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phantom power

(25,966 posts)
Wed Nov 7, 2012, 11:17 AM Nov 2012

The GOP's electoral engine -- the Southern Strategy -- is demographically dead.

It's not gone, since the old Confederate states still have plenty of racists and religious nutballs. But as a *national* strategy, it appears to be no longer operative.

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The GOP's electoral engine -- the Southern Strategy -- is demographically dead. (Original Post) phantom power Nov 2012 OP
Great point. chieftain Nov 2012 #1
They won't give up on it oswaldactedalone Nov 2012 #2
Indeed. nt bemildred Nov 2012 #3
Finally liberal_at_heart Nov 2012 #4
Here's the thing. ananda Nov 2012 #5
Agreed AverageJoe Nov 2012 #6

oswaldactedalone

(3,489 posts)
2. They won't give up on it
Wed Nov 7, 2012, 11:29 AM
Nov 2012

Their party is so bankrupt of ideas it's all they have. This is where the "quiverful" strategy takes over where they try to birth legions of right-wingers to even out the birthrates.

liberal_at_heart

(12,081 posts)
4. Finally
Wed Nov 7, 2012, 11:37 AM
Nov 2012

They have no direction to go except more to the middle. I'm not sure you can go any further right than what they've gone. I've heard some pundits say the party will have to chose between going more conservative or start going to the middle. I just don't know how you go more conservative than voting no on every single piece of legislation that the President proposed and trying to declare that pregnancy from rape is God's will and that slavery was a blessing in disguise because African's got to live in a country that is blessed by God and under God's protection. At some point there will be no where else to go but to the middle.

ananda

(28,783 posts)
5. Here's the thing.
Wed Nov 7, 2012, 11:37 AM
Nov 2012

The GOP cannot win any free and fair election. Their only tactic is divide and conquer, which worked well for many years while the South was still smarting from Civil Rights. This time they tried, and failed, to make it about Obamacare and women, with voter suppression tactics to unlevel the playing field in red states.

So here's the catch-22 now that more non-southern states have turned blue. They can appeal to the moderates and independents in those states but they will lose the tea party. Or they can keep appealing to the tea party types and never make gains outside the South in those formerly red states. Heehee, this feels good.

AverageJoe

(2,292 posts)
6. Agreed
Wed Nov 7, 2012, 12:05 PM
Nov 2012

And those of us who live in the South, especialy those of us who love it, need to keep up the fight.

Who knows? Maybe someday the Republican stranglehold on this beautiful region, built on fear and nurtured by ignorance, will be broken.

There are a lot of wonderful people here, some Proressive, many not. I am happy to count people from all political persuasions among my friends.

It is amazing how much common ground exists if we look for it. I find commonality with many people, for example, through my kids. Being a soccer dad, I rub elbows with a lot of parents who, I am certain, hold very different political views from my own. But we all love our kids, want the best for our community, and treat each other with respect and grace.

Another example: My neighbor across the street is an extremely nice man, warm and generous. It made me a little sad when he put a Romney sign in his yard, but the sign was no big surprise. I still like and respect him, still stop my car to say hello when I see him out walking his dog. We are still good neighbors.

For the record, I live in Alabama.

My wife and I took our kids -- ages nine and four -- to vote with us right after the polls opened yesterday morning. We knew The President wouldn't get our state's electoral votes, of course, but that wasn't the point. There were other important decisions to be made and we wanted to have our say.

And, to my mind, this was at least as important: My son cast my wife's ballot yesterday, as he did mine four years ago. My daughter cast my ballot, a first for her, and hopefully the start of an unbroken line of participation in this most precious of civic rituals.

We all do our best, according to our own lights.

God bless our President, our democracy, and the great state of Alabama.

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