It is kind of funny... according to Thomas Frank, the 2000-2008 maps look like a reverse mirror image of 1896. Are Ds the new Rs? Are Rs the new Ds? 
States that voted for the same party in both 1896 & 2008 are blue, ones that voted for opposite parties are red:
Comparing 1896 to 2004 makes it even stronger. Now it gets distorted by comparing a Democratic victory to a Republican one. I think there were only 7 states that voted the same way in those two: WV, OH, ND, WA, KY, IA, IN
1896 v. 2004
It's funny how many of what few states voted the same were congregated in one area in both cases.
Interesting analysis. I do have to say that the only reason Nebraska went democrat is because William Jennings Bryan considered that his home state at the time. Otherwise, Nebraska was every bit as republican in those times as it is now.
It is amusing to see how much some states have changed since then. It seems amusing to think that UT, ID, and MS would be strongly democratic and VT would be the most republican.
Of course, back in the day, some republicans were very liberal (i.e., George Norris of NE is a perfect example) and some democrats were very conservative (i.e., southern dixiecrats).
