Voting Democrat Makes You Unhappy
Not really, of course. This is a case of correlation not causation but there is a very clear pattern to state-by-state happiness data published recently in Science. The Wall Street Journal published a summary (here is their chart). The happiest states overwhelmingly voted for McCain in the 2008 election and the least happy states unanimously voted for Obama.
Here’s the breakdown:
| Happieness Rank | States Voting McCain |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | 7 |
| 11-20 | 8 |
| 21-30 | 2 |
| 31-40 | 5 |
| 41-50 | 0 |
Notice particularly the top and bottom quintiles. Of the 10 most happy states, only 3 voted for Obama. Of the 10 least happy states, every single one voted for Obama. Miserable policies for miserable people.
This really should not come as a surprise given the left’s fixation on class, envy and jealousy. It’s also consistent with their dismissive attitude towards religion and private charity. And let’s not leave out the alignment with the right’s views on personal responsibility, industriousness and individual autonomy versus the left’s blame-shifting, dependence and state control. Basically most of the characteristics that make you less happy align neatly to the left wing worldview.