American Refugees

The Untold Story of the Mass Migration from Blue to Red States

Roger L. Simon

• Publisher: Encounter Books
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781641773980
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Social Sciences

"Roger Simon is among the many refugees fleeing blue state neoliberalism, and he's written the best account of our generation's greatest migration."
- Tucker Carlson, fired Fox News host

"As a citizen of Tennessee, I can attest to the fact that there is a great migration happening from blue to red states. When people have had enough tyranny, they search for freedom elsewhere. This book captures a pivotal moment in time for our nation."
- John Rich, country music superstar and owner of Redneck Riviera Brand

"Roger's analysis in American Refugees provides great evidence that America isn't in some inevitable national decline, we're just young. We're going through our own version of adolescence as a nation."
- Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican Presidential Candidate

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 —in favor of states with more conservative governance.

The conventional wisdom, or fear, among red state locals is that these newcomers, despite having "voted with their feet, " will continue to vote for the same policies that ruined the states from which they are fleeing. 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 cavalry that rescues the red states from their own problems.

With the possible exception of Florida, the red states, too, are in trouble. Like California, long-term one-party rule has corrupted them, 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 into which they are moving.

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, 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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• 1. A Story “Rocky Top” Told Me
• 2. The Makings of an American Refugee
• 3. Was It in Homage to Johnny Cash?
• 4. Why Are These People So Nice?
• 5. Rolling Out the Wrong “Welcome Wagon”
• 6. The Rise of a New Cavalry
• 7. Putting on My Fedora
• 8. Arrivederci, Starbuck e Ortagus
• 9. Clandestine Connections
• 10. Meet “The Cavalry”
• 11. Where Cavalry Are Billeted
• 12. Enter the First Markowicz
• 13. First Fix the Schools
• 14. Monty Python Comes to Tennessee
• 15. The Fifth Congressional District Goes Big-Time
• 16. Conservative Chic
• 17. Yard Sign Politics
• 18. The Teachings of Rocky Top: Part One
• 19. A Cold Civil War
• 20. Qu’est-ce que c’est une Femme?
• 21. Georgia, the Wrong Way South
• 22. “All My Exes Live in Texas”
• 23. Can You “Wish Upon a Star” Anymore?
• 24. Saved by a Puck
• 25. Could “the Farmer and the Cowman” Be Friends?
• 26. A New Debate for the New Old America
• 27. Beware the Ides of Refugee March
• 28. Florida—Dreamland or Grave?
• 29. Gordon Gekko Is Back … With Bad Hair!
• 30. Keep Moving
• 31. “Paula Revere” Rides Again in the Gulch
• 32. My Wife, the Screenwriter, Turns Political Organizer
• 33. Portrait of an Activist as a Middle-Aged Woman
• 34. Playing Tennis with a Guy Called Bubba
• 35. The Arrival of a New Form of Men’s Group
• 36. Boris, the Double Refugee
• 37. Meeting Marsha
• 38. Farewell, My Prostate
• 39. Can the University of Tennessee Wake Up the “Woke”?
• 40. “Country On”: New Year’s Eve 2023, Nashville
• 41. Steeples: How the South Gave Me Religion
• 42. On the Cusp of the New
• 43. The Banality of No Evil
• 44. Lunch with Rocky Top in Changing Times
• 45. The Makings of a Wannabe Redneck
• Epilogue: Nashville Takes a Dark Turn
• Acknowledgments