A point about the South...

[SamYeager]

Virginia, where the capitol of the old Confederacy is located, went blue in 2008 and 2012, has two Democratic Senators, and is on the brink of electing a Democratic governor.

Kentucky could well replace the Senate minority leader with a Democratic woman, the latest PPP poll shows Grimes slightly ahead of McConnell.

Georgia may end up sending a Democratic woman, Michelle Nunn, to the Senate because only crazy people are running in the GOP.

North Carolina went blue in 2008 and is moving closer to the Democratic side all the time.

Florida was blue in 2008 and 2012.

Texas will continue moving blue as well.

Demographically, the South becoming blue is inevitable.

We progress.

[RebelOne]

1. I live in North Georgia, and I will be voting for Michelle Nunn. n/t

[Turbineguy]

2. I have found that people in- or from Georgia

are very nice even when they are republicans.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Most soutnerners are very nice

even the Republicans.

sadly, my now adopted state of Ala. is almost bereft of Dems, even down to the county level.
I am surrounded by very pleasant Republicans...sigh.

[RebelOne]

6. I am a transplanted Floridian,

but I love the people here in Georgia. Republican or Democrat, they are all nice people. In fact, I surprised when I moved here how polite Georgians are. They even wave at you when they cut you off in traffic.

[Jamastiene]

7. Up here in NC,

people wave at me too, when they cut me off in traffic, but they only use a single finger.

[MineralMan]

3. The trend does seem to be in that direction, and that's a very good thing.

The House is another matter, though. Sadly, even when some districts, primarily urban, elect statewide candidates who are Democrats, rural districts in many of those states are far to the right, and elect some of the worst people who ever serve in Congress.

Every House seat is a local election, and reflects the electorate in just that district. I don't see that changing soon.

[Hoyt]

5. When state and local government changes in the South, I'll cheer.

Fact is -- except in the big cities -- a Democrat has to be quite conservative to get elected. Better yes, and I'll vote for them, but don't expect them -- if they win -- to support progressive causes enthusiastically.

[Tx4obama]

8. Yep, I agree. And in my opinion I think Texas is more purple now than red. n/t

[klook]

9. Important signs

Thanks for the post, and a refreshingly vitriol-free thread. Southern political progress is something we all have to keep working for.

[B Calm]

11. I like the trend. I think our biggest obstacle is the anti choice crowd

and that the south is the bible belt!

[mnhtnbb]

12. Actually, NC is being held hostage at the state level by Republicans

Last edited Sat Oct 19, 2013, 09:16 AM - Edit history (1)

who gerrymandered districts after disastrous Dem turnout in 2010.

We have the first Republican dominated State Legislature and Governor in over
100 years.

Our Congressional delegation went from being 7 Dem 6 Repubs prior
to 2012 to 9 Repubs 4 Dems after the 2012 election thanks to
gerrymandering. More voters in NC actually VOTED for Dem rather than Repub
Congressional Reps, yet the delegation skewed heavily to Repub, thanks
to the gerrymandering.

It may take us more than one election cycle to right this travesty and
return NC to the reputation of being a progressive southern state.

[KoKo]

14. +1....yes... ALEC and ART POPE with a little Koch Bros. thrown in.

and a weakened Dem Party ...John Edwards, Scandals and lack of help from the Obama Troops after the Election.

We will take it back though. Eventually.

[LuvNewcastle]

13. You have to play the long game in the South, politically speaking.

Southerners don't like change, so it takes a lot of work to get them to go your way. You can't expect immediate results when you start an organization down here.

Changing habits in the South is like growing a garden. You start out with your seed and you have to do a hell of a lot of watering and fertilizing. The garden grows very slowly, and you have to constantly be looking out for weeds that will choke the life out of your crops. Once the plants mature, however, they produce a high yield and they'll keep producing for a long time with minimal upkeep.

It will take a lot of work to get the Democratic Party competitive in the South again, especially the Deep South. But once things start going our way, they will stay that way for a long time. One day I hope to see the Solid South return to the Democratic Party. It's nice to have 100 or so electoral votes that you can count on every 4 years.