There was also an obvious difference in how individual states handled COVID. Many blue states instituted rigid lockdowns of schools and businesses for an extended period of time, while others did not. One thing is for certain, many Americans are fed up with liberal blue-state policies and are seeking greener (or redder) pastures. Granted, low crime rates, not tripping over fritzed-out junkies, and a lower cost of living are definitely reasons to pack up and head for a red state, but the dirty little secret might be that Americans are flocking to red states for other reasons as well.

The Blue State Exodus: It's More Than Economics – We're Fed up With Being Treated Like We're Stupid.
https://t.co/qdU4LZyvX0

— RedState (@RedState) April 17, 2023

There is also the notion that the blue-state exodus is a referendum on America’s culture wars. As Americans endure Pride Month, many are having ideologies that they might not embrace for a variety of reasons — be they religious or otherwise– forced down their throats. More Americans may be finding out that not only do those red states offer more economic prosperity but also a needed escape from being told what to think and what they must accept, and that small town America offers all those things.

A perfect example: A recent tweet shows political strategist Joey Mannarino walking down the street in New York’s Rockefeller Center. The streets are literally lined with thousands of pride flags. There is not one American flag in sight. A quick walk down Main Street USA, and you would no doubt see the exact opposite.

So I’m walking through Rockerfeller Center heading back to my hotel and they have certainly went a bit overboard for their Pride Month.

No more American flag. We are now the United States of LGBTQ+ apparently! pic.twitter.com/IOvembAy3Y

— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) June 8, 2023

An outgrowth of that sort of display is that red states are passing laws related to this kind of forced groupthink. People in small-town America want things like biological girls only playing girls’ sports, and as a result, red states are passing laws to protect girls’ sports. Another by-product of this issue: Many parents who might have been labeled domestic terrorists by Democrats and leftists on their blue-state school board now find they have much more say in what their kids learn in red-state school districts. They no longer have to deal with being called book burners and white supremacists, just concerned parents.

Red-state migrants are well aware of the fact that they (and their kids) are not going to escape the ever growing rot that is American culture. The Internet has seen to that. But the exodus to red states offers them more ability to control just how much of it intrudes on their lives. There is no constant drumbeat of how backward their beliefs are, and maybe a few less politicians to tell them how to live. It all leads to one giant question: If all of the ideas and policies of blue states are so great, why are so many people leaving? Don’t hold your breath for any introspection from the likes of Gavin Newsom or Kathy Hochul.

Most people who move to red states and call themselves conservative or Republicans don’t really care if someone is gay, or if it is Pride Month. They have moved to that state to be able to live their own lives more economically and in accordance with their values, not with the values of over-arching blue-state government. In January of 2023, Gavin Newsom was sworn in for his second term as California’s governor, and talked about “the California way.” Note to Gov. Newsom: Looks like fewer people are interested in the California way, and more interested in the way out of California.

Blue state exodus.
To quote the Gov of NJ…
“If taxes are your issue, then New Jersey’s probably not your state.”
Yes, he really said that.

— LibertyHill (@LibertyHill201) January 3, 2023