Reply #7: It is possible to win the GE without the South, but it won't happen

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Gore had some narrow victories in other states which have been trending Republican ever since. It seems like little more than wishful thinking to assume that we'll retain all of those Electoral votes (which would have been barely enough for a victory had the Supreme Court not intervened).

Another thing to consider: the Presidency isn't the end-all, be-all. We have some Democrats running down here for Congress or for state or local political positions, and we'd like to have a Presidential candidate to bolster turnout. No one will be riding Kerry's coattails down here.

Looks like it's trending your way. Kerry will win the Democratic nomination, then lose the General Election (while I probably stay home- I won't be driving an hour from law school to my polling booth back home for a candidate who personally derides me and my neighbors). As it stands now, Kerry and Lieberman are the only two who'll never see my strong support. Anyone else, I'd happily vote for (and perhaps volunteer for).

When Bush throws his second inaugural, you can only blame yourselves and your South-bashing. You can also blame Kerry for contributing to the same.

As a Southerner, I do not demand that our nominee be from this region. But I do demand that the nominee respect this region and its inhabitants. Things like Kerry's comment and this thread (and the idiotic lawyer-bashing in other threads) make me want to stay home come Nov. 2nd.

The South is not the South of the Confederacy or the South of the Nixon Era. There are some overt racists here, but the South also houses the largest African American population and one of the strongest Hispanic populations. Combine that with well-informed working class Americans, and there is a potential for a strong political coalition in the Southern states. If the Democratic Party neglects this, you can wave goodbye to the country as the second Bush Administration bleeds us dry.