With Landrieu’s departure, the Democrats will have no more senators from the Deep
South, and I say good. Forget about it. Forget about the whole fetid place. Write it off. Let the GOP have it and run it and turn it into Free-Market Jesus Paradise. The Democrats don’t need it anyway.
Yes, it’s a total mystery why the Southern states are not flocking in droves to the party that puts forward this intensely welcoming message. I’ve never been to the Deep South and have zero emotional attachment to the region but even I found this offensive. It’s kind of becoming clear why the region isn’t voting Democrat any time in the foreseeable future.
I hope my readers are smart enough not to give me the “But they started it first!” routine.
Clarissa's Blog 
My impression of southern Illinois is that it isn’t terribly different from the section of Kentucky it borders except when it comes to accents.
Also, I didn’t see Chicago rolling out the “feel at home mat” for southern Illinois either …
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The person who made this statement must have been in a deep desperation. I wouldn’t be in the position of someone who has to manage the Democrat campaign in the bible belt. It may be the same like selling audio systems to the deaf, or running shoes to the handicapped. A mission impossible, however this communication strategy is still one of the possibly worst.
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Myopic. They’re not getting the people who would vote for them to turn out in the midterms. They’d have less of a problem if they cared more about voting laws, which are state driven.
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Hello.
It is comments like Shakti’s like that which while as not as intentionally rude as the original point, still raises our hackles down here.
Note for instance that we have had a cop indicted for murder of a black man in South Carolina. Note also that a cop was fired in Tennessee for allegedly chocking a student. Note how many, many African-Americans are leaving New York and Chicago for Memphis and Atlanta.
So it rings very hollow when we Southrons are told that our state voting laws are aimed at disenfranchising black people… yet more and more vote with their feet to live here. And then we look at New York and St. Louis and then have northerners tell us we’re all just a bunch of screaming racists who need to do things the Yankee way or get lost in ‘Free-market Jesus Paradise.’ Well… okay then – though I expect you’ll want us ‘found’ sometime around mid-April.
I won’t vote Democrat on the basis that I don’t want to be represented by someone who makes no secret they actively despise me. And while I’m sure there are any number of people who would roll their eyes and prove the point by stating, “well, a white male in the South… Democrats weren’t going to get your vote anyway” – it’s not my job to sell myself to the party.
Thank you, Clarissa. You’ve hit the nail on the head.
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“And then we look at New York and St. Louis and then have northerners tell us we’re all just a bunch of screaming racists”
– It’s really refreshing to see somebody refer to St. Louis as the North. 🙂 For New Yorkers, we are deep South here. 🙂
“I won’t vote Democrat on the basis that I don’t want to be represented by someone who makes no secret they actively despise me.”
– Exactly. A politician is like a psychotherapist: s/he needs to meet the voter / client where the voter / client is and not provide judgment, berate, shame, or offend. I don’t believe that the Southern states are lost to humanity or are worse than any other state. What’s the use of these enormous generalizations for political action? If people don’t respond to your message, change the message.
As we used to say in Ukraine, democracy would be great if one didn;t have to deal with voters.
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The Democratic Party is run by neolibs, corporatists, who have sold out the workers, white and black, so what else is new?
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We are trying to arrive at a more interesting, nuanced approach because these slogans about “who sold out the workers” are boring and childish.
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At present, neither party says anything that appeals to any part of what I think is important.
From where I sit now, US politics reminds me of the Warsaw Pact in the 80’s, a system running on fumes while people wait around for something to happen (which eventually it did).
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“At present, neither party says anything that appeals to any part of what I think is important.”
– SO TRUE! Outdated ideas, outdated arguments, outdated slogans. And very very outdated candidates. Is there really nobody fresher in this entire huge country? The Republicans are torn between Bush and Romney (again? Does he really need to be a 3-time loser?) and the Dems are not even torn, it’s all Clinton. And I like Clinton but it’s like, enough already. Give us an interesting, exciting choice. (The “us” is metaphorical since I don’t have citizenship.)
“From where I sit now, US politics reminds me of the Warsaw Pact in the 80’s, a system running on fumes while people wait around for something to happen (which eventually it did).”
– From where I sit, this comparison sounds just right. 🙂
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The Democratic Party refuses to fund campaigns here, yet calls me on the phone to ask me to support races elsewhere, and brazenly tells me I should care more about those elections than those in my own state
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Ridiculous! And what, people in the Southern states can just be discarded?
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It’s very typical. I live in a swing state. They don’t outright state that I should care more about elections in other states, but the state legislature has a Republican super-majority. So I see lots of money sloshing around for national campaigns, in the form of really stupid ads, flyers and robo-calls, but no GOTV, and no good candidates. The legislature draws the congressional district lines which determine, in large part, who gets elected.
Nobody’s thrilled about Obamacare here in large part because the governor and the state legislature are not accepting Medicaid funds. That effectively puts insurance out of the reach of more people because exchange rates are very high. But most people don’t pay attention to the state legislature, so all they know is, “My individual insurance is much more expensive/my small business dropped it/I can’t get insurance anyways — fuck Obamacare.”
Have you read any of Joe Bageant’s books?
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No, I never heard of Joe Bageant. Do you recommend?
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