Red state, blue state, rich state, poor state : why Americans vote the way they do / Andrew Gelman ... [and others].

Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-220) and index.

Pt. I. The Paradox -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Rich State, Poor State -- 3. How the Talking Heads Can Be So Confused -- Pt. II. What's Going on -- 4. Income and Voting over Time -- 5. Inequality and Voting -- 6. Religious Reds and Secular Blues -- 7. The United States in Comparative Perspective -- Pt. III. What It Means -- 8. Polarized Parties -- 9. Competing to Build a Majority Coalition -- 10. Putting It All Together.

"On the night of the 2000 presidential election, Americans sat riveted in front of their televisions as polling results divided the nation's map into red and blue states. Since then the color divide has become a symbol of a culture war that thrives on stereotypes - pickup-driving red-state Republicans who vote based on God, guns, and gays; and elitist, latte-sipping blue-state Democrats who are woefully out of touch with heartland values. Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State debunks these and other political myths." "With wit and prodigious number crunching, Andrew Gelman gets to the bottom of why Democrats win elections in wealthy states while Republicans get the votes of richer voters, how the two parties have become ideologically polarized, and other issues. Gelman uses eye-opening, easy-to-read graphics to unravel the mystifying patterns of recent voting, and in doing so paints a vivid portrait of the regional differences that drive American politics. He demonstrates in the plainest possible terms how the real culture war is being waged among affluent Democrats and Republicans, not between the haves and have-nots; how religion matters for higher-income voters; how the rich-poor divide is greater in red not blue states - and much more." "Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State is a must-read for anyone seeking to make sense of today's fractured American political landscape."--BOOK JACKET.