[Blueflag]

"There's a right way to "go South" and build the kind of biracial coalitions that have long been the key to Democratic success in the region, "

The Dems just can't bring themselves to stnad on their principles. They always seek "coalitions" -- loose aggregations of special interests. Why can't they just run on their real values? ( um ... rhetorical question)

[Livy]

so, let me get this right, "going south" means lying to Southerners about cultural and social issues so they don't, as Howard Dean put it, "stop voting on God, guns, race and abortion" because, what the real message here is, you people are too stupid to understand politics- it's about more than those trite little issues that you seemingly care so much for. How about the Democrats recognize that their special interests are inimical to the interests of the South. How about "going south" means you don't think all babies should die, taxes shouldn't be astronomical, guns should be a protected right and God is something we can talk about even in public places. Is that really so controversial? Is that so complicated? Look at Zell Miller and tell me if he could win any Democrat primary anywhere other than in the South.

[Between the Lines]

The recent conference in Atlanta we cosponsored with Americans for Gun Safety Control concentrated on that problem, and offered a variety of ways that Democrats can reach out to dupe gun owners, people of faith, parents, and white males, without in any way compromising our progressive principles leftist agenda.

[Grammy]

The dems can't be too happy about Tennessee either. The only reason they won was because we had a republican governor for 8 years who was SOOOOO bad that he made the dem look good!

[Between the Lines]

And as speaker after speaker at the conference made clear, "values centrism" appeals just as strongly to African-Americans, in the South and elsewhere, as it does to any other element of the population.

I am not sure what he is trying to say here.
Is it that people are people reguardless of race?
Is it that the black vote can be ignored for they will follow the Dem whites?
Or is it that the Dems are to far left of what all Americans value?

[John O]

No doubt the GOP is still willing to play the race card whenever it can get away with it. But most Southern voters are repulsed by those tactics.

As far as I can tell (not being in the south) Southern voters like the republicans because the republicans do not play the race card. Racism is a leftist characteristic

The recent conference in Atlanta we cosponsored with Americans for Gun Safety concentrated on that problem, and offered a variety of ways that Democrats can reach out to gun owners, people of faith, parents, and white males, without in any way compromising their progressive principles

The problem is that the democrats 'progressive principles' are exactly what disgusts the gun owners, people of faith, parents and white males (along with a growing percentage of other peoples)

As a Christian it is my firm belief that voting for a democrat is a sin. (I have scriptural arguments to support this belief if any are interested)

[RiflemanSharpe]

The rats do not get it, it is not how they package their message. It is the message we do not like in the south.

[sarasmom]

Facsinating!
Democrats still dont have a clue!They think if they lie in a slow and drawling voice, southerners will think they are telling the truth, and forget all about that "yankee carpetbagger" thing.
ROTFLMAO!
Democrats=cowards and communists in 2003.
Southerners have never approved of either.
Ever.
And we are about totally convinced that Democrats have been thoroughly infested by both evils.
The only southerners that still vote for Democrats are recent Yankee migrants,and family friends of local Democrats who wont believe their "neighbor" has gone bad, untill he is executed for treason.
IMHO.

[from occupied ga]

We've been arguing for years now that a big part of the problem Democrats have in the South and in other regions and sub-regions with "red state" characteristics is the difficulty they so often have in talking about cultural issues, ranging from guns and abortion, to religion and the struggles of families to raise kids, to the responsibilities of individuals and civil society, not just government.

NO, absolutely not. The problem isn't talking about the issues. The problem is what they say and what they believe.

The recent conference in Atlanta we cosponsored with Americans for Gun Safety concentrated on that problem, and offered a variety of ways that Democrats can reach out to gun owners, people of faith, parents, and white males, without in any way compromising their progressive principles.

Democrats idea of "reaching out to gun owners" is to only confiscate those guns over a certain limit, only require registration of the rest (for later confiscation), only require exhorbitant annual taxes on guns, only tax ammunition at 500% of its value, only remove whole classes of firearms from legal civilian ownership (But not, of course, from police ownership), only make restrict firearms ownership for as many citizens as possible, only limit firearms purchases to one a month or better still one a lifetime, and only totally disarm the non government population. This is the democrats idea of "reaching out to gun owners"

These people are not moved by reason. They are not swayed by facts. They have no pity for those who would defend their lives and property from criminals. Democrats and other anti-gunners will relentlessly continue to destroy our rights until they are dead, we are dead or we are totally disarmed.

[Rebelbase]

"Democrats can still find some bright spots -- in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma"

In the large urban areas where the voter base has increased from the influx of northern and western blue zoners moving south.

[aomagrat]

No doubt the GOP is still willing to play the race card whenever it can get away with it.

And the democrats don't?

[Dan from Michigan]

Americans for Gun Safety

Andrew McKelvey's gun grabbing org that doesn't give a rat's ass about safety. Funded by the Tides Foundation which is funded by George Soros and many other leftists.

Translation from the "New Dems"(Which is 100 times worse than the old dems). "Lie to them and fool them".