Conservatives and Marriage
Michelle Cottle on Rush Limbaugh:
"Whatever you think of Rush, this is a fair question. While he clearly knows how to talk the talk in support of the traditional, God-fearing, family-values-oriented America of movement conservatives' dreams, Rush has repeatedly displayed trouble walking the walk. It's not just that he obviously doesn't buy that what-God-has-joined-together-let-no-man-put-asunder marital nonsense."
Fair enough, but in reality breaking up your marriage is in the best Red America traditions. Take a look at this divorce rate list and you'll see that the ten least-divorcing states are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Maryland, and Minnesota. Nine blues and a red. And keep in mind that most states are red, owing to their smaller populations. The bottom ten have nine reds and one blue. Louisiana is the only southern state to have a lower divorce rate than California. Etc.
Off the top of my head, I would think that rightwing moralism seems to encourage people to get married too young leading to more split-ups down the road. Alternatively, it's well known that conservative economic policies (said to promote growth at the expense of equality) have impoverished America's Reddest states and perhaps this just puts too much strain on family life.
