Salon: The Tea Party isn't crazy. They had a plan. (The South is holding the US hostage.)

[gollygee]

http://www.salon.com/2013/10/13/the_south_is_holding_america_hostage/

When I have described the well-considered, coherent political and economic strategies of the conservative white South, as I have done here, here and here, I am sometimes been accused of being a “conspiracy theorist.” But one need not believe that white-hooded Dragons and Wizards are secretly coordinating the actions of Southern conservative politicians from a bunker underneath Stone Mountain in Georgia to believe that a number of contemporary policies — from race-to-the-bottom economic policies to voter disfranchisement and attempts to decentralize or privatize federal social insurance entitlements — serve the interests of those who promote them, who tend to be white Southern conservatives.

Just as a strategy is not a conspiracy, so it is not insanity. Ironically, American progressives, centrists and some Northern conservatives are only deluding themselves, when they insist that the kind of right-wing Southerners behind the government shutdown are “crazy.” Crazy, yes — crazy like a fox.

Another mistake is the failure to recognize that the Southern elite strategy, though bound up with white supremacy throughout history, is primarily about cheap and powerless labor, not about race. If the South and the U.S. as a whole through some magical transformation became racially homogeneous tomorrow, there is no reason to believe that the Southern business and political class would suddenly embrace a new model of political economy based on high wages, high taxes and centralized government, rather than pursue its historical model of a low-wage, low-tax, decentralized system, even though all workers, employers and investors now shared a common skin color.

So the struggle is not one to convert Southern Baptists to Darwinism or to get racists to celebrate diversity. The on-going power struggle between the local elites of the former Confederacy and their allies in other regions and the rest of the United States is not primarily about personal attitudes. It is about power and wealth.

[Mass]

1. Most people got that. The real problem is that we have put our plan into the hands of people who

have been unable to solve the problem for years now: Reid and Schumer. I cannot remember once when Reid won against McConnell. He barks, but eventually folds. It may be time for a new leadership in both party, because the one they have is very ineffectual.

[annabanana]

2. No, sadly...

Most people are not "getting" this fact. If more people understood that this underlies most of America's most intractable problems, there might have been a more coordinated response over the years.

[daybranch]

93. Does not Reid just do what Obama asks??

Well?

[zazen]

3. yes! it's an entitlement to a poor underclass of labor, not racism per se

[Laelth]

48. +1. n/t

-Laelth

[Beartracks]

85. Yes! This makes sense. Historically, African-Americans HAVE been the poor, cheap labor, so...

... elitists' efforts could often be confused with explicit racism; and indeed racism is handy "cover" for elitists to use -- in that, hey, if they ever get around to "embracing diversity" (or pretending to) then the we've won, right? Wrong. Of course, their bamboozled masses contain a great many ACTUAL racists; but again, that sure is a handy characteristic for your ardent supporters to possess: a built-in misdirectional distraction, and a dog-whistle receptor to boot. What better way to loot the country while everyone's watching the race card?

Anyhow, this is exactly why I believe the GOP & Tea Partyists would have been just as hateful and obstructionist toward ANY, ANY Democrat elected President -- their plan was to de-legitimize the Dems and their elected officials, a process we'd already seen as they "swift-boated" a lot of white Dems in earlier years. Although, perhaps, having a black President simply made it a bit easier for the Tea Party to achieve ramming speed...

========================

[dionysus]

87. no, those baggers are also very racist.

[dionysus]

88. no, it's racism. listen to RW republicans talk in private company.

if you ever get a chance to, you'll be amazed. people falling off their chair laughing at "nigger jokes"

[King_Klonopin]

90. Racism and Classism are closely intertwined

It's hard to say where one ends and the other begins.

They are mutually inclusive in this country. The Wal-Mart economy,
the fight against raising the minimum wage, union-busting, the
glorification of "the 1%", the vilification of "the 47%" are all examples
of classism in America. It is insidious and widespread. It permeates all
spheres of politics (examples: "middle America" vs "urban centers", the
"makers" vs "takers", and the arguments about what makes this country
so great: the success of the monied elite or the labor and mobility
of a working/middle class?)

