Posted on 09/01/2003 10:22:13 AM PDT by Dog Gone
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- If the so-called NASCAR dads are in the driver's seat of the 2004 presidential election, the Democratic Party's dreams of recapturing the White House might be roadkill.
In fact, as thousands of racing fans descended on this small town for the Labor Day weekend running of the Southern 500, it was difficult to find any NASCAR fan, dad or mom, willing to listen to Democrats.
In interviews amid the Confederate-flag-flying RVs in the parking lot and infield of Darlington Raceway or among the souvenir trailers lined end to end just outside the raceway gates, only one Democratic presidential candidate got a favorable mention: Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.
This is a bastion of Southern white rural males who have been lumped together by political pollsters and analysts as "NASCAR dads." They love their kids, their guns, their dogs, hunting, country music, camping and racing. They are not terribly political, but when they vote, they are conservative and, therefore, usually Republican.
"They are middle- to lower middle-class males who are family men, live in rural areas, used to vote heavily Democratic but now usually vote Republican," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "That's the definition of a NASCAR dad, and there are a lot of them."
They are people like Mike Eidsen, 55, of Douglasville, Ga., a former Atlanta Gas Light Co. employee and father of two, who now follows the NASCAR race circuit as a fan and a vendor, selling T-shirts, hats and jackets bearing the logos of NASCAR's most popular drivers.
"My granddaddy was such a Democrat, he would have voted for Satan himself if he was on the Democratic ticket," Eidsen said. "So I grew up Democrat and always voted Democrat. But not anymore. That was a mistake."
The last Democrat he voted for? "Jimmy Carter in 1976," he said. "And that was another mistake."
Former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, who has surged into the lead in the campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, has repeatedly said his party should not cede the NASCAR dad vote to President Bush. He said he thinks these voters will respond to job-creation economics.
But nonpartisan political analysts say Democrats must narrow the cultural divide before NASCAR dads will pay attention to their economic message.
"Some Southerners have the perception that Democrats are elitists and look down on things like, say, NASCAR racing," said Charles Bullock, a professor of political science at the University of Georgia. "So the Democrats have to begin showing that they are at least interested. That's a first step."
Edwards took such a step in his Senate race by sponsoring a race car. Democrat Mark Warner did the same in his successful campaign for governor in Virginia, a state dominated by the Republican Party. And now, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, one of the nine Democrats seeking the party's presidential nomination, is sponsoring a truck in NASCAR's racing truck series.
"If you're going to send a message of hope to rural America, there is no better vehicle than NASCAR," said David "Mudcat" Saunders, the Virginia Democrat behind Warner's sponsorship of a race car in 2001 who is now an adviser to Graham's presidential campaign.
But the liberal constituency that dominates the Democratic Party's presidential nominating process makes it difficult for Edwards and Graham to follow the example of Warner and largely ignore the cultural issues that frequently divide Democrats from Southern conservatives.
"Just as the GOP has been mainly frustrated in its minority recruitment efforts, the Democrats are likely to be blocked in winning NASCAR dads," said Sabato, who has exhaustively analyzed Warner's successful campaign.
"Social issues, like gun control, gay rights and abortion, will usually trump the economic concerns that could lead this group to vote Democratic more often," Sabato added. "That is, the Democrats now running for president are all so liberal on social issues -- even (Sen. Joe) Lieberman (of Connecticut), the most conservative of the lot -- that the Democrats will be lucky even to get a hearing on their economic and health care pitches for the less well-off, such as NASCAR dads."
Edwards, however, got the attention of Mark Fedele, 57, a front loader operator from Cross, S.C., with his TV ads in South Carolina promoting job growth, health care and education. "I usually vote for the candidate with the best line of bull, and that's usually the Republican," he said during a visit to one of the souvenir trailers at the track. "But this Edwards guy is making some sense."
