Sun Bloc

"It was Reagan whose election as president seemed to mark the coming of the political age of the Sun Belt, but also of what Kenneth M. Duberstein, the White House chief of staff for Reagan, referred to as 'the lock': the notion that the Republican Party could consider the Sun Belt in the political bank. As late as 2002, Karl Rove, the chief political adviser to George W. Bush, was arguing that California was fertile ground for Republicans.

"'Reagan in many ways seemed to be the beginning of the wave, but in retrospect, it’s going to be remembered as the peak of the wave,' Mr. White said."

Adam Nagourney in The New York Times argues that Republican dominance in the Sun Belt is slipping.

"Home to the Largest and Fastest Growing Poor Population in the Country"

"The conceit that poverty is a problem suffered by other—often less deserving—people was an essential part of suburban self-identity that was reflected in its politics. Better-heeled suburban schools, sports teams and private recreation contributed to an ethos that emphasized family residential security, individual meritocracy and private life. Its inhabitants conveniently forgot that their cherished neighborhoods were in fact dependent on the programs of the New Deal state, not to mention the federal residential security maps that privileged white Americans."

Lisa McGirr at The New York Times wonders about the impact of rising poverty in American suburbs.