Conservatives hit harder by Recession?

[FreakinDJ]

Went to dinner 20 miles away from home in an Ultra-Conservative district (Tom Doolittle’s former seat) last night and the place was like a Ghost Town. Half of the tables were closed off in what usually would be a “Wait for Seating” restaurant.

Are the Conservatives hit harder by the recession?

Or are they psychologically more terrified by the stories of impending doom and gloom the GOP leadership, and Right-Wing Media are portraying? This is a well off neighborhood with a mixture of homes at the median value or above. The majority of the work force are above average earning professionals.

In my little enclave of “Non-Conformist” spending appears to be normal. Business at the local hardware store was brisk yesterday at near-normal levels. Sandwich shops, doughnut shops, gas stations are staffed normally and do not appear to be suffering abnormally

So what is the deal?

Are the conservatives in full panic mode awaiting the coming civil war?

[DailyGrind51]

1. They bought into the bullshit and now suffer the consequences.

[FreakinDJ]

13. Could very well be Quite True

My Died in the Wool RATpubliCON neighbor who religiously listened to Rush LimpDick in his back yard was foreclosed on and is now history

[Kip Humphrey]

2. The Republicon sheeple are busy stocking up on guns & bullets ...and building barricades.

[galileoreloaded]

11. This is sooo true. I don't think many people realize how frightening this could be.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. I sense there's a kind of depression as a result of having a cut off of megabonuses,

the ability to mindlessly shop for anything, and living in megamansions, and the loss of the illusion of being superior to those outside their wealth sphere.

[FreakinDJ]

6. Here there was no available parking at the local hardware store

for most the day.

People are planting gardens, working on their irrigation systems and starting spring home improvement projects.

And to beat all - we had a parade yesterday morning

Gotta Love Small Town America

[ThomWV]

4. One can only hope.

[NashVegas]

5. Not In Tennessee

Uber-conservative Williamson county has the lowest unemployment in the state.

[Uben]

7. It's just not reasonable....

...to believe the recession affects one ideology more than another. It hits us all hard. There may be pockets where it seems that may be the case, but it's only because of the concentration. Conservatives work side by side with liberals in work environments and they suffer equally.

I think we are all in panic mode to some extent. Uncertainty affects us all.

[FreakinDJ]

8. You would have to seen it I suppose

Night a Day difference between my town and their's

[Uben]

9. Conservatives by nature......

.....watch their pennies closer, so eating out would be a logical place to cut. I rarely eat out. It is cheaper to eat at home, and I eat better! Texas (my state) hasn't been hit as hard by this recession. I see the parking lots at restaurants packed at mealtime.

Even though I am retired and financially secure, I still find myself cutting back on spending. It's just a mentality that I grew up with. I am trying now to let go and spend some money to help stimulate the economy. It's up to those of us who can afford to spend to do what we can to keep it going. I shop locally and try to stay away from big box stores. I hire local independents to do my work rather than those large "franchise" firms.

[HelenWheels]

10. Many restaurants down

Went to Perkins, hardly an expensive place to eat, a couple of weeks ago. We went at 11:30 AM and were seated right away. Usually we have to wait and all the tables stay full until we leave at 12:45. At least half the tables remained open all the time we were there.

[FreakinDJ]

12. Upscale Resturants down more then McDonalds

Darden chairman and chief executive Joe R. Lee pointed to his own company's study to note that during the 1990-1991 recession, the casual-dining-restaurant segment, as a whole, registered gains of 4 percent in traffic and 1 percent in sales in real terms.

In that same period, he said, quick-service restaurant sales were down 1 percent, and traffic was up 2 percent. Midscale restaurants had declines of 5 percent in sales and 2 percent in traffic, and the upscale restaurant segment as a whole experienced an 8-percent downturn in sales and 1 percent in traffic.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_12_35/ai_72986747

I wish I could find "Red State / Blue State" break down on the effects of the recession. But from what I saw last night the conservatives are bareing the brunt of it

[cliffordu]

14. One can only hope so.