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i find the red and blue labeling confusing. especially as i always grew up with the left wanting to keep the red flag flying. might be better to give a descriptive name in case it changes again. i believe in Europe socialists are still red. And what colour is Islam, since it is taking over there, traditionally black?

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This is a purely American thing. If you are not an American you may well not get it. Red and Blue came from the 2000 election. It refers to the colors used to refer to the parties on the election maps used by the media. They used to trade off each election, but after 2000 it became fixed as Republican = Red and Democratic = Blue.

It is indeed humorous that red (that used to stand for commies and the Left) was assigned to the socially conservative Republicans, but they have really taken to it and now see themselves a "Red".

My point is the social/cultural elements of the "Red" and "Blue" factions today actually go back to the very beginning of the country. This cultural divide is a big part of the socialists called "American exceptionalism" in that the sort of class-based politics that worked in Europe did not seem to apply here.

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