Matt Yglesias

The Party of Mooseburgers

Ta-Nehisi Coates says Sarah Palin is “elitism bait” and arguing that “the entire Sarah Palin pick comes down to one thing–the hope that George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, or (God forbid) Will.I.Am. will make a joke about moose-burgers.” Perhaps. But here’s the thing — nobody more out of touch with middle American than I am, and I’ve eaten moose. That’s because, fundamentally, the moose is a snobby, northeastern elitist animal. As per Wikipedia:

In North America, the Moose range includes almost all of Canada, most of central and western Alaska, much of New England and upstate New York, the upper Rocky Mountains, Northeastern Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale in Lake Superior.

Basically you can find moose in places where no people live (viz: Alaska, Michigan’s UP) and in New England where I’ve had my moose burger. Crucial swing regions of the country — the rust belt, the southwest, the border south — are totally moose-free zones. By contrast, anyone who’s gone to summer campaign in Maine (which is to say northeastern elitists) will at some point have been sitting in a non-moving van waiting for a moose to stop blocking a narrow road. Moose are also found Scandinavia, land of social democracy, where they call them “elk” (confusingly, the animals Americans cal “elk” is different from the one Europeans call “elk”; their “elk” is our “moose.”