Ah, the South

Kos asks questions. Funny.

Setup by Atrios: Our most excellent pundits are generally very quick to buy into the idea that everybody hates Yurp, that "real Americans" detest San Francisco. I'm not sure how much reality is going to change for them to catch up, but so glad they imagine themselves to be stand-ins for the "reglar folks."

Poll: Americans love France, San Francisco, Europe, and NYC

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 4/5-9. All adults. MoE 2% (No trend lines)

QUESTION: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable

opinion of the city of San Francisco?

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	65	24	11
MEN	63	28	9
WOMEN	67	20	13
DEM	71	21	8
REP	58	32	10
IND	64	23	13
OTH/REF	61	26	13
NON VOTERS	66	20	14
WHITE	64	25	11
BLACK	68	22	10
LATINO	66	23	11
OTHER/REF	67	20	13
18-29	69	20	11
30-44	63	26	11
45-59	66	22	12
60+	62	27	11
NORTHEAST	72	16	12
SOUTH	48	42	10
MIDWEST	70	19	11
WEST	75	14	11

Check it out, this is fascinating stuff. Everyone likes San Francisco. Even Republicans (58-32). In fact, there is only one demographic that radically differs from all the rest -- Southerners. I bet that If we could take out Southern Republicans from this sample, Republicans in the rest of the country look like everyone else.

This is all significant for a reason I'll state further below. For now, let's look at three other conservative geographic boogeymen: New York, France, and Europe. (Full crosstabs at the link above.)

QUESTION: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable
opinion of the city of New York?

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	66	26	8
DEM	72	22	6
REP	59	35	6
IND	65	26	9
OTH/REF	62	28	10
NORTHEAST	80	15	5
SOUTH	46	44	10
MIDWEST	72	20	8
WEST	73	18	9

QUESTION: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable
opinion of the country of France?

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	66	26	8
DEM	72	22	6
REP	59	35	6
IND	65	26	9
OTH/REF	62	28	10
NORTHEAST	80	15	5
SOUTH	46	44	10
MIDWEST	72	20	8
WEST	73	18	9

QUESTION: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable
opinion of the continent of Europe?

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	63	29	8
DEM	68	26	6
REP	58	34	8
IND	62	29	9
OTH/REF	61	32	7
NORTHEAST	74	18	8
SOUTH	45	48	7
MIDWEST	69	23	8
WEST	71	20	9

All of them feature the same dynamic as San Francisco -- Republicans have solidly favorable ratings (as do every other demographic tested), but head down South, and it's a whole different world, dramatically out of step with the rest of America.

What's this mean? It means that all that France and Europe demonizing, and all that talk of "San Francisco liberals" and "San Francisco values", and all that New York bashing (like Rush leaving Manhattan), plays to a very small core of people, and specifically to the conservative's Southern base.

This is clear evidence that the GOP has become a rump regional party. Because everyone else in America is just scratching their head at all that hatred directed at these places. They like San Francisco a lot. They love France. They think Europe is fantastic. And not even the New York Yankees can get people to hate on the Big Apple. And the more the Rushes and Becks bash those places, the more out of step with the Real America conservatives appear.

They might as well be bashing puppies, apple pie, and moms.

The irony? Even Southerners have a net positive favorability for San Francisco (+6), New York City (+2), and Europe (+2). In other words, even in their regional stronghold, they're just speaking to a minority.

• Joe Sudbay (DC) adds: Barely one-third of the American people have confidence in Congressional Republicans. Of all those tested, only the Republicans had a higher negative rating. When it comes to having confidence in the GOP on the economy, 58% of Americans have "almost a little or none." The Congressional Republicans have earned that lack of confidence. The GOP strategy of saying "NO" has resulted in NO confidence.