What is a "yellow dog" Dem?

[rumguy]

Where does the phrase come from?

[corporatewhore]

1. you'd vote for the dem nominee even if it was a yellow dog

[rockymountaindem]

2. I think it's someone

who would vote for the Democrat even if the candidate was a yellow dog.

[PinkTiger]

3. here:

snip:
    The term, Yellow Dog Democrat, blossomed during all of the Hoopla which surrounded the 1928 elections, when Al Smith ran for President against Herbert Hoover. During that  campaign, Senator Tom Heflin, of Alabama, declined to back his fellow Democrat, Al Smith the Governor of NY. In fact it was much worse than that, Senator Heflin decided to back Herbert Hoover, who would then go on to become President- a Republican President no less. Heflin's controversial actions were considered heresy, especially in the South. As you can imagine, quite a large number of Alabamans vehemently disagreed with Senator Heflin's decision to cross his "Party Lines". Hence, the popular saying, "I'd vote for a yellow dog if he ran on the Democratic ticket" was born! It was adopted as the proud slogan of the staunch party loyalist.
 At the time, this phrase certainly did not reflect well on Senator Heflin.
Adapted from William Safire's Safire's New Political Dictionary.
© 1993 by the Cobbett Corporation.
http://www.yellowdogdemocrat.com/history.htm

[Fenris]

4. It comes from an old Southern saying

"I'd rather vote for an old yellow dog than vote for a Republican."

Yellow dog Democrats are Democrats who will vote for the party's candidate no matter what. Rare breed these days. They existed mostly in the South between the end of the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. It isn't a wholly positive term in some ways, as it highlights the hatred many Southern Dems felt for the Republican party for the "War of Northern Aggression."

[TacticalPeek]

7. In the Delta:

No Yellow Dogs, no New Deal.

[rumguy]

5. thanks for the info!

[Syrinx]

6. what they said!

Dang it, I wanted to answer that one. :)