These are soul-searching times for Southern Democracy.
Southern Democracy -- defined as entrenched regional rule -- is no more. Republicans now reign throughout most of the South. The best that Southern Democrats can hope for is restoring their party to competitive parity in a two-party system.
However, it takes a lot of faith to believe that Democratic restoration in this part of the country lies simply in refining the brand, re-organizing at the grassroots, and hoping that the Republicans mess up as the governing party.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure that Southern Democrats understand the seriousness of their situation, know whether they want to be practical players or progressive voices, can overcome the legacies of race and racism, or can repair the rift between Yellow Dogs and Blue Dogs. Even beyond these problems, looming strategic decisions at the national level could prove disastrous for the regional party in 2012 and beyond.
As might be expected, many of my fellow Democrats are experiencing extreme heartburn as our party struggles through unpleasant times. One of my Alabama friends (a self-described "Yaller Dawg" whose rural politicking goes back a half-century) recently sent me an email bemoaning the situation. He added that, if Southern Democrats cannot do any better than they are currently doing, "Maybe we should just walk out on the porch, pee, pull the light chain, and go to bed."
Therefore, we have come to my bottom-line question about the future of Southern Democracy: Is Southern Democracy dead? Or can the historic ruling party rise from trending demise?
Discomforting reality
The historical reality is that the Republicans have taken charge throughout most of the South; and they continue to expand their dominance through electoral victories, party switchings, and timely retirements among Democratic officials.
Even if the Republicans falter as the controlling regime of governance, I suspect that today's Southern voters would replace most vulnerable or failed GOP leaders with other GOP politicians rather than turning back wholesale to the Democrats. Some progressives are even suggesting that Democrats should start voting in Republican primaries, where they might exercise selective influence. Others suggest that a third party or independent movement is the way to go.
Trapped in historical partisan paradox
It seems to me that Southern Democracy is constrained by contradictory patterns of unfolding history. Long-trending realignment has seriously weakened Democrats as a competitive force; and their prospects for a competitive constituency seem to lie somewhere on the hazy horizon. In short, there is no quick and easy and sure recovery.
Southern Democracy is trapped, at least for awhile, in an historical paradox of partisan trends, a contemporary overlap that favors conservatism over progressivism. The most obvious development, of course, is that for the past few decades large numbers of realigning white natives have put Republicans firmly in control of Southern elections; and the GOP is currently reaping the benefits, in terms of governance, of this windfall realignment.
But that part of the paradoxical time warp is probably time-limited. Election 2010 reflected a long-unfolding realignment, undergirded by a massive windfall of native white Southerners shifting their party preference. That pool of potential switchers has likely been drained, limiting the possibility for much further reddening in the future.
Simultaneously, other less obvious changes, perhaps favorable to the Democrats, are taking place, particularly among younger and in-migrating Southerners. Demographic studies document an increasingly diverse Southern society; and public opinion surveys show a moderating of Southern attitudes across the spectrum of public issues. Younger Southerners and migrants from other regions will not be flaming liberals; but they probably represent a more moderate and attractive market for the Democratic Party in the long run.
The South thus is becoming less traditionally Southern; and tomorrow's South may listen to alternative candidates and consider different policies.
But that's little solace right now for Southern Democracy.
Short term -- muddling through
Most Yellow Dog activists prefer the loud-and-proud strategy, even if they are only liberal voices in the conservative wilderness. But they are not likely to force themselves through traumatic, definitive debates with whatever Blue Dogs are still around. They'll all just grouse among themselves as long as progressive issues resonate among the faithful and some Democrats get elected in a GOP-dominant region.
Actually, there seem to be few options nowadays for weathering the storm, other than re-branding, re-organizing, and criticizing GOP foibles. Yellow Dogs and Blue Dogs, ideological voices and practical politicians, beset by regional divisions and national pressures, may simply have to muddle through their predicament, fussing among themselves, and hoping for happier days in the future.
But muddling and fussing and hoping is not a long-term strategy. The survival of the Democratic Party in this region requires building an acceptable alternative if and when Southern voters start looking for different politics and better governance.
That is the topic for my next and last discussion about the future of Southern Democracy.
Author's Note: This is the seventh in a series of posts about the future of the Democratic Party in the South. The concluding post ("Will Southern Democracy Survive?") will appear here next Sunday.
If the southern democrats are really just republicans, why SHOULD southerners support them???
Be PROGRESSIVE.
Behave like DEMOCRATS.
The Democratic Party was taken over and sold out by a generation of Leaders with a willingness to ignore the Peoples interests in a decade of legislative transactions trying to out corporate the Republicans.
For years we've been offered forced choices between Republicans and just a little Republican policy.
When America starts considering the policies they want from their government, they'll stop supporting the two parties of War Profiteering, Bankers, low wages and reduced benefits.
Time to cut the South loose. Cut loose the red states that get more federal $$ than the blue states, and yet cry about big government every chance they get; not realizing that if it weren't for the largesse of the government they love to hate, they'd be eating dog food and living in cardboard boxes.
Cut loose the red states that offer nothing but the highest levels of illiteracy and unemployment; and lead the nation in obesity. Cut loose the red states that have continued waging a stealth Civ il War on the rest of the nation.