Racism is more obvious to spot, and having a black man as President
has just magnified the problem. "Welfare moocher" is synonymous with
African-American or illegal immigrant in the conservative dictionary. The
conservatives use race (the race card complaint) as a means of
distracting us from the problem of classism. And they cry "class warfare!"
whenever classism is directly confronted.

[Junkdrawer]

4. A State vs State race to the bottom. And I think Wall Street is signed on too....

Southern conservatives lead, but Northern conservatives gladly follow. See also ALEC.

[Triana]

5. In other words, they STILL want slavery, no matter what color the slaves are. n/t

[Heather MC]

13. Of course they do,

that is why they ship manufacturing jobs to countries with no labor laws. They have been search for the perfwct slave labor workforce since slavery ended in the US

[Reno Master]

16. Feudalism, Slavery, Capitalism

They all let the 1% exploit the labor of the 99%!

[JaneyVee]

6. Nope, they're crazy.

[GeorgeGist]

7. The problem with useful idiots ...

is that they are idiots.

[coeur_de_lion]

8. It's like the Civil War, only the political parties are reversed

Back then (hard to believe) the Democrats wanted slavery and the republicans wanted to free the slaves. Even when they lost the war the Dems were not giving up. They murdered the man who set the slaves free. They made it so that the freed slaves had to fear for their lives. They created bigotry and perfected it.

I think today's republicans want to make slaves of the poor and middle class.

[Bluenorthwest]

9. Since when did having a plan mean you are not crazy? How is are they mutually exclusive?

I assert that many plans are in fact symptomatic of the craziness of the planner.

[NJCher]

11. Some food for thought

It's unpleasant to acknowledge or even think about, but it's a fact that there are people who know and don't care. That is the definition of a villain, according to the author of this book:



While I haven't finished the book, a good part of it is thoughtful discussion on how people can behave in ways we can't fathom. It has certainly answered some questions for me.


Cher

[Southside]

39. The Tea Party is Lex Luther

We are Superman...our heart and compassion are both a strength and kryptonite.

But the villian always loses....right?

[Bluenorthwest]

68. That's interesting but beside the point I was making.

Having a plan is not proof of sanity. That's the point I was making.

[MostlyAmused]

10. They are insane AND they had a plan.

If insanity meant one cannot plan, there would be no insanity defense for mass murderers.

[NJCher]

12. in criminology

Isn't there a category where they call some criminals "organized" and others "disorganized?"


Cher

[arely staircase]

28. those are two categories of serial killer

so, yeah. it fits.

[maindawg]

14. it is abdsolutely about power

its a power grab. its a political coup. They dont like democracy. They want power and they dont care how they get it. Criminals. When they arrest the criminals who have stolen our money and destroyed our economy then we can begin to heal.
Did you notice that we do not arrest criminals? We are no better than North Korea.

[coldmountain]

15. Boycott the South, treat them like apartheid South Africa

It's all about the money. Declare war on Coca-cola, Wal-Mart, non-union JapanInc cars built in the South, no more vacations in the South, etc. It's not like we can't live without all these things. Heck many are bad for us anyhow and it's about time progressives started supporting unions.

BTW, these Confederates already informally boycott progressive states and companies

[Dustlawyer]

18. I guess Progressives like myself are sacrificial cannon fodder then!

[coldmountain]

25. It's better than being complicit. Have a better solution?

I keep hearing how southern Democrats are going to start winning elections and they rarely do. It has went backward in the South with whats going now equivalent to war.

[arely staircase]

31. help us elect democrats like wendy davis

and knock off that bullshit boycott the South business. get with the team and come on in for the big win.

[Phentex]

42. what?

"It has went backward in the South with whats going now equivalent to war."

Priceless!

[Dustlawyer]

86. Howard Deans 50 State attack advanced the ball here in Texas, but that ended when he was no

longer the head of the DNC. Put a big push in Texas behind Wendy Davis and the Castro brothers. The Republican rule here is starting to get old for a lot of the populous. Dead end, low paying jobs, poor education, and crumbling infrastructure make it hard for Texans to brag, something we (used) to like to do.
The thing is, I don't want corporate Dems like Diane Feinstein etc., anymore than I want Republicans. This whole D vs R hyper-partisanship is being used as a smoke screen to dis-place our anger at each other while they both do the work of the Plutocrats. You wAnt something constructive that many on both sides would agree on is publicly funded elections. Complete campaign finance reform is about the only solution to the root problem. We have a shadow government that pulls the strings of their puppets. If a string breaks on a puppet, they replace it. You can either watch the show and believe it is real, or help put an end to it. Tough talk of splitting our country solves nothing and divides the people who's views are similar.

