{"id":37821,"date":"2018-11-05T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=37821"},"modified":"2018-11-03T23:32:56","modified_gmt":"2018-11-04T03:32:56","slug":"the-brand-preferences-of-liberals-vs-conservatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2018\/11\/the-brand-preferences-of-liberals-vs-conservatives\/","title":{"rendered":"The Brand Preferences of Liberals vs. Conservatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As we get ready for election day tomorrow\u2013which we will discuss then\u2013we all know that America has become politically polarized.\u00a0 Furthermore, it seems that everything is getting politicized (entertainment, education, technology, religion).\u00a0 It turns out, even our shopping is political.\u00a0 Liberals and conservatives buy products, they prefer different brands<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Politico\u00a0<\/em>studied brand research and reported its findings in Do You Eat Republican Cheese?:\u00a0 The Two Americas, a Snapshot in Brands.<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of the preferences are obvious.\u00a0 Liberals watch CNN; conservatives watch FoxNews.\u00a0 Liberals read The New York Times<\/em>; conservatives prefer The Wall Street Journal.<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/header>\n

But there are also measurable differences in pet food<\/em> (liberals like Fancy Feast; conservatives like Meow Mix) and cleansers<\/em> (liberals like Seventh Generation; conservatives like Bar Keeper\u2019s Friend).\u00a0 But why?\u00a0 Such products wouldn\u2019t seem to carry any political meaning.<\/p>\n

Other brand preferences, though, are revealing.\u00a0 When it comes to dairy products, liberals like Storyfield yogurt; conservatives like Kraft Velveeta cheese.\u00a0 When it comes to automobiles, liberals like Subaru; conservatives like Chevrolets.\u00a0 With soft drinks, liberals prefer LaCroix Sparkling Water; conservatives prefer Diet Pepsi.\u00a0 Liberals eat at California Pizza Kitchen; conservatives eat at Cracker Barrel.\u00a0 Liberals stay at a Marriott; conservatives at a Comfort Inn.\u00a0 Liberals make coffee with a Nespresso; conservatives with a Mr. Coffee.\u00a0 When liberals buy jeans, they go to Old Navy; conservatives buy Wranglers.\u00a0 The liberal\u2019s idea of fast food is Starbuck\u2019s; conservatives buy chicken at Bojangles.\u00a0\u00a0Liberals buy groceries at Trader Joe\u2019s; conservatives go to Sam\u2019s Club.<\/p>\n

Do you see a pattern?\u00a0 Liberals favor high-end, high-status products with a \u201csophisticated\u201d aura.\u00a0 Conservatives prefer basic, down-to-earth, low-class products.<\/p>\n

This consumer data gives evidence for the gentrification of liberal politics and the Democratic Party.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>Now liberals represent the affluent, high status social class.\u00a0 Conversely, the Republicans have become the party of the working class.<\/p>\n

This is not how it used to be.\u00a0 Republicans used to be considered the party of big business and the rich.\u00a0 Democrats championed the cause of blue collar workers.\u00a0 Now, this is all but reversed.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are still \u201ccountry club Republicans\u201d and labor union Democrats.\u00a0 Each party has its factions and different constituencies.\u00a0 But their shopping habits are telling.<\/p>\n

It used to be said that you shouldn\u2019t park a foreign car in the parking lot of a unionized factory lest it get vandalized.\u00a0 Now Democrats are favoring foreign cars and Republicans are buying American.<\/p>\n

There is, however, one brand that both parties can agree on.\u00a0 They do differ in their \u201ccraft beer,\u201d with liberals preferring Sierra Nevada and conservatives preferring Sam Adams.\u00a0 But when it comes to macrobrews, both parties favor Coors.<\/p>\n

On that basis, perhaps the nation can come together again, with Republicans and Democrats gathered around the beer brewed with Rocky Mountain spring water in Golden, Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0\u00a0U.S. Air Force photo\/David Terry.\u00a0 Public Domain<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 As we get ready for election day tomorrow\u2013which we will discuss then\u2013we all know that America has become politically polarized.\u00a0 Furthermore, it seems that everything is getting politicized (entertainment, education, technology, religion).\u00a0 It turns out, even our shopping is political.\u00a0 Liberals and conservatives buy products, they prefer different brands. Politico\u00a0studied brand research and reported […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":37830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,36,1],"tags":[563,7722,6191,1292,2473,7719],"class_list":["post-37821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-politics","category-uncategorized","tag-conservatives","tag-difference-between-democrats-and-republicans","tag-gentry-liberals","tag-liberals","tag-political-polarization","tag-product-brands"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Brand Preferences of Liberals vs. Conservatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Research has found that liberals and conservatives have different brand preferences. 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