There's a whole lot more that lead to the decline of the auto industry and Detroit than "liberal politics", BBQ, and you know that.

I lived in Detroit for ten years and one of my sons lives there now. I worked in the auto industry while I was there and he does as well. I arrived in Detroit right out of college in June of 1960. Yes, that was a time when Detroit was a proud, productive city. The auto industry appeared to be one of the best-managed group of companies in the world. Auto workers defined what "middle class" meant and what a middle class could accomplish.

Since 1960--fifty years--Detroit and the auto industry has gotten to where it is now. There has been the cyclical ebb and flow of political leadership in the country, from Kennedy and Johnson's liberalism thru Nixon and Ford and the first Bush's conservative tilt (with a short interruption by Jimmy Carter). Two terms of the most conservative President we've had in fifty years, Ronald Reagan, was followed by two terms of Clinton, arguably a liberal, followed by two terms of Bush 43's "compassionate conservatism". The makeup of Congress has had similar ebbs and flows of political ideology over the fifty years that Detroit has experienced such decline.

So for you to assert that Detroit and the auto industry has declined because of "liberal politics" while Florida is just fine is not only inaccurate, but ridiculous on its face. As of March, 2010 Michigan's unemployment rate is 14.1%, Florida isn't far behind at 12.8%, both states are substantially higher than the national average.

So much for the effect of the effect of the conservative government of Florida as opposed to the liberal government of Michigan.

You need to look for another example of the effect of liberal ideology as opposed to conservatism. If you dig deeply enough, you might find that the problems faced by the U.S. today are more the result of incompetent, self-serving, special interest driven government rather than any ideological or party label.