Well, duh. The quiz measures whether you’ve heard of various things popular in the Midwest and the South. Then they just equate that with “red”. Why is that interesting?

Sorry, I just find it irritating when Davidbrooksian magazine writers go on about how interesting it is that other Davidbrooksian magazine writers have managed to popularize a cliche within their media world, and then use that as evidence that it must be valid in some way. Has anyone ever really used “red” and “blue” in this way in a conversation?

Yes it would be interesting.

The fact is, I love these quizzes no matter how absurd! It was pretty funny to read how they rated answers.

One would think giving the right answer shouldn’t really tell anyone very much at at all. Of course I know where the Quad cities are– my counsins live there. Of course I know what “the UP” is, I’ve skied there. Of course I know where Door county is– when I was a kid growing up in Libertyville, Il, just 10 miles from Wisconsin, tons of other kids families went there for summer vacation!

And WHO may I ask eats brisket with Aoli sauce?

Next week, I will be eating cheese, drinking beer and eating beef sticks in Wisconsin. Man I must be totally red!

It correctly concludes:
According to your answers, your political philosophy is: libertarian

Libertarian
Libertarians support a great deal of liberty and freedom of choice in both personal and economic matters. They believe government’s only purpose is to protect people from coercion and violence. They value individual responsibility, and they tolerate economic and social diversity.

On the graphic, I’m smack over “centrist” and half way up the diamond of libertarian.

Really useless quiz, just measures general knowledge, pretty worthless if you have lived in NY and in the Midwest.

Out of curiosity, where is the horseradish capital? (I’m in Lisle, Il– right next to Naperville.)

Otherwise, the only time I eat brisket is when someone else prepares it and serves it at a barbeque. So…. with BBQ sauce. (Which makes me “red” again.)

I still love these test– no matter how odd! And this one, is, indeed odd.

It is very odd that you accumulate “red” points for knowing where the Quad cities are. These four cities are in Iowa and Illinois– both of which were “blue” states during the 2000 election.

You accumulated “red” points for knowing that Door County was in Wisconsin– a blue state during the election.

You accumulated red points for knowing “the UP” was in Michigan– a “blue” state! (And a vacation destination for many living in Wisc, and Illinois– both state!)

Ok.. it at least made *a little* sense that you might accumulate red points for visiting Branson MO— that at least *did* go a red during the election!

The fact is, this part of the country went BLUE big time. (My guess– Illinois will likely go blue again. Although, one never knows. We do swing around here….)

wwb

Like Brooks, the writer pretty quickly makes it clear that she’s writing for the “blue” crowd - specifically suburban New Yorkers, I’m guessing, since there’s no reason for Californians or New Englanders to know what “LIRR” is. People on the coast tend to assume that everyone in the Midwest is a Republican, thus they wouldn’t catch your point about Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.

I also agree the people on the coasts, and especially New Yorkers, think the entire region between Penn and Idaho and Alabama to Arizona consist of one homogeneous mass of rubes and country bumpkins.

Mostly, I think it’s pretty funny that Anne E. Kornblut, the soi dissant political correspondent, who wrote the article evidently did not check that the particular geographic locations the test considers “red” are, in fact, “blue”! If she really thinks where you live plays a big role on your red/blueness level, couldn’t she at least look on a map and find out the “red” Quad cities spans two blue states?

Kinda like how people not from New York tend to think “New Yorkers” can only mean those from NYC and/or that all of NY state is just like NYC, or at most NYC and “upstate NY” (which is really just the area surrounding NYC)? :p

signed, the native New Yorker who doesn’t know much more about NYC than the average mid-westerner.

eesh, made me feel stupid. I already know my political leanings….