Can we please dispense with the "red state / blue state" phrase every politial commentator in the country fell in love with in 2000? These monikers originated in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election as the outcome was being decided by hanging chads and argued by attorneys.
The political dynamics that created the rise of "red state / blue state" do not exist anymore, yet the phrases live on. Political commentators can't seem to do without. "Republicans are working to keep Florida red." "Minnesota is becoming increasingly blue."
Some commentators continue to evolve the phrases, wringing them for all they're worth. States are "purple" when they are a mixture of red and blue, or "light blue" or "dark blue" to describe how ardently Democratic a state may be.
What is so ridiculous is that the colors assigned to each party are the product of a random process driven by nothing more than television coverage of the election. Prior to 2000, the television networks alternated colors on their political maps. In 1996, Democrats were represented by the color red on election-night maps and Republicans were blue. In 1992, vice versa. But the colors that just happened to be used in 2000 stuck and no one wants to go back.
The media loves it because it is self-referential. Their maps, after all, started the oh-so-not-clever designations.
It's time to know when to quit. Drop the "red state / blue state" thing immediately. Please. It's so 2000.
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