[Phentex]

40. Many have been boycotting the south for years...

Michael Moore suggested the boycott of Georgia years ago. Many Du'ers call for it from time to time. Apparently many have already been boycotting for a long time.

And here we are. And I have a feeling the boycott is not working.

[coldmountain]

55. The boycotting needs to be commensurate with the Souths "massive resistance"

"Massive resistance was a policy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. of Virginia on February 24, 1956, to unite other white politicians and leaders in Virginia in a campaign of new state laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954.[1] Although most of the laws created to implement Massive Resistance were negated by state and federal courts by January 1960, some policies and effects of the campaign against integrated public schools continued in Virginia for many more years; many schools, and even an entire school system, were shut down in preference to integration."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_resistance

[n2doc]

17. Sigh

There are more T-baggers in California than in Alabama. There are more T-baggers in Pennsylvania than in Mississippi. There are more T-baggers in Michigan than in Georgia or Florida. Fuck the south bashing and get your own houses in order.

[StevePaulson]

21. Great Post

[AZ Progressive]

22. Yeah people are highly mistaken if they think that all our problems are because of the South

Conservatives, including teabaggers, are throughout the country, not just the South.

[hedgehog]

27. I think the author was careful to seperate the interests of the oligarchy

associated with the Confederacy from the majority of people living in the South.

[n2doc]

29. What part of "The South is holding the US Hostage" isn't clear?

The headline sets the tone.

BTW, what state(s) do the Koch Bro's live in? I think most people are aware they don't live in the south....

[hedgehog]

36. I've always disliked the phrase "The South" because what South are we talking about?

Does it include the African Americans living below the Mason-Dixon? As the article notes, does it include those whites living above the cotton line? I think the author is correct in tracing the roots of today's Tea Party to the oligarchy that split the union in 1860, but that you are also correct in noting that this oligarchy is no longer confined to "the South".

[n2doc]

44. That is why we need to stop making this a regional thing

It is primarily a rural/city divide, with racial aspects tossed in as well. Many of the big players on the repub side are from the North or West. Let's see- Cheney- WY, McCain- AZ, Palin- AK, Romney-Mass, Ryan- Mich. 5 out of the last 6 prez/vp repub nominees are from outside the 'south'. And we could go back further, to before Nixon.... W was the only President from the 'South' on the R side. And even he was a carpetbagger, so to speak.

[coldmountain]

56. They don't need a Southern POTUS candidate, they need non-Southern ones

The GOP owns almost the whole South. Between Obama and JFK, Dems have had only Southern POTUS

[xfundy]

78. Nope. There was Jimmy Carter, former governor of GA.

[coldmountain]

30. That's because of gerrymandering. Southerners need to start taking responsibility

The Republicans barely have to gerrymander the South outside Texas.

The south over and over again is the base of evil in America. Boycott the south and make the Republican power base howl.

[n2doc]

32. Educate yourself. Please. You are ignorant n/t

[cordelia]

38. This. And thank you.

[coldmountain]

50. I've lived in the South and the North. I'm sorry the South is the enemy of western civilization

Outside Virginia and certain cities like Charlotte, Asheville, inside the beltway in Atlanta and few other places, it is the enemy and must be fought. No more political correctness, not hurting southerners feelings. It's time for a boycott. Only when upper middleclass white Southerners feel it in their pockets and cry uncle will the South quit hurting America.

[arely staircase]

34. but they do in Texas

and Texas is the nail in there presidential electoral coffin when it turns blue. when it does they won't win the presidency for a genertion. its math.

[hedgehog]

45. I agree with you about Southern gerrymandering - take a look at this:

As near as I can make out - this travesty has gone to Federal court which ordered this:

[coldmountain]

53. They don't need to gerrymander most of the south it's all bad

[nightscanner59]

33. I believe the O