Liberal Invasion of Red State America

by Kristin B. Tate

All across America, conservative towns are changing. Progressive, upper-middle class urbanites are deserting expensive liberal meccas like New York and San Francisco and flocking to traditionally "red" states like Colorado, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Texas. The result is a sudden, confusing purpling of small town America. School boards and local governments are being reorganized around the progressive agendas of pushy transplants. Neighborhoods are becoming unrecognizable. And the implications for future Congressional and presidential elections are staggering. Libertarian journalist and rising media star Kristin Tate traces the great progressive flight from blue cities to red towns, using demographic statistics and alarming on-the-ground anecdotes to present a stunning picture of a nation undergoing a significant transition.    

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2019

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get through this important read only because I would become infuriated by the state of our union. As Golden State native and resident, Tate’s clearly articulated observations of blue state “refugees” is particularly resonant as I and my partner have spent countless hours debating a move to Texas or Utah. We even lived in Austin for a couple of months to feel it out, during which time ANTIFA protests downtown were thwarted by gun-toting militia members with “Don’t Tread On Me” patches. It was a sight I’ll always remember and would never see even in the most conservative parts of California. I love the ecology and the beauty of California from mountain wilderness to sandy beaches, but when it comes to this state’s insane taxes that in several cases resulted in downright thievery (read up on how the mandated purchase of carbon credits under cap and trade was earmarked for green initiatives but went into the state’s slush... I mean general fund) I am embarrassed to be represented as a Californian in this way.

I particularly enjoyed Tate’s predictions and diary entries from the future, up until the pandemic hit and businesses all across the country were forced to shutter. Unemployment skyrocketing and news of possible food shortages, I struggled to read about a future where major cities declared bankruptcy and people were in the streets holding “will work for quinoa” signs. Thankfully, Tate’s case for optimism and call to action (which harkens back to How Shall I Tax Thee?) is the guidance readers need to channel all of that anger toward action. My only feedback would be to consider gently weaving some of those action steps throughout so when the reader hits peak frustration Tate’s words can serve as a guide for making a choice in that moment. Well done.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

USA, USA not everyone is chanting that anymore.
NY, NYC & San Francisco, CA are losing their Blue population.

The upper middle-class progressive citizens are finding better family deals in the Red states like: CO, NH, VA, & TX.

School boards & local governments are learning to quickly adapt/transform to the emigrants needs.

Filled with demographic statistics & information Kristin Tate (journalist, author/writer) shows there might be some truth to this in America.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written political science book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great political science movie, a college PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (A & E, History channel; PBS; Frontline). A very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; Regnery Publishing (Salem Media Group); hardcover book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Meghan Hollis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book hoping to learn more about changing demographics and how that relates to the political undercurrent in our nation. I was extremely disappointed. This book is extremely under-researched with no original research and analysis on the topics presented. It is poorly organized and moves in a disconnected stream of consciousness style. This makes it hard to follow. By the end, I found myself asking, “So what?” Chapter 9 was ludicrous and a waste of time and paper. The arguments made are disingenuous at best. Often statements are made that lack any solid supporting evidence, research, or citations. Mostly based on anecdotal stories about “friends” (some I doubt are true given the way they are told), this book is in dire need of a good editor. Much of the writing is conversational in style, and it reminded me of the torture of reading Fifty Shades of Grey with the forced prose and dialogue styles. Overall, a disappointment. I’d rather read Dinesh D’Souza.

[Joni Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was offered the opportunity to read and review this book. I must admit, it has taken me a while to finish it...as it is filled with statistics. However...that said, it filled me with some dread! I live in California, and I know the state has gone downhill due to the excessive taxation, bad roads, crowded freeways, and extreme homeless problem. And, it is true...most of this is due to years of Democratic rule in the state. I know many people who want to move...but, trust me...it's not only liberals who are moving (or plan to move, or want to move)...it's the rest of us, as well. I had never thought of the folks moving to other states taking their politics with them...but, this book brought me face to face with that fact. Pray for the U.S. As scary as it is, I advise anyone who has concerns about this to read this book!

[J. Amill Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting and well researched book with plenty of footnotes. It covers a subject many in Red States have known about for years, but only superficially. The fact of the matter is that many residents from Blue States have been consistently moving out such states due to increased cost of living and house markets produced by Blue polices and then—ironically—they keep voting for the same Blue polices they escaped once they relocate in a Red State. This chain of events results in the purpling of Red States and has the potential of flipping traditionally Red States into Blue States.

Tate discusses all of this date in detail, including different scenarios that can result out of this migration trend. Worth a read. It is an important trend.

[Gary Slade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful and timely study of a problem facing the country. People in so-called Blue states move to Red states because the former are unliveable.

Only they don't understand why the Democrat-controlled states are so bad. High taxes, overregulation, lax law enforcement, high prices, unaffordably high housing costs. So they continue voting for Democrats and for the same policies they left for, I guess, redder pastures.

Helps explain some of the 2020 election results, aside from the widespread fraud, abruptly changed rules and media collusion.

[Ben Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libertarian look at why cities and states turn liberal.

[MerelyMyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof.... another hard read to get through.

Giving this 2-stars only because some of the points around silo-ing are strong. Ironically, these points (chapter 8) seem to contradict the 7 chapters prior and the following chapters and "predictions" are ridiculous and unfortunate hyperbole.

