Democrats Find Promise in Western States (while dissing Southern Dems)

[rainbow4321]

Nice of them to write off us Southern Dems...


http://www.baytownsun.com/wire.lasso?report=/dynamic/stories/W/WESTERN_DEMOCRATS?SITE=TXBAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT



SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Western Democrats gather here on Saturday with two major tasks: interview candidates for head of the Democratic National Committee, and chart a course to improve the party's prospects across this mostly red-state, pro-gun region.

While most of the Rocky Mountain and Sunbelt states went for President Bush in November, the Democrats picked up some state and local offices, and say the region holds great promise for them, with its booming population and growing number of Hispanic voters.

"Democrats have lost the South, so we have to look for another field to mine," said Arizona Democratic chairman Jim Pedersen. "And here is where the opportunity is."

"Going forward, Southwestern states will be the new Florida and Ohio," said Antonio Gonzalez of the Willie C. Velasquez Institute, a Hispanic advocacy group.

[AlinPA]

1. While we should not "write off " any state, what are our chances in AL,

MS, SC, GA, OK, KS (Congress, president)?

[quaoar]

27. Well...

Unless you want to see Roy Moore start to build a nationwide base, you might want to take an interest in seeing him beaten in the Alabama governor's race in 2006. Right now he is leading the incumbent GOP governor in the polls.

In Mississippi we stand a good chance to take Trent Lott's seat if he retires.

[arewenotdemo]

28. a Roy Moore candidacy may be just

what the doctor ordered.

Split the Pukes like nothing else.

[tenshi816]

31. Georgia voters

While I no longer live in Georgia, the rest of my family is there. Most are Repugs, but the Democrats I've spoken to were royally pissed off during the presidential election campaign because Kerry completely ignored the state. From what I've been told (anecdotal evidence, yes, but I think there's truth in it) undecided voters, too, were miffed that the party wrote them off as unworthy of courting, and thereby lost votes.

Georgia has more potential to be blue than people might think (the state's not wholly made up of inbreds with big ol' guns), but it's not going to happen if the Democratic Party continues to treat the voters as being not worth the time.

[stevedeshazer]

2. We write off Southern Dems at great peril

And I'm a Western Dem. I agree with you.

[rainbow4321]

3. When does it stop??

If they can't attract Western Dems, then what? They're running out of states to "turn to"..they will get OUT of the South what they put into it. Even Texas elects Dems to local offices..why is electing local Dems a good sign for national Dems in the Western states but not down here?? They need to stop blaming us...it is getting more annoying w/ each (lost) election.

[stevedeshazer]

8. Boots on the ground

Liberals have to stop demonizing the South for events that happened 40-140 years ago. It's a stereotype that really hurts.

I've seen so many South-bashing threads here that it makes me ill.

We have to get people in rural areas to get out. Grass roots is the only way. I wish I had the power to snap my fingers and get folks to realize this, but they just don't.

[AndyTiedye]

16. Grass Roots Means You Guys Who Live There

This isn't something the national party can do.

[AndyTiedye]

11. We Put A LOT Into Florida in 2004. What Did We Get Out of It?

How can we possibly win any states in the South?

Even if put the "Only Southerners Need Apply" sign back up,
even if we throw gays to the lions and
women to the back-alley abortionists,
turn all the social programs over to the churches, and the schools too,
it won't win us any southern states.

We love you southern Democrats, but there aren't enough of ya.

[rainbow4321]

14. There are plenty of us....if you look hard enough.

I can only speak for some Texas local areas/races but for people who say that Southern Dems are too few in number and not worth showing up for, they are WRONG. I can't imagine this not being true in other southern states.
Texas' state capitol <Austin> is in a county that went blue, as is El Paso. Dallas County, 49% blue. Harris County <Houston area--supposed shrub country> was around 45% blue (numbers I looked up while trying to defend us red state dems starting the morning of Nov 3rd) And all that with no national Dem people showing up in those areas before election day. Dallas County elected a Hispanic lesbian for county sheriff. You think it was shrub's people that got her into office? My guess is NO. These may be small blue islands in a TX sea of red, but if the same game plan is used over the next 4 yrs by the Dems, we are going to have California and 2 or 3 NorthEast states being small blue islands in a much larger red sea.

[First International]

24. Rural life

Is reactionary idiocy in its most naked form. The population must be distributed more evenly throughout the geography of the world in order to best effect civilization's momentous progress.

[bliss_eternal]

4. Personally, I don't think anyone should be 'written off' nor

should we take the western states for granted. As a Californian, I see WAY more 'W' stickers and flags on the backs of cars than I feel I should. There are A LOT of Repubs here. Particularly given the fact that it is so expensive to live in California, it seems there are more transplants here that can afford the cost of living (translation-Repubs).

We can't take the west for granted at all.

[Been Fishing]

5. Completely agree!

It is tough to be a Dem in Orange County, CA.

[bliss_eternal]

12. What part of Orange County are you in?

We go to the resort (DL) alot and Downtown Disney. While diversity seems to be growing in Orange County, their ideals and opinions haven't changed to catch up it seems. It's sad and very frustrating. Then again, these are my views based on an outsider (that spends a lot of time in the area) looking in.

