Professor Joseph Olson | Hemline University School of Law
Published: December 6, 2008
Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2008 Presidential election:
* Number of States won by: Democrats: 20; Republicans: 30
* Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000; Republicans: 2,427,000
* Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127 million; Republicans: 143 million
* Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13.2; Republicans: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in rented or government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..." Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.