While I agree that government spending needs to be reigned in, I would argue that the areas she is mentioning are NOT the problem. Many of her statistics are questionable... for example, her discussion of the water use in CA claims that the cities are the main problem. Realistically, agriculture is actually the primary driver of water shortage in CA. Sure... if you ignore agriculture, cities use more than rural areas, but I would argue that is common sense math.

She argues that blue-state-expats are taking over red-states... but is this really what is happening? I would argue, the country population as a whole is just becoming more blue, both in red states and in blue states.

[Peter Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I *need* to read this. This is the exact problem; nail hit directly on the head. These people ruined their own cities, while we ignored them and ran out places right. Now that their big Ideas have led to ruin, they want to leave and come to our places, and do the same bad thing again. Where will we go when they've ruined the whole country with the sickness? It's got to be stopped.

[Kristen Considine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one took me a while to finish. It’s an easy read but heavy on statistics and heavy on dread. A lot of the stats are shocking, in both directions, but I could see how they have been manifesting in todays political climate. I thought the author repeated herself a bit much, but overall it’s decently written and does make a point. I’d love to see updates on these stats now that we’re in 2023.

[Nat · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this what the right think of America.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

190 pages actual hardback library book. 3.5, rounded down because I know I'm part of "the choir" she's preaching to.

She makes her point. She makes it again. And again and again. Big-city liberals advocate for stupid and fiscally unsustainable policies, then when the bills get too high they move to biggish cities in red states and vote for the same shit they ran from, causing them to turn purple. Specific examples include CA and IL pensions, and how NH is turning blue because of Bostonites fleeing Massachusetts. Also addresses the urban/rural divide, where water rights for big cities are hamstringing people in rural areas, for example. (I wish she'd mentioned the San Joaquin Valley, where some made-up environmental concern about a particular fish sought to drive a lot of orchard operators out of business a decade or so ago, because they wanted enough water volume downstream to dilute industrial wastewater being pumped into the delta. But I digress.)

She mentions how the greater DC area is an exception to the blue-brings-doom, and I'd agree, but in light of the pandemic, some of the sentiment is changing. For example, the Fairfax County School Board is fortunate that they were all elected for 4-year terms mere months before the pandemic. Also mentions how the DC-area was the lucky winner in the Amazon HQ2 courting scheme, though she's not so cynical as to point out that being located in Arlington, VA basically makes it possible for Amazon to do lobbying by drone.

She comes up with a future scenario where the pendulum hits its maximum leftward amplitude before swinging back towards the middle, including Kamala Harris as president, a packed Supreme Court, a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and Nancy Pelosi *still* being the Speaker of the House. Ha. It would have been interesting if she'd had a Medicare Euthanasia pilot program (to get rid of those pesky Boomers) and a massive rollback of the inheritance tax exemptions, but she didn't go quite that far.

I'm confused as to her age. She seems to intimate that Millennials are her age or younger, but Millennials are born between roughly 1981 and 1996, making them currently aged 25-40ish. A fair amount of Millennials actually do have their shit together at this point, with the eldest of them (female, anyway) quickly nearing the end of their childbearing years. But I get the feeling that she thinks of Millennials as being "in their 20s" or "just out of college."

Ends on a more optimistic note, that the pendulum will swing back, that people will get tired of paying bills for do-nothing federal employees, that adults tend to become more conservative with age, marriage, and homeownership, and that we're not likely to actually devolve into a Venezuela-like hellscape.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Regnery Publishing for an advance copy of The Liberal Invasion of Red State America by Kristin B Tate in exchange for an honest review. (Because of COVID-19 the hard copy appears to be unavailable for review)

This should be a must read for every American. It doesn’t matter if you live by “the code of personal responsibility” or are a “social injustice crusader”, these changes affect everyone. It’s definitely thought provoking and certainly eye opening. The premise of this book is that the shifting migration from Democrat controlled fiscally irresponsible, over taxed and mismanaged Blue states to Red Republican, fiscally responsible states with lower taxes and booming economies, is changing America. Only the ultra rich who can afford it and the extremely poor who benefit from the many social services provided by the high-tax cities and states are staying in their Blue states. The over-taxed middle class is migrating towards the more affordable areas in America. The problem is they also bring their liberal values and beliefs with them, and have an unwillingness to assimilate or adapt to the culture they have moved into.

I found this to be a fairly accurate assessment of the current reshaping of America. I approached the information in this book based on my 20 years of currently living in Nevada, after 5 years in Oregon, and 25 years in California before Oregon. All the changes Ms. Tate discusses due to migration have definitely happened in Nevada. A Red state 20 years ago with a 30 day residency requirement for voter register has become an ultra-Blue state with same day as voting registration. A poor educational system with “we need more money per student” to fix this while the debate over bathroom gender choice is more important than curriculum. Ever increasing taxes that are mostly dumped into the general fund to be used to pay out pensions and fund liberal agenda “must have” ideas. Like most Americans, I’m a fiscal conservative, yet socially liberal, so I don’t really care which bathroom you use or who you marry, but the money that my household earns is better spent responsibly supporting my household, not propping up a bloated out of control government or state or city created “free stuff for others using your tax money” agenda.

If you are one of the migratory movers, really think about why you’re moving. If you’re dealing with the influx of new residents, pay attention.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little anemic

Those of us in "purple" states already know what's happening with in migration. I was hoping for something more prescriptive than descriptive.