A net exodus of Americans from blue to red states has been in progress for several years now. This is largely a southbound movement, and perhaps some migrants are “running from the cold up in New England,” as the song goes. But mostly they are leaving states that are too far gone into woke socialism to recover anytime soon—notably California, New York, and Illinois—in favor of states with more conservative governance.
The conventional wisdom, or fear, among red state locals is that these newcomers are closet liberals whose growing numbers will serve to replicate the same dysfunction they left behind. Roger Simon argues that the reverse may be more accurate: blue-to-red migrants tend to be serious constitutional conservatives, and they might be the calvary that rescues the red states from their own problems.
With the possible exception of Florida, the red states too are in trouble. Having been one-party states themselves for a long time, like California, they have also been corrupted, but in a different way. Their political leaders have become disconnected from the conservative values of their constituents. Migrants from blue states, however, are likely to be highly invested in saving the red states they move into.
American Refugees is the story of how a culture clash precipitated a great blue state exodus, and what it means for the rest of America. Focusing particularly on Tennessee as a paradigm, Simon contends that only the red states can preserve the constitutional republic envisioned by the Founders. Only they can save America for our children and grandchildren. The struggle will be great, but the story will ultimately have a happy ending.
