The sun belt tradition of individualism and opposition to interference from a remote federal government, which continued with the emergence of the new right, was ironic in that

The Sun Belt was also home to people who believed in higher levels of defense spending as well as hydroelectric projects that ate up a large swath of the federal budget. Those who lived in this area may have had conservative leanings, but only toward issues that did not directly affect their ways of life or well-being.