Question for you Louisiana Dems... why is your state red? After

[ailsagirl]

the inexcusable behavior of FEMA after Katrina-- after the repugs have shown they couldn't care less about you-- I don't get it. Has Louisiana always been red??

Just wondered

[SacredCow]

1. Louisiana is chock full of the Rethugs target demographics....

Bible-thumpers, Southern Baptists, Rednecks, etc... And the fact is that they get out and vote en masse on election day. If the Democratic Party could in a very real and effective way get people to vote, it would certainly help but I'd still think that we'd be in the red.

As for the failure of FEMA post-Katrina... That's not a completely black and white issue. Yeah, they made mistakes, but there were SO many people trying to use and abuse the system (on top of the folks that really and truly needed FEMA's help) that the (admittedly abysmal) system ground to a halt.

[ailsagirl]

2. Thanks for the info-- has it always been mostly repugs?

[SacredCow]

3. That's very hard to say...

The easy answer is "no" because for a long time, in order to vote in primaries- a Louisiana citizen HAD to be registered as a democrat. My parents (Reagan-lovers that they are) are still registered as democrats, though I doubt they've voted for one in my lifetime (and I'm 37, for the record).

[ailsagirl]

4. That's interesting-- people had to register democratic... but then

they could vote for whomever they chose. I didn't know this.

[SacredCow]

5. An article that kind of sums up the way things work...

http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/appel/independent-voters-disenfranchised-louisiana

It's pretty bizarre...

[ailsagirl]

6. Thanks, SacredCow! :)

[Louisiana1976]

16. Regarding FEMA's failure--it was because Bush had named an unqualified

horse show judge to head FEMA instead of someone qualified to deal with disasters.

[matt007]

7. La. is only going to get more red.

With the exception of New Orleans. The state will get more red. Jindal was just the beginning. Our population is just as "bible belt" as Alabama. Republicans may be out nationally but they will have a solid home here for the forseeable future.

[NOLALady]

9. You believe the

bible thumpers are the problem?

I thought it was because they are still trying to fight/win the Civil War.

[Courtesy Flush]

8. Clinton carried La. in both his elections

And we've had plenty of Democratic governors.

But hey, the South is the South. Lots of neocons.

[Wabbajack_]

10. The south used to be all-Democrat

even the rightwingers were Dems because the GOP was hated since the civil war. Dems still have local power. Like the Alabama legislature has never been GOP. Obama got 20% of the white vote but a Dem legislature was reelected.

The Deep south and Oklahoma are getting less Dem and more Repuke. Many blacks left NOLA and did not return. But those that moved to Houston helped elect some Dems in Harris county.

[tooeyeten]

11. not Louisiana

Louisiana remains to be Red state, unfortunately.

[NOLALady]

12. Yep.

Louisiana is very red.

Louisiana is also very LAST in practically everything.

Red is working out very well for us.

[tooeyeten]

13. Republican base

the religious right is controlling the state.

Vitter is appealing to them for 2010.

[Balderdash]

18. Back in the day we had the Dixie Democrats

they naturally went Republican because that is the party that had to be
drug kicking and screaming into the melting pot of America.

[DatManFromNawlins]

14. Why should they change?

What benefit do they get out of supporting the Democratic party line?

I come on this site and I see people FUME about the South getting new industry. They're absolutely fucking perplexed that a Southern state could outbid or outdo or be a more suitable environment for business than a Northern one, to the point that IF it comes down to a Southern automobile manufacturing plant, for example, the Northerners either want to make it law that UAW membership has to be mandatory, thus limiting the ability of Southern states to draw additional auto manufacturers down here, or tax the companies FOR HIRING US CITIZENS.

And when I look at DU as a whole, that is the RULE, not the exception.

Not only that, but when you get down to brass tacks, Louisiana isn't a large enough state to matter in terms of national politics. We still have huge problems with our levee systems... people are unprotected and the feds won't put up the money to make sure they're safe, but they'll drop a Trillion to prop up northern megabanks. We have an interstate project that has been in the waiting for 20 years that we can't seem to get enough federal funding for, one that will possibly save thousands of lives in the future with hurricane evacuations, yet I see fucking Illinois of all states gobbling up a MONSTROUS amount of highway "stimulus" funds.

You see a change? I sure as fuck don't. I'm sure if we had another storm, Obama would find the time to come down here and hug 10 times as many children as Bush did, but he wouldn't drop a single dime more money to actually fixing our problems. And Obama's FEMA sure isn't helping us much now. We can't even rebuild Grand Isle, which is an absolute treasure to those of us who enjoy the outdoors in the southeastern part of the state, because FEMA refuses to give the okay.

See, Obama and the congressional Dems are playing this stupid fucking game of chicken. They don't want to help out a small, red state like Louisiana, but then they fucking bitch when Louisiana returns the lack of support. They use strong words to denounce oil and chemical companies, and then expect Louisiana to fall in line even though those industries are the economic lifeline of the state. They use phrases like "clinging to Guns and God" and then expect a largely Christian, largely suburban and rural state to simply say "that's okay."

Oh, and 4 sets of names:

Edwin Edwards
Kathleen Blanco
Ray Nagin
Bill Jefferson

Because, you know, while Vitter screwed a hooker, Edwin Edwards fucked the state over for gambling money, Blanco was a total fucking incompetent, Nagin was corrupted by the black patronage scheme in New Orleans, and Jefferson has always been a corrupt tool.

But I hold my nose and vote Democrat most of the time, because I'm hoping that someday the party leaders will get it.

[Louisiana1976]

17. I don't see any change, either. Even though Obama spoke on the anniversary

of Katrina and the federal flood yesterday and made some lofty promises, I'll believe what he says when he takes concrete action to keep these promises.

[Blind Monkey]

15. Not really sure

And it doesn't help that DU is running David Vitter ads on its website.

Or maybe I don't get it.