(no subject)

[gwynhefar]

It's interesting the things you learn about your state on election day :) Apparently there's a saying that if it rains in New Orleans, Louisiana will go Republican; if it's clear in New Orleans, Louisiana will go Democratic. This is one of those superstitions that actually makes sense -- New Orleans is, and always has been, the Democratic stronghold of the state, and prior to Katrina, it was the state's largest city. Clear weather means more voter turnout - not many are dedicated enough to stand in the rain to vote - and greater voter turnout in New Orleans means a flood of Democratic votes for the state. Of course, post-Katrina this saying may not hold weight any more. The population of New Orleans has gone from almost 455,000 pre-Katrina to 273,000 at latest (2007) count. That's a 40% decrease, a loss that the Democrats can't afford to lose in this state. Of course, not all of them have left the state. Still, state-wide the pre-Katrina population was 4.5 million, and as of 2006 it was estimated at 4.3 million, a loss of 200,000 people, the vast majority coming from the southern parishes, and thus mostly Democratic. In a state that, in the last four elections, has swung evenly between Democrat and Republican, that's a significant enough loss to change the balance of power.

Today is sunny throughout the state. We'll just have to wait and see if New Orleans still has enough oomph to swing the state.

The other amusing thing I overheard was one of my coworkers taking a map of Louisiana and continuing the straight line of the Louisiana/Mississippi border north of New Orleans in a line west across the state. Everything below the line is Louisiana, he said. Everything above the line is South Arkansas. Sounds about right to me :)