I totally feel for you!

Do you hate the show the OC as much as I do? LOL!

Thanks for your nice comment.
:hi:

[Debs]

29. So you live

Behind the Orange curtain, my condolances

[madfloridian]

6. In another post I mentioned a state co-chair I am writing.

She is very afraid of taking any stands in her red state. She is afraid to stand up for a woman's choice, though she believes in it. She is afraid to try to speak on it.

They are simply afraid.

[FrenchieCat]

7. That whole discussion sounds like part of the problem...

and not part of any solution that I would want to entertain. Like someone said, what happens when we start losing the southwest...like the ones we lost already....Arizona, New Mexico and others....where do we go from there? I don't feel like shrinking.

This is insane talk. It's like announcing that we've been beaten in the future tense. How depressing is that?

That's not strategy, that's defeatism. How sad. This bullshit approach to analysis of what Dems ough to do needs a letter.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

9. I live in New Mexico

and believe me, this election is not the beginning of a republican trend here. We have an overwhelmingly democratic legislature and a democratic governor. I think in national elections, we'll always be a swing state.

[janx]

13. Some Western states may have gone slightly to Bush in the

presidential election, but many made gains on state and local levels. My state was one of them.

Montana has a Dem governor; Colorado Dems took back their state House and Senate for the first time in 40 years. There are other examples.

But this is no reason (as the article suggests) to give up on the South. (The traditional South means southeastern states.) I once was tempted to write off the South just because I was so frustrated, but I know that there are plenty of good Americans there, and their needs are basically the same as the needs of all Americans.

It's not an either/or situation. The writer of this article commits the logical fallacy of a false dilemma.

[FrenchieCat]

17. I agree that the article is slanted.....

As usual....to provide a false choice.

Well you know the media...gotta get started early on the memes!

[janx]

18. That is exactly right!

They have to keep the ratings up, Frenchie. :toast:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Jim Pedersen is looking out for his own interest and not the party's

"Democrats have lost the South, so we have to look for another field to mine," said Arizona Democratic chairman Jim Pedersen. "And here is where the opportunity is."

My guess is he's looking for more DNC money for his state.

The article doesn't carry any official tone. It's just some personal opinions that I don't necessarily agree with.

[Selatius]

15. The only reason why we write off the South is the Electoral College

Mississippi is roughly 40% Dem. If we counted popular votes instead of college votes, EVERYONE's vote would come into play, not just those voters in swing states where the outcome is in play. The system divides us, and we are weak divided.

[DaveinMD]

19. we need to stop thinking like this

we need to compete for every vote. While we may not win Alabama, we may pick up some votes in places like Arkansas, North Carolina, and Virginia. We need to expand the playing field to win.

[Still_Loves_John]

20. As a southern Dem

I really don't see anything wrong with writing off the south in favor of the west and the industrial midwest. I mean, you don't see Republicans talking about what they need to do in Massachusettes or anything. I don't see why we should waste time in a quixotic quest to win states that go 60% Republican.

I undestand that we need to win more states, but the states to go for aren't the ones that are the most solidly Republican. We can try for those once we have a more comfortable position in competitive states.

[DaveinMD]

23. we need to expand the map

I hope we compete harder in Virginia, N. Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and Montana.

[Still_Loves_John]

25. I agree

But there are some states that are more ripe for the taking than the deep south. New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, and the like. We have this fixation on winning Mississippi when, tactically, it makes no sense to pour a lot of effort into it.

[DaveinMD]

26. when I say we should compete in the south

I'm not talking about Mississippi, though the party should do outreach stuff everywhere. I'm more talking about Virginia, Arkansas, Loiuisiana, N.Carolina. W. Virginia needs to return to the fold as well.

[The Backlash Cometh]

21. Maybe what you should do, if this is even possible, is monitor

how many Dems or left-leaning voters are leaving the Southern states. This may not even matter. If all you have in Florida are Dems who voted for Bush, is it really worth the effort? From what I see, you have Dems here who work too closely with Republicans through business relationships. So, I wonder if your grassroots are already tainted?

[GarySeven]

22. This is the work of the Republican Party ...

... and why not? If you are the party in power, why shouldn't you try to get yourself into postition to choose your opponent. All the political advisers, Republican and Democrat, work on K street. The advisers themselves have no party alliegiance - they will work for whoever foots the bill. But they know where the money is coming from for the forseeable future, and that's from the Republicans. So those working for Democrats encourage Democratic leaders to write off the South, because it is full of centrist, yet liberal people who could eventually be a challenge to the gravy train. The Republican Party encouraged us to pick dull ol' Kerry instead of someone who could electrify the party, like Dean, because Kerry was the person they could beat. For the past few decades it has been the Republicans who have been choosing our candidates, running our party. We need a revolution from out of the ranks. We need to OVERTHROW the DNC leadership and regain our control of the political apparatus.

[orpupilofnature57]

30. You got it, and players slip in and rule it through, ambiguity, words

Like ( Progressive) help to hinder.