Political Movement
Moving can be a hassle. As someone who has gone through the process many times, I can certainly attest to the fact that having to deep clean, carefully pack, and unpack again everything you own is a certifiable headache. And the work doesn’t end when the literal heavy-lifting does; you then have to get settled in a new neighborhood, new school, new job, or new country. Based on my experience, I always associated moving with work-related obligations and had never given much thought as to why people might actually choose to move. And, until I heard of Conservative Move, a moving company specifically for Conservatives, I would have never thought of a direct relationship between moving and political alignment.
Conservative Move utilizes the polarization that is tearing our country apart in order to advertise their services, which in turn exacerbate the creation of politically insular communities.
I had known that there was a correlation between political affiliation and living area; according to data from the Pew Research Center, 77% of people who categorize themselves as “consistently liberal” favor more urban areas while 75% of “consistently conservative” people prefer to live in more rural areas. This phenomenon has been labelled by American author Bill Bishop as the Big Sort, named for the manner in which these preferences lead to Americans sorting themselves into districts of like-minded people. The Big Sort has already affected American politics because of the way America’s voting system is structured. The House of Representatives and a majority of state and local legislatures are elected through a single-member district voting system based on plurality, which results in Democrats winning by a larger margin in fewer, urban districts while Republicans are able to win, albeit by a smaller margin, in a larger number of rural districts. I had previously viewed the Big Sort, and the resulting electoral trends, as a result of subconscious decision making; after all, there are a number of other differences that have been noted by research groups, such as the apparent Republican preference for Sam’s Club versus the Democratic preference for Trader Joe’s that was noted by the Simmons Research Group.
However, the Big Sort may not be quite so subconscious. A 2014 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 50% of people who label themselves as “consistently conservative” and 35% of people who view themselves as “consistently liberal” stated that they found it very important that they live around people who hold similar political views. Paul Chabot, the founder of Conservative Move, is undoubtedly one of those people. Chabot decided to move or, as he put it, “escape” from California to Texas after a failed run for Congress reinforced his belief that he did not belong in California. After settling in nicely in Texas, Chabot had a feeling that other Conservatives would want to make a similar move, prompting him to found Conservative Move, which, according to its catchy slogan, is “helping families move Right.” Since its creation in 2017, Conservative Move has expanded and now has over 250 agents working across America to help clients sell their homes in blue states and buy new property in red states. Yet Conservative Move’s services go beyond just real estate; their website also states that they offer job and relocation advice as well as introductions to local Conservative groups.
While some may see Chabot’s company as a smart way to capitalize on an already present trend, I believe his company is part of a dangerous positive feedback loop.
While some may see Chabot’s company as a smart way to capitalize on an already present trend, I believe his company is part of a dangerous positive feedback loop. Conservative Move utilizes the polarization that is tearing our country apart to advertise their services, which in turn exacerbates the creation of politically insular communities. To see this in action, all one has to do is visit Conservative Move’s website. Above their logo, which is a house made of stars and stripes, is a tagline stating that “liberal states are a mess,” urging the reader to “let [Conservative Move] help you move to a red state.” Underneath the logo is a Bible verse, specifically Proverbs 22:3: The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. What exactly is the danger? Democrats? Liberalism? AOC? And what refuge is a politically homogenous community providing in a country meant to be based upon pluralism?
It is critical to remember that Conservative Move didn’t create this problem of politically homogeneous districts; the company is merely capitalizing off of a long-term trend in political movement. But can this issue be fixed? Short of completely restructuring America’s voting system into one based on proportional representation, there is no quick fix. However, at the individual level, we can act. We need to be more aware of how we react to challenges to our political views, and we need to resist the temptation to surround ourselves with people who only confirm our ideas instead of people who can challenge them. Movement towards political isolation is not the answer.