Georgia, moving towards a bluer (more democrat) state? (Atlanta: middle-class, fit in)

[aries4118]

A point to remember (it is often overlooked)...

Georgia went for Clinton in 1992. Together with Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia was a part of Clinton's "southern split". All of the states except for Georgia went for Clinton in 1996 as well (Florida went for Bush in 1992 and then for Clinton in 1996).

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by Ectoprism

Also, everyone keeps talking about people moving in from the northeast. Don't forget that lots of people are fleeing California and quite a few are landing up here. Most the right wingers in Cali are the ones who don't need to flee from the outrageous cost of living.

Agreed. Most people consider California a "Northern" state, though then forget that they grouped it in even though it's way out West :-)

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by netdragon

I'm from the Northeast, and I've thought about the effect that an increased amount of Northerners could have on the balance between republicans/democrats in the state, since Georgia has been historically a red state. What do you think, will Georgia possibly elect a democrat this year? The inner metro ATL is blue on the election maps. With the growth of metro ATL projected for the next 30 years, do you think that the rest of Georgia will be overcome and dominated by Atlanta voters?

It's kind of spooky when you look at this map and compare 2000 to 2004 and see that pretty much the same counties are red and blue throughout the country: USATODAY.com

Here's one yankee (and my wife too) that moved south to get away from the so-called Blue politics. We had enough of being represented by Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and the rest of the ultra-liberal Massachusetts congressional delegation, not to mention the ultra-PC local politics.

I would suspect (but no statistics to prove) that many of the transplants share our outlook and are more likely Repulican or Libertarian (as am I). The Democrats and liberals who agree with the political thought in the northeast probably would never move to GA. To them, the south is everything they loathe, and they hear banjo music and imagine kids in schools with bare feet and rebel flags.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Even on a popular issue like buying beer, wine etc. on Sundays, the right wing state legislature fights it and our inept governor opposes it.

Because on God's day, you're supposed to go to the mall, not drink.

Well, you can drive somewhere to drink and drive home, you just can't go to the grocery store and bring it safely to your house, even if Sunday is the best day to do all of your grocery shopping.

Welcome the theocracy.

Yeah, being a Libertarian, that one make absolutely no sense to me. Keep your religion to yourself and out of my living room and bedroom. Of course, I lived in GA when the lottery couldn't even make it on the ballot for a referendum.

The funny thing is that many of the surounding states like Florida, North and South Carolina allow Sunday sales. I was shocked that GA still didn't allow it.

[LaMadden]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Yeah, being a Libertarian, that one make absolutely no sense to me. Keep your religion to yourself and out of my living room and bedroom. Of course, I lived in GA when the lottery couldn't even make it on the ballot for a referendum.

The funny thing is that many of the surounding states like Florida, North and South Carolina allow Sunday sales. I was shocked that GA still didn't allow it.

Just stock up on Saturday night hehehehe

[IntownHomes247]

Georgia is a traditionally Democratic state. It has only voted Republican in recent years. Sonny Perdue is the first Republican elected as Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.

[beefchuck]

Originally Posted by IntownHomes247

Georgia is a traditionally Democratic state. It has only voted Republican in recent years. Sonny Perdue is the first Republican elected as Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.

Very good facts!

Pretty clear from SC primary and discontent with red that Georgia will be blue again.

Mccain easily win Georgia?
I will just say that this is very far from the truth.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by IntownHomes247

Georgia is a traditionally Democratic state. It has only voted Republican in recent years. Sonny Perdue is the first Republican elected as Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.

The south was always Democrat. They used to be called "yellow dog Democrats" because the saying was that they would sooner vote for a yellow dog than a Republican. This has NOTHING to do with the current political landscape.

Yellow dog Democrat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It was a reaction to the fact that Lincoln was a Republican and during reconstruction after the Civil War the governments setup in the south were Republican. Ronald Reagan used to be a Democrat, and starting with the 1980 election, the shift in the south began as Democrats became increasingly aligned with liberalism and voters in the south began to have other choices. Conservatives like Phil Gramm of Texas began switching parties to become Republicans. This trend continued in the 1980s and culminated in 1994. The rest is history...

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by neil0311

The south was always Democrat. They used to be called "yellow dog Democrats" because the saying was that they would sooner vote for a yellow dog than a Republican. This has NOTHING to do with the current political landscape.

Yellow dog Democrat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It was a reaction to the fact that Lincoln was a Republican and during reconstruction after the Civil War the governments setup in the south were Republican. Ronald Reagan used to be a Democrat, and starting with the 1980 election, the shift in the south began as Democrats became increasingly aligned with liberalism and voters in the south began to have other choices. Conservatives like Phil Gramm of Texas began switching parties to become Republicans. This trend continued in the 1980s and culminated in 1994. The rest is history...

It really started in 1964 when Goldwater ran on a platform against federal civil rights legislation. Because of his stance, a lot of Southerners voted for him over Johnson (who was ironically a Southerner as well). During the GOPconvention in 1964 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, many of the loyal black Southern GOP delegates (a large portion of black Americans were Republican until the mid 20th Century) were met with hostility and literally ran out of their seats as the party began to court the white backlash vote. Soon afterward, the first and most prominent Dixiecrat in Congress, Strom Thurmond, crossed the aisle and became a Republican. His defection was soon followed by many others over the following 20 years.

Nixon and Reagan,with the help of shrewd political operatives like Lee Atwater, used the Southern strategy to their advantage. One example is Ronald Reagan kicking off his presidential campaign after the convention in Philadelphia, MS, which was the site of one of the most notorious lynchings committed during the Civil Rights Era, and proclaiming his belief in "states rights". Other examples include uses of coded language such as "law and order" and "welfare queens driving Cadillacs".

The other coup that helped the GOP in the South was to court the conservative evangelical vote. Georgia's own Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition were very effective in integrating the conservative evangelical platform into the GOP.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by goozer

Does this mean you have renounced creationism and now believe in evolution???

Being a conservative and voting that way doesn't necessarily equate to being religious. I'm an atheist and strong supporter of evolution, but I also believe in small government with low taxes and a balanced budget, strong national security and military, but also have no problem with gay marriage, pro-choice, and am quite socially tolerant of anyone who doesn't try and force themselves on me (which usually leaves out the religious types). I left the Democrat party after the 2000 election and 9/11 when they started to trot out the conspiracy theories and started demonizing the President.

I am really more of a Libertarian than a Republican, so realize that not all conservatives are religious hard liners.