What can be done to make the South more blue?

[LDS Jock]

For the purpose of this post, I am defining the south as the states comprising the former Confederacy, namely, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The reasons for this is for convenience, since some would include West Virginia, Kentucky, possibly Missouri. Maryland was part of the old south at the time of the Civil War. Maybe even parts of Oklahoma qualify due to culture today. Rather than try to define the geography, I'm just using the states which seceded.

The eleven southern states now contain 153 electoral votes, up from 147 before the 2000 census. This is 57% of the number needed to elect a president, and a number which increases with each census. Not since the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter has the majority of the south voted for a Democrat who carried 10 of the 11. Before that, in the landslide of Johnson in 1964, when 6 states voted Democrat. Even Clinton, although able to carry a number of southern states, was unable to carry the majority, winning only four each term. 2004, 2000, 1988, 1984 no southern state voted Democrat. OK, yes there is the Florida 2000 fiasco, but it was recorded republican. Carter in 1980 only won Georgia. I know this is a lot of numbers, but I find it amazing just how dominated the south is by the republican party in recent times. For the reasons, I don't know why. I would like your opinions on this. I'm posting some of my own thoughts below.

Religion/Family Values-- The republican party seems to be dominated by the religious right and many of the people I know in the south are quite happy with that. They concentrate exclusively on the Democrats are baby killers due to stance on abortion and ignore many other issues. Also falling into this section would be churches which now seem to want to be involved in politics. That is a topic for a whole other thread.

Guns/NRA-- I know many of my brother (I have five) are certain the Democrats want to take all their guns away. The NRA has been quite successful in organizing and mobilizing their base to support republicans who campaign to protect their right to bear arms. Personally, I don't think the republicans really care about this issue, but only use them for political gain, much as they do the religious right.

Taxes-- This is an issue which is much broader than the south. People like hearing the message "I'm going to cut your taxes" whether or not it is a good idea. Everyone wants the things taxes pay for, such as schools, police, roads and such, but no one wants to pay for them. People complain about how are schools aren't as good as they should be, then vote down taxes to properly fund them. I don't consider myself the much feared tax-and-spend-liberal but I do recognize the benefits of taxes. Too many people think about the short-term benefits to their paycheck rather than long-term benefits for society.

Of course each of these issues is not exclusively a southern problem. Republicans have effectively used them in all parts of the country, but I believe Faith/Family Values and Guns/NRA are especially effective in the south. What can be done to sway more voters to see our side of the issue? What parts of our party could be maximized to appeal more to the south? While elections can be one without a single southern state, we are a national party and should be reaching out to all parts, including the south, not just to win elections but because its the right thing to do.

[Frogtutor]

1. Glad you brought this up; I've given it a little bit of thought...

and my idea may be too simplistic, but I'm thinking mass mailings. Something that points out the virtues of the democratic party. Maybe a summary of the types of programs that Democrats have been responsible for that benefit the common, working folk. perhaps a list of Democratic presidents and the "good" programs that went into effect during their terms. People in general don't realize the part Democrats have played in raising wages, controlling work hours, employee rights, safety and benefits, etc. I don't think they're aware of the part Democrats have played in supporting education and defending civil rights. They think that the welfare system is corrupt and everyone getting government help is committing fraud. They don't know what the poverty level is, therefore, they don't realize that many of them are below, or not far above that line, and are called the "working poor", and that the Democratic party is the only one who considers the plight of the working poor and attempts to change it. They don't know who is to blame for the high costs of health care and tend to blame doctors, etc. They need to be told that the big insurance and pharmaceutical companies are paying off the republicans to keep the status quo, and that affordable health care for all is an impossibility until this is stopped.

So basically, I think a mass mailing would be more effective than TV because people have a tendency to "switch off" (literally and figuratively) during commercials and aren't going to watch or pay attention to anything obviously billed by the Democrats. Everyone at least glances at their mail, and reads things that capture their interest. A mailing can ease into a history of the Democratic party and the values it supports getting the reader interested before he/she knows it's an advertisement for the Democratic party. Controversial issues such as abortion and homosexuality should not even be addressed in such a mailing attempting to reach mainstream Americans; it should focus only on the issues pertinent to non-wealthy, working, "mainstream" Americans. If nothing else, it might lead people to question their support of the "other" party once they find out how much more in common they have with Democrats.

Sorry for rambling (I'm very tired, and not very articulate today) but that's my two cents!

Frogtutor

[leyton]

2. A big bucket of blue paint. A really big one.

I think we should adopt a pro-gun position. I actually agree with Howard Dean's position, which is to leave gun control up to the states, because there is no reason hunters should have their guns taken away and there is no reason handguns should be unrestricted in urban, crime-heavy areas. As the conventional wisdom goes, Al Gore would be President right now if it were not for the gun control issue.

And we have to keep running southern candidates. I know a lot of people get ticked off about regional chauvinism, but I consider myself pretty open-minded yet I have to admit that when I hear a southern accent I subliminally think, "Alright, this guy is probably a decent guy, he's grounded, he shares my values." (Southern accents are also just easier on the ears, IMO, unless they're extremely thick.)

And though this has been repeated ad nauseam, we have to talk the values talk. We have to shake this image of northeastern elitist liberal and make sure that we show people that we are grounded in the values of rural America and that we know what rural Americans want. (Like, say for example, the ability to own a rifle.)

[supernova]

3. Talk about our traditional issues in terms of values

and faith.

Good economic policy isn't just good policy; it's the moral thing to do.

An unequally applied Death Penalty is immoral.

Talk about the common good and the taxes that go with it is being the morally upright thing to do. It's righteous to pay our fair share of the town square.

It's the morally conscionable to be pro-choice.


We have to start winning the debate about how we talk about ourselves.