Who the hell are these Reagan Dems that the RW spinners are salivating about the Huckster

[Skidmore]

"attracting in droves" (some RW clone on MSNBC just now)? I was overseas when Reagan was elected and I have no idea who these people are? It seems that this spinmeister seems to think that Huckabee "has the language down" ala Reagan. Seriously, I don't know who they are. If they voted Republican over the past two decades, then they are Republican.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. I never met one either.

then again I used to vote GOP in my yute. But I got better. I think anti-biotics had something to do with it.

[Skidmore]

3. Man, I'm sure glad you got over that.

:)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

11. broad spectrum, high doses, used according to prescription

[SharonAnn]

15. I've met some here in East Tennessee. Surprisingly, some are Union People.

They're big on God, Guns and Gays. Also are sometimes racist and often zenophobic.

Some listen to way too much Rush Limbaugh.

A couple of truck drivers I know were all incensed about how the "Death Tax" needs to be eliminated. I asked if their estate would be over $1 million, they looked at me as if I'd grown an extra eye, and said "of course not". When I explained the way it worked, they were dumbfounded. "That's not the way Rush explained it." That's my favorite quote.

Though they say they're Democrats, they pretty reliably vote Republican around here.

[Buzz Clik]

2. There is no one in the GOP candidate pool who bears any resemblance to Reagan in any way.

This is pure fantasy. I very much doubt that Huckabee will get his own party's nomination. He won't have to worry about "Reagan Democrats", whoever they may be.

[SacredCow]

4. I've not met any REPUBLICANS that like him....

I doubt he has much of a chance, but he's the one that offends me the most so the pessimist in me is getting ready to run to Canada....

[OHdem10]

5. In Michigan, there is an area ( pretty large) middle class

which went with Regan and remained voting for Gop. Many then supported
Bill Clinton and have been coming home to Dem.Party. Blue Collar
Workers around Detroit. the same story.

Regan Democrats are usually Blue Collar Democrats who started voting
with Regan. They now are starting to come home

It is thought by GOP that Hucabee might be able to stop the bleeding.

[TwilightGardener]

6. Huckabilly wants to amend the Constitution to be in accordance with God's standards--

he actually said this. Not even the Freeptards took this little quote well. He won't be the nominee. As Willie Geist said, he's nothing but a charming crackpot.

[robbedvoter]

7. I dunno. Bloomberg paid some kids to plaster some signs "Democrats for Mike"

around election day. Judging by how few voters showed up and the thin margin- I think it's something like the life time democrats on C-Span.

[redqueen]

8. I've heard that same spin... but the republicans here in my office

and they're ALL republicans besides yours truly... they all can't stand the idea of the Huckster as their candidate. And these are religious republicans!

They know he'd be a tough sell to moderates, see.

[calmblueocean]

9. I've been watching the Huckabee campaign pretty closely...

Policywise, the guy is a disaster on the scale of nuclear war, but in terms of rhetoric? He gives a better populist message than Edwards does. He talks consistently about the poor, about people who are struggling to get by, living paycheck to paycheck, worried about the future. He is a compelling speaker, and he knows how to use religious language and humor to get past your political defenses. I can definitely see a lot of compassionate people who aren't policy wonks falling under his spell.

[enid602]

10. ticket

That's why I think you'll see a McCain/Huckabee ticket; keep both the country club republicans and the Religious Right happy.

[calmblueocean]

12. I've been thinking the exact same thing.

Huckabee has been complementing and defending McCain left and right throughout the entire primary process. I think having Huck as his veep would probably also lend a certain vitality to the ticket that the 71-year-old McCain doesn't have.

[enid602]

14. McCain/Huckabee

Sure, and I don't think McCain will be unattractive in the eyes of the military/industrial complex. And much of the right sees Christians as the oppressed ones that really deserve better representation. In a sense, Huckabee is to the Right as Clinton or Obama are to the Left.

[Strawman]

13. Feel fortunate that you don't know

I live in the county that inspired that label.

They're basically working class dummies who hate blacks so much that they'll cut off their own nose to spit their faces and vote Republican.

I did see a Huckabilly yard sign outside of a polling station on my way to work. In a low turnout election, he could pull it out. MI has been called the northernmost Southern state and MI voted for George Wallace way back.

[K Gardner]

16. I don't think Reagan ever suggested that the constitution be remodeled to look more like the Bible..

so any comparison to Reagan is pretty flimsy. Huck may have won over the evangelicals with that comment, but he's just rendered himself unelectable. So, yeah, I hope they nominate him.

[Perky]

17. How about doing a little reading

Wikipedia

Reagan Democrat is an American political term used by political analysts to denote traditionally Democratic voters, especially white working-class Northerners, who defected from their party to support Republican President Ronald Reagan in both the 1980 and 1984 elections. It is also used to refer to the smaller but still substantial number of Democrats who voted for George H. W. Bush in the 1988 election.

The classic study of Reagan Democrats is probably the work of the Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. Greenberg analyzed white ethnic voters (largely unionized auto workers) in Macomb County, Michigan, just north of Detroit. The county voted 63 percent for John F. Kennedy in 1960, but 66 percent for Reagan in 1984. He concluded that "Reagan Democrats" no longer saw Democrats as champions of their middle-class aspirations, but instead saw them as working primarily for the benefit of others: the very poor, the unemployed, African Americans, and other political pressure groups. In addition, Reagan Democrats enjoyed gains during the period of economic prosperity that coincided with the Reagan administration following the "malaise" of the Carter administration. They also supported Reagan's strong stance on national security and opposed the 1980s Democratic Party on such issues as pornography, crime, and taxes.<1>

Researchers have not tracked what political path these voters took after the end of the Reagan and Bush administrations.