Red state
“”Then there was the whole 'Redneck' comment, and I'm sensing that you took that negatively. But lets break down that word. Redneck. First word: red! Color of power, fire, passion! Second word: neck! ...neck... I can't think of nuthin' for neck right now, but without that you still got 'red' and that's something to be proud of.
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| —Will Smith, Wild Wild West (1999) |
| Guide to: |
| Hail to the Chief? |
| Persons of interest |
Red state is a pop culture term for a state within the United States of America that has shown support for more conservative (Republican) (in most other countries it means liberals, and it did in the US as well until 2000, when it changed for some reason) presidential candidates in recent elections. The term comes from U.S. maps displayed on the news during presidential elections, which show states that have cast their electoral votes for the Democratic ticket in blue, and states that have cast their electoral votes for the Republican ticket in red. Originally, the maps used blue for the incumbent party, and red for the non-incumbent party, but since the legendarily controversial and delayed 2000 election (in which the incumbent was a Democrat), blue has stood for Democrat, and red for Republican. Anachronistically, the political leanings of states prior to that election are also described with under this rubric.
Curiously, if global warming were to continue to its ultimate end, many of the so-called U.S. red states will be blue one way or another.
The current red states correlate very closely to the slave states before and during the American Civil War.
Red State is also the name of a Kevin Smith film based on a fictional fundamentalist Christian church obsessed with guns and killing sinners.
[edit] Irony alert
Red is the color of Communism, a movement abhorred by conservatives. Go figure.