National Journal:
Republican strength in the South has both compensated for and masked the extent of the party's decline elsewhere.
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As someone who happily voted for the best candidate, and not along party lines, I have voted for Republicans for President, Senator, Representative, and Governor. Since the right-wing extremists have risen to dominance in the GOP, I have not voted for a single one of their candidates. The only hope for our country lies in a return to moderate, honest politics, with a rejection of extremists of all stripes. Until the GOP rejects the right-wingers, I will not only not vote for them, I will assume that anything they say is designed to hurt the country, not to help it.
On this, Memorial Day, please remember the thousands of servicemen and Iraqi civilians who died because of GOP lies, and never let it happen again.
RNC should change their name to the Southern Grand Old Knights of Hate and Fundamentalists Party.
Bahahahahaha!
They are cooking up another culture war as we speak ....
LOL. I hear the mockingbirds singing!
Maybe the various regions of the South should be looked at by both the GOP and Democrats as the Balkans of the U.S. Historians may also find find similar events in the Balkans and the South especially, assassinations. Another common element is that time does little to change either place. The South will probably retain its present character for another 200 years: Get use to it Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta and North Dallas!
Bahahahahahah!
My family came from Augusta Georgia, a place where I spent a good deal of my childhood, and I have to say that, though it is quite evident that the GOP clearly still holds sway with most southern voters, I don't believe that GOP predominance will last for very much longer.
It is my experience that even though conservative attitudes certainly prevail in Georgia, as in most of southern society, Southerners that I've known tend to highly prize social stability, calm sensible thought, and fair even handed conduct far more than ones political affiliation. They particularly respect, and even honor, those who do what they say they will do, even if they don't see eye to eye with them on matters of politics or ideology. Being a good and dedicated family man is also held in high esteem.
Yes, the South has its share of ignorant folks and bigots. But even among this class a calm and fair minded gentleman, black or otherwise, is usually regarded with at least a grudging respect , especially if, as a group, they're acknowledged and treated with consideration.
In the South I believe these social characteristics strongly favor a man like Barack Obama over the likes of Rush Limbaugh and his shrill and alarmist counterparts. What a Georgian might refer to as a, "Rabble rousing mush mouth" will over time, steadily lose public influence when pitted against the honorable gentleman who currently holds the White House, regardless of his color or his politics.
I wish what you say is true. Most people across the South who went to church today heard a "Rabble rousing mush mouth."
Well said, MrKnuckles! I'm pulling for the cultured Southerners over the ignorant ones.
By "mojo" they mean he has turned up the hate speech about 10 notches and has sworn not to allow facts to get in the way of his opinions.
I see the Republican party coming down to two camps ... with a lot of overlap. In one camp are angry, b.i.g.o.t.
I live in the Deep South. I can promise you the GOOP is still popular down here with uneducated fundamentalists because the party itself gives their narrow-minded hate, intolerance and self-victimization a national validation they can't get anywhere else.
Sounds like the GOP took over the John Birch Society, the K.K k and the Masons, Eagles, Elks, AmVets and the Wednesday night prayer meetings!
How can you stay there? I can barely stand the thought NJ might possibly elect a moderate Republican as Gov. I just could not stand living where there is that amount of intolerance.
GOOP is a good name for them.
As a native North Carolinian who lived in Florida 26 years and now splits time between Las Vegas and Southern Utah, let me say that there are 2 souths. There is the "new south" which you find in Charlotte, Atlanta, Raleigh and other metro areas. This is a more diverse culture with people from all over the country . Then there is the old south in the small towns and rural areas that are still almost exclusively native born with few new migrants. The old south is still dominated by fundamentalist Christianity and politics largely flows from that mindset. The new south is totally different with more diverse culture and more broad minded people. Remember, O carried NC, VA. and Fl. and almost carried GA. due to the votes he got in the metro areas.
Exactly right. I live in Dallas (well, just north of Dallas) and this area is def one of those "newer" parts of the south. We are multicultural here, highly educated, affluent, and for the most part don't have curiously straight family trees like many of the more rural inhabitants do.
"curiously straight family trees"
ROFLMAO! I have heard it worded many ways, but never like that!! Well put!!
LOL! So how do you explain Bush being cheered loudly when he walked into that stadium not long after Jan20! That told me all I need to know about Texas and why they are spewing all the succession crap.
Also a native from NC, that has moved to many different area in the US and abroad, now living in SC. You are very right. NC has steadily trended to a more open-minded, profession
SC is decades behind NC. It is more rural and much more conservative. The state is often divided into thirds. The two-thirds from the mid-section of he state to the coast (Columbia to Charleston) primarily voted blue in the '08 election (see NY Times state/country voting results). The upstate (Greenvill
But neither NC or SC can be covered with a blanket statement about the political or educational status of its people any longer. The old stereotypes of the south make the person using them look very irrelevant.
You're right! the south IS changing..
over the past 10 years the fundamentalists used churches as their platform..
This year a Lot more "old south' people voted for Obama than I ever expected. They've lost jobs, have homes in foreclosure,no access to affordable health care, and see their representatives sell them out in favor of banks, health insurance companies & jobs sent overseas.
The turning point is now... and it can be done.
where are the rednecks?oh, they are looking for sarah palin,cheney, and hogboss limbaugh too!they will be fading eventually sooner or later..
everybody knows why the car companies and corps love the "right to work south'(non union)- the people down there have never had the guts to stand up for themselves and have always clung to irrelavant issues like guns and preachers and exclusion
odrach...t
www.nchope
Check it out! Sign on to support it- anyone may do so!! Help us make the change. Fellow progressives, take a minute to advance our cause by showing your support- please! Thank you!
The URL is correct, it is www.nchope
Open up a new window to get to it if you ned to- thanks again!
They dont have AFSCME in NC? Wow.
Gee a party that bold-face lies to it's supporters
Who would stand up and say...plea
At least a thinking republican would have to say...than
The "Solid South" loves the RepubliKlans because the RepubliKlans want to keep "darkie" in his place.
The "Solid South" used to love the Dixiecrats, until Lyndon Johnson betrayed them by signing
the Civil Rights Act.
The RepubliKlans jumped all over that and have ruled the south ever since.
If you want to understand what drives the "Solid South" mentality, read 'Mind of the South' by W.J. Cash.
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First Posted: 05-23-09 06:23 PM | Updated: 05-23-09 06:59 PM