Without South, Democrats will be doomed

The Clarion Ledger ^ | 02-07-04 | By David E. Johnson

[WKB]

ATLANTA

[NEPA]

If I were the Dem nominee, Dick Gephardt would be my running mate.

That's exactly what I told my mother a couple days ago. Missouri is borderline South and Gephardt isn't running for re-election anyway.

[scott7278]

"Sorry for the diatribe..."

No -- thank you for the diatribe!

[onyx]

Rhank you, DT.

* the South is the soul of the nation ping *

[OldPossum]

Re your post 17, I agree. I don't think that even with Edwards as the VP candidate, the Democrats have a prayer in just about any Southern state. It's possible that they could--and I emphasize "could"--get Florida (some would argue as to whether Florida is a Southern state but it is listed as such). Slicksters such as Edwards are easily detectable on the Souherners' BS detectors, and that dog won't hunt, to mix some metaphors.

But I hope that they run him anyway.

[Helms]

"This year, the stakes are even greater as five Democratic Senate incumbents from the South are retiring. Republicans are already favored in four of the races with the fifth, Louisiana, rated as a toss-up. "

My fantasy. Go ahead and choose Edwards as VP. I am dying to see Cheney and Breck on stage. Go ahead and make it a referendum on the 60's.

[OldPossum]

"Souherners'" = "Southerners'"

[Semper Paratus]

He'd still have three votes to spare two more than last time

Don't forget re-districing added 7 more electoral votes to states he won in 2000.

[webstersII]

"Mistake? Post-Kennedy, IIRC the only Dems to have won the WH were from the South..."

Yeah, that's true. But so many Yankees have moved down here the last couple of decades that there's not much "southern-ness" left.

[mwl1]

Kerry would be wise to choose Gephardt over Edwards for one other reason: labor union support, which will do cartwheels for Gephardt.

[Terry Mross]

When the South was a demcratic stronghold the democrat politicians were racists.

[Chris Talk]

2000 was an anomalous year in Fla, which enabled Gore to break almost-equal in the state, with a lot of help from the Rat media claiming they had won, before polls had closed in the Panhandle.

We are now back to normal, in which Florida is very much a part of the Solid South. It will vote for Bush more handily than two or three OTHER southern states, such as perhaps Ark. or La.

Edwards will not help Dems in the South, even if he IS chosen for Veep. He could not win re-election in the Senate from NC, if he makes the mistake of trying; and he could no more carry his home state for Kerry, than Gore could carry his home state (or Ark.) for himself!

[onyx]

My fantasy. Go ahead and choose Edwards as VP. I am dying to see Cheney and Breck on stage. Go ahead and make it a referendum on the 60's.

Your right, Helms. Yall know Edwards best; that he is an empty suit. Just another sick, slick, lying lawyer without a clue about leadership. He is unfit to hold elected office. Heck, he is a miserable failure as a senator (as one of a 100) let alone as either VP or POTUS.

[webstersII]

"This can happen. All it takes is 60 Senate seats. That's how close we are to making American society whole again. To give us back what the RATS have stolen from us over the last 40 years. "

Really?

So we can have more of the kind of governance that the GOP has inspired us with the last couple of decades?

I think you are smoking something stronger than cigarettes.

Let's look at a few things we have gotten from the GOP, the supposed "conservative" party:
- appointment of loser liberal Supreme Court justices (actually there were some pretty good appointments along the way, also, I just point this out because the GOP presidents were not consistent in picking conservative ones)
- enactment of amnesty legislation in the 80's which furthered the problem of illegal immigration
- massive increases in in gov't spending which are virtually identical to Democrat presidents and legislators (for example, increase of 27%(!!) in the past few years when the economy has been in the tank!)
- loss of freedoms due to the War on Drugs (I'm not mentioning the Patriot Act because I think that's a different issue)
- dramatic increases in entitlements to seniors
- cuts in military spending while increasing social program spending(George H.W. Bush)
- massive budget deficits which will have to be paid by us, our children, and our grandchildren
- creation of new gov't departments instead of getting rid of some of them (had the chance to get rid of the Education Department)

These are just a few items. There's lots more I could list.

BTW, I voted for W. and his Daddy, I voted against Clinton. I'm not just griping, I'm pointing out that one of the reasons that the GOP has been winning is not because their conservative message is winning elections, it's because they have become more like the liberals in many respects, gov't spending among the top one.

If you are looking for some sort of conservative paradise, it ain't gonna happen with the current crop of leaders that we see in D.C. these days. And I don't expect that to change anytime soon, either. Even if you had 60 votes available, I bet you wouldn't get them to vote together very often anyway. Would it be better under the GOP than the Democrats? Absolutely. But it's still going to be the same ol' spend, spend, spend, giveaway, giveaway, etc., no matter who is in power.

[Helms]

John Edwards, D-NC, Crosses over.

This is the John Edward/s that I am reminded of when Breck starts channeling a 10 year old lacking a winter coat and heating. And in the summer months it will be lack of A/C.

[MeekOneGOP]

Kerry said he could win without the South !

Here he is campaigning there, though ...

Kerry: America needs a 'regime change' too

[Helms]

"I think you are smoking something stronger than cigarettes. "

LOL and you come across as if on a bad acid trip.

"This can happen. All it takes is 60 Senate seats. That's how close we are to making American society whole again. To give us back what the RATS have stolen from us over the last 40 years. "

We are playing for all the marbles so excuse me if I criticize your post and call attention a short sighted perspective.

Ronald Reagan destroyed the Soviet Empire in a strategy that reminds me of how GWB is approaching the defeat of a corrupt Democrat Party.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Picture a world where the Republicans hold the majority of congressional seats, where the Republicans hold a filibuster proof senate, where the Supreme Court has at least a 6-3 advantage towards conservative judges, a world where the vast majority of governorships are held by Republicans.

Yes, but if they are all moderate-socialist RINOs we're still screwed.

[Carolinamom]

I just heard on FOX that Kerry's folks want Edwards and Clark to hang it up so that Kerry won't have to spend money on ads running against them. He wants to save his money to run against Bush. Arrogant SOB, isn't he?

[SamAdams76]

Being that most of my family lives down South, I have the opportunity to visit there often. When I visit my folks in northern Alabama, I often talk politics with people from around there. Once they get over the shock that I'm not a Kennedy-voting, effeminate communist and that Massachusetts actually has a few people that think like them, they open up a little. Well I'm going there in April and I can't wait to see what they think of John Kerry.

I can still remember back in 1988 when Dukakis was running. To folks down there, Mike Dukakis seemed like a space alien to them. They couldn't believe that there were people out there that would actually consider such a strange man for president. They are going to have lots to say about John Kerry, I am sure.