active duty military members, and ~25,000 federal employees.

Low income, small population -> not much going to the federal government in taxes
Decent size federal/military workforce (~5.3%) -> larger amount of money into the state for federal/military salaries

Based on those numbers, it's fair to assume that the ~$11 billion that HI received in excess of what they paid in 2023 was weighted much less towards social programs than the money in WV.

All of this is just to say that it's not enough to look at the numbers, we have to look at what's behind the numbers, because all taker states are not created equal as to why they're taker states.

Details don't make good sound bytes that win elections.

Dems need to just hammer that the states with the highest crime and the most poverty are Red States and clearly state that Republican policies are why.

No one has been asking for details about California these last 20 years while Republicans and their media have convinced half the country that California is a worse place than Somalia. Dems need to take off the gloves and start fighting fire with a giant flame thrower.

...to do it.

I prefer intellectual honesty, but to each their own.

Sound bytes to win elections.

Intellectual honesty in campaigns is how we got Trump. Dems wanting to look at the details closer instead of just showing the world what life is like under Republican rule has cost us our freedom and our democracy. It might be too late to fight back, but at least try like this.

...then my blue state, Virginia, is a crappy place to live because we're a taker state.

But as I said, to each their own.

Quality of life metrics like education, health, life span, income, economy, crime, and environment are incredibly slanted in favor of Blue States. Red States are so far behind Blue States on most metrics and it's a crime that Dems haven't spent any time pointing that out. Newsome was talking about a lot more than just tax revenue, he was talking about economies and other issues that matter to people.

The GOP propaganda against CA is so strong, I remember returning to work after visiting San Francisco a few years ago and being quizzed by FOX News viewing co-workers, "So how many homeless people did you see?" "Did you have to wear boots because of all the feces on the sidewalk?" "Did you feel safe with all the crime?" I laughed it all off and answered sarcastically. This is how Republicans stole our Democracy, by pretending Dem run areas are hellholes. It's long past due for Dems to simply start pointing out the basic facts about the Red States. there are red states right now whose life expectancy is getting shorter and shorter. There are red states with incredible crime and incarceration rates. The Red States have poorer health and education outcomes. More poverty, worse economies, lower incomes. if Dems were playing to win, the entire country would be hearing about this every single day. And they'd be messaging it in a way that makes it known Dems are here to help, the people in those states don't deserve to live the way Republican policies force them to live.

as well as probably many other reasons, Americans don't have the attention span to hear, interpret, and understand details. They need sound bites. Good ones... ones that don't need details. Defund the police was an actual good idea, once you got into the details... but it sure wouldn't fit on a bumper sticker. And unfortunately, I think the majority of our populace has been dumbed down enough they can only understand bumper stick politics; and even some of those can go right over their heads!

"The Red States are hellish Shitholes." wins. "It's complicated, so let's discuss the details" loses.

You can support your original point with anecdotes and facts, but just saying, "well, it's not that simple" is why we lose.

I'm glad to see Newsom out there defending California, it's high time someone did that after decades of falsehoods that have created a fantasy that half the country believes about California. California is an amazing state and offers a lot to the 40 million people who choose to live there. We're left defending a state with the biggest economy, among the highest incomes, and that is a center for innovation. California has some problems, for sure, but why do Dems have to play defense endlessly on it, but no one ever asks any Republican to defend the poverty rates in MS, AL, and LA? Or the crime rates in WV, KY, or TN? Or the short life spans in OK, MO, and AR?

and fell in love with the city. In fact, the city in which I was living at the time, had San Diego listed as a Sister City. I was there for a week, but man... it wasn't near long enough. I would give my eyetooth to live in CA. Always wanted to... but housing prices kept me from ever seriously considering it. I never made enough money to own a really nice house here in KS... let alone in CA! (LOL/sigh)

Aside from CA, I've always wanted to go (and stay, probably) in either OR or WA. I guess you could say I just fell in love with the West Coast... period! The only other place I ever dreamed of living in... and said I wanted to retire in... was Galveston, TX. But the oil companies (especially the DeepWater Horizon) and the chemical companies killed that dream for me. I'd already been to the coast a few times with my best friend to help clean the birds of oil. My heart really broke after that. It used to be such an awesomely beautiful place... all up and down the coastline. All you have to do is have a bunch of republicans or maga types move in, and wherever it is, they kill the beauty and liveability. It's even a constant fight to keep our trees in our yard from being cut down or being fined for them. Not because they're untrimmed and unwieldy... but because the cops can't see through them into my big laundry room windows. The last cop who told me that heard exactly what I thought of peeping toms, no matter who they were! And my trees are still here.

is probably trying to pivot off of what was once a "winning" message when Obama ran almost 20 years ago (i.e., "There are no 'red states' or 'blue states' but the United States" - which at least for his first term, actually netted him Electoral College wins in states like FL, VA, NC, CO, NM, NV, IN, IA, and of course OH.



But after that, heads exploded, and the red states went about making their states (and now others) EVEN REDDER (through the 2010 Census) to underscore the divide. So by 2012, some states like IN & NC began to fall away.



We were able to hold onto VA, CO, NM, & NV and amazingly picked up GA & AZ in 2020 & 2024, but haven't been able to recapture the rest since.

So now we have to deal with that "divide" and point out what is going on there.

like a union, or some kind of.. for lack of a better terminology