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Everyone knows that the West is a land of free spirits, full of cowboys and cowboy wannabess, where the national anthem is "Don't Fence Me In," and nobody wants no big government mucking around, no way, no how.
Only, not so much.
In fact, when it comes to levels of support for spending on domestic government programs, there is very little difference between the regions, as one can tell from just a cursory glance at the following table, based on combined measure of suport for eight domestic spending items tracked by the General Social Survey:
Domestic Spending Preferences
By Region | | | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | MUCH TOO LITTLE
5-8 Items Net | 20.8 | 19.6 | 20.4 | 20.7 | TOO LITTLE
1-4 Items Net | 56.8 | 54.6 | 53.2 | 54.6 | ABOUT RIGHT
Net | 8.9 | 9.7 | 10.1 | 8.8 | TOO MUCH
1-8 Items Net | 13.5 | 16.1 | 16.3 | 16.0 |
Now, you might object that the "West" jams together California with all its coastal elites alongside the "true Westerners" from states like Idaho, Montana and Nevada. So here's a breakdown of the West into its two sub-regions:
Domestic Spending Preferences
Within The West | | | MOUNTAIN | PACIFIC | MUCH TOO LITTLE
5-8 Items Net | 18.4 | 21.7 | TOO LITTLE
1-4 Items Net | 55.8 | 54.0 | ABOUT RIGHT
Net | 8.7 | 8.8 | TOO MUCH
1-8 Items Net | 17.1 | 15.5 |
As you can see, there's a slight difference between the two, but the big picture story is exactly the same: there is much more support for spending more than for spending less.
Now, I'm not for a moment suggesting that there's nothing at all behind the perception of a libertarian West. But I am suggesting that it's a good deal more complicated than your average would-be pundit supposes. And these figures offer indisputable proof.
This matters for a very significant reason: As the GOP shows signs of fracturing during this primary season, Mike Huckabee is the figure touting a form of economic populism that naturally encompasses more government spending. But he comes from a religious context that is much more deeply rooted in the South, and for that reason alone, he has distinctly less resonance in the West. Yet, these figures stongly indicate that if enough different factors combine to energize economic populism generally, there is as much potential for a shakeup in the West as there is anywhere else. And this becomes important because of Tom Schaller's thesis in Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South.
Before saying anything more, though, let's take a quick peek at conservatives alone, just to make sure that they don't have any geographic peculiarities. Well do that right after the jump.
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