How do you respond to the fact that most of your so-called "dumb" states were once Democratic strongholds?
Oh but that's a well known fact, the dems lost those states when Lyndon Johnson signed The Civil Rights Act and ended legal discrimination against minorities. Is that supposed to make those states smart?
Which came first, did they first become "dumb" and then switch alliances, or did they become "dumb" afterward.
They were always "dumb", they switched alliances later when republicans figured out how to exploit their stupidity. They are dumb indeed but they are not trying to smarten up and they are not voting for politicians who honestly tell them that they are dumb. They just can't handle the truth, they vote for politicians who lie to them, flatter them and who they'd prefer to have a beer with. Then they complain that there are no honest politicians...
Perhaps these folks just got sick and tired of pompous, elitist, liberals talking down to them.
Perhaps they did, although the real reason was racism (see above). At any rate instead of voting for pompous elitists and liberals who actually do have their [economic] interests in mind they now vote for pompous and elitist oil, arms, insurance and health care billionaires who may
not be talkng down to them but rip them off at the pump, make healthcare unaffordable, destroy unions representing their interests, oursource their jobs, refuse to pay their Katrina's insurance claims etc instead. They now vote for the people who use their religious faith in Jesus to get elected and invade foreign countries, screw the poor and destroy the environment - not exactly a Jesus agenda.
In addition, there are three Red states on your list of "smart" states.... blah
Actually the list of smart states includes four battleground states - VA, CO, NH and MN. Two (VA and CO) went for Bush, two went for Kerry. There are no true red states on the list and the remaining six states are very liberal.