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The Republicans' effort to win over the South, rooted decades ago in a strategy to capitalize on white voters' resentment of desegregation, is all but complete.
"Right now in most of Dixie it is culturally unacceptable to be a Democrat. It's a damn shame, but that's the way it is," said Dave "Mudcat" Saunders, a campaign strategist for conservative Democrats such as Jim Webb of Virginia, one of the few remaining Southern Democratic senators.
Race was the first issue that moved Southern Democrats to the Republican Party. Senator Barry Goldwater ran on the Republican presidential ticket in 1964 based on his opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and his supports of "States Rights".
When you throw in issues like Viet Nam, abortion, and women's rights, it drove the former Southern Democrats over to the Republican Party.
It's important to remember these people were politically conservative to begin with. Southern Democrats moving to the Republican Party was simply a matter of people moving to the political party that most reflects their personal values.
Basically if you look southern democrats known in modern times as bluedogs generally have been more defnse minded really.Also they have been for more tradtional freedoms such as gun owenrship and more local control. basically i thnik the left wing of the democratic party juts made it impossible for them to run as a democrat. I fact looking at a representative map and sate house resukts after the laqst elcetion plus governorships there is not much blue o the map as CNN showed. That many be the most lastly effect with redistricting coming from cencus coming.
THey are still around but still vote democrat. My F.I.L was as racist as the day is long but he still voted
for O. WHy I dont know Party before person I guess
The Democrats are doing a real injustice by cynically charging racism to win every political argument.
Healthcare is a very controversial issue. It's what got white President Clinton in so much trouble in his first term. To ram it through like Obama did was sure to cause a backlash among the conservative democrats.
Illegal immigration is a very controversial issue. Obama seems to callously disregard the will of the majority of American's to pander for the Latino vote. (If any of the campaign was about race, it was Obama pathetically trying to whip up racial animosity among Latino voters over the immigration issue.)
The huge stimulus bill would be a problem for a lot of conservative Democrats. They are by nature suspicious of corporate welfare, and you have to know that the growth in government didn't sit well with them.
Obama split his party. He won in the most liberal places, but lost his conservative Democrat base. In doing so, he left his conservative Democrats with no where to hide, and they got slaughtered at the polls.
Everyone is the same in the south. No difference at all between the two political parties.
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