and he argues this data about individual families rather than geographical areas . for instance , economist noah smith , who has argued that “ liberal morality is simply better adapted for creating stable two - parent families in a post - industrialized world , ” today , the conventional wisdom is that “ red families ” are weaker than “ blue families , ” a view that was cemented by the publication of naomi cahn and june carbone ’s groundbreaking 2010 book on family life and political culture , red families v. blue families . self - identified republicans are more likely to be married and less likely to be divorced than self - identified democrats , write he and nicholas h. wolfinger , based on blue families are stronger and more stable than red families . even among people with the same demographic profile , republicans and democrats to say they are happily married . david leonhardt reports on a new study that says it ’s got happier families , democrats or republicans ? until recently , this was the conventional wisdom in the media and the academy . red america , the argument goes , is more likely to embrace outmoded views about sex , gender , and marriage that are ill suited to the new economy and the more egalitarian world that we now live in . but this belief has been challenged by new reports in family studies and the new york times . some scholars have to figure it ’s as friendly photo advertisement continue reading the main story w. bradford wilcox , a sociologist , has written two recent papers noting that children in conservative parts of the country are more likely to grow up with both parents than in liberal ones .