What can Southern Democrats do, you ask Mr Browder? They can abandon a sinking ship and head North where, once the South has seceded and taken their oil interests with them, we can finally explore new industries like alternative energies. Head North, where we still consider education important, especially for competing in global markets. Head North, where women can control their own bodies, make their own decisions, and shape their own destinies.
The South has held the rest of the country back for far too long. We're like Siamese twins.....where one twin is weak and parasitic, and survives by sucking the healthy twin dry. In order to save the healthy twin, we need to separate it from the weak one.
The sound you now hear is me whistling Dixie goodbye....
And let's not forget the Religious dynamic. Religious American's embraced the Republican Party as the party of God in this country. Obama was correct when he talked about Guns and Bibles...that is far more the truth than any of us want to accept.
to some extent, it's urban vs rural, but still within the North/South paradigm, at least IMO. I mean, there are rural places in upstate New York that don't compare to rural areas in the South.
just from a purely economic standpoint, the South is a drain on the rest of the nation. It takes way more from the government (and the blue states) than it contributes, in pretty much every single metric. And at least part of the reason for that is due to entrenched attitudes and regressive beliefs.
As far as religion, fanatics and zealots tend to embrace the GOP. They're also a large part of what's holding the country back. The Guns & Bible crowd want their own country anyway....I'm strongly suggesting we oblige them.
This party no longer represents the "working man" It represents the "TAKERS" in America, not the people who carry their own weight.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html?_r=1&gwh=6969361605C2C537B612593CE92637A7
Here is where the entitlement money goes in our country:
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3677
As you can see it goes to seniors and the working poor. That is who the Republicans want to cut off. So are you going to take away money from Social Security, Medicare, or food stamps for people who work but still can't feed their kids? Those are the options.
You should read this article by a speechwriter of George W. He talks about how extreme Republicans have gotten lately.
http://nymag.com/news/politics/conservatives-david-frum-2011-11/
Here are some facts about how Regan and the two Bush's messed up America and you can't even blame it on the Congress of the time because they actually saved money from what those presidents wanted to spend
http://zfacts.com/p/318.html
http://zfacts.com/p/57.html
Wisdom is passed through nonsensical pamphlets distributed at NRA gatherings, enshrined in patriotic and religious symbolism. Jesus is on our side. Ayn is good and Keynes is bad, case closed.
Faith based politics is the norm because thinking is hard. When Republicans still believe the biggest lie of all, that they are the party of small government, how can you expect to disabuse them of all the other lies they believe in? "
Faith is believing things not justified by reason. If it were justified by reason, it wouldn't be faith."
When citizens insist on voting morality rather than reason politicians use social ostracism to get their votes. Ex: You are not a patriot --You are not a good Christian --Use of racism. Abortion, prayer, 10 commandments in courthouses, NRA, homosexual bias will always win out over good sense in our bible belt.
When the facts are obvious that they are voting against their own best interests peer pressure prevents them from going against the herd. They are too cowardly to face the facts; they have no choice but to resort to faith to justify their idiocy.
The Republican Party is scared. Historically the party of business, of the elite upper classes, the GOP fears democratic political domination by the lower classes so they they partnered with Christian Fundamentalism to gain votes. They had to divert the sheople from the facts.
The GOP elite have courted the religious right for years since, as you said, they don't have enough votes on their own. And they court 'em hardcore in election years. Afterwards, I admit to a certain satisfaction when, without fail, the Republican Powers That Be promptly kick the fundies to the curb (just ask David Kuo from GWB's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives).
Of course, religion IS Big Business, be it the Catholic Church or the megachurches and assorted snake oil peddlers of the South.
It's also why we see ALEC so focused on Voter ID laws. The fundamentalist vote may not be enough anymore so they'll try and suppress the (Democratic) vote wherever possible.
Watching some of these dynamics play out via Mitt Romney has been interesting: he embodies the 1%, is a fundamentalist in his own right, yet the Christian fundies don’t like or trust him (not to mention their views on Mormonism).
Turnout is always key in elections, but Dems face another hurdle this year: the new Republican Voter ID laws in swing states. If the GOP successfully suppresses enough of the minority vote, and the young and student voters - a very real possibility IMO - it could decide this election.
And today, of course, well, we all know worship of Mammon and worship of God are still the two pillars of GOP identity.
if anything, I'd say the GOP has made it worse. I don't think the South, collectively, was as uneducated, as underemployed, and as morbidly obese under the Democrats. I mean, there's been a wholesale dumbing down of America anyway over the past few decades....let's just say that the South was hit particularly hard.
Teaching, a profession where you are required to have at least a four-year degree, encouraged to go back to school to maintain/improve your skills, and constantly monitored to ensure your ability and expertise
Then, all of a sudden, anyone who can reproduce has these same abilities and qualifications. Madness run rampant.
I wonder why anyone that cares about his or her family would want to move here. Yet, we need you, even if you are a moderate Republican; if any still exist?
We are not just racing farther to the right; we are racing towards third world status and seem proud of it.
You, in a few words described my South much better than the wordy professor.
Are you from here?