Fedele's wife, Katrina, 48, a corrections guard, agreed. "Politicians all sound good," she said. "But you've got to pay close attention to what they say." Although she's a registered Republican, she said she would pay attention to Edwards and "at least give him a chance."
Edwards, though, trails badly in the polls, well behind the front-runners, Dean and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, two New Englanders whose rise to the top of the Democratic presidential field thrills Southern Republicans.
"You walk through that infield at Darlington, and I challenge you to find anybody who is going to support Howard Dean or John Kerry for president," said Whit Ayers, a nationally known Republican pollster based in Atlanta.
"Most of our fans are politically conservative, yes," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president for corporate communications. "But they're a pretty good cross section of America, a good reflection of American values, of American beliefs in heroes, in family."
That's what attracts families such as the Joyes, who came from Lamar, S.C.
"It's a great atmosphere for families," said Eddie Joye, 35, as he, wife Vickie, and sons Rob, 10, and Lee, 7, made their way through the special displays of race team sponsors. And, yes, "we support President Bush," he added.
So, too, does 52-year-old Dennis Hurley, a federal government employee from Silver Spring, Md., who has come to the Southern 500 every year for the past dozen years, sometimes with his wife, Faye.
Hurley, a stepfather of two, was here in 1992 when the race crowd booed then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. And though he is a registered Democrat, he joined in the expression of displeasure with Clinton, already well-known as a womanizer, and has been voting Republican ever since.
"I was just disgusted with him," Hurley said while unpacking his pickup to join friends in their RV.
"The Democrats have just been out of control," he added. "And as long as they are out of control, I'm voting Republican."
Let's enjoy it while it lasts. We'll be the ones moaning and groaning when Hillary is elected.
Oh for Pete's Sake! Please tell me that these people aren't going to be swayed by someone sponsoring a race car. I wouldn't give any of those Dim freaks a chance.
Shameless hometown plug/ off.
As much as I like the fact that this isn't another typical media "southern bigoted white trash" hit piece, I really wish NASCAR would stay out of politics by not allowing a politician to be the main sponsor of a car. Here's why.
The government was involved in the tobacco witchunt lawsuits that eventually forced Winston/RJR to drop it's sponsorship from cup racing. These lawsuits took alot of money out of people's hands not only in NASCAR, but in the state of North Carolina, where a large portion of teams, drivers, and owners live.
The NASCAR governing body is quite adept at making decisions which negatively effect the quality of racing(Restrictor plates, smaller fuel cells, selling out traditional tracks and longtime loyal fans for newer tracks which all are copies of each other, For godness sakes, somebody take the intitiative and build another Bristol) it doesn't need fed.gov's help in that matter.
Fans watch races as an escape from their everyday lives. We are already bombarded by the endless stream of commercials when we watch a race. Allowing campaign politics into it would be a tad too much.
Can you imagine having to hear "The Sen.Bob Graham Chevrolet" 35 times while watching Talledega on the tube.
"Regarding #1 Well .... who did add to the keywords (secretively) in an effort to smear this thread with their favorite slur -- R A C I S T ???
The Mods know and should drag the sneak out into the sunshine for all to see."
Good.
Maybe if we all posted a **public** appeal on this thread, asking the Mods (in a nice tone) to disclose the identity of the devious sneak who tried to smear NASCAR supporters (ONE MORE TIME) with the "WHITE BIGOTS" label, we could keep an eye out for more of their Liberal, racially-devisive and incindiary tactics, along with any future attempts to disrupt the forum.
It's my opinion that the good and honest people who strive to follow the rules on FR deserve to know WHO amoung us did such sneaky, inciteful race-baiting.
And I don't believe anyone trusted to Mod FR should be allowed to cover over such racially inflamatory Posting violations, along with the identity of the violator.
Simply erasing the violation with a quick cover-up resolves nothing. Free Republic alone ends up suffering the black eye.
Give the violator a chance to stand up like a man and own their actions and their words, and apologize to all of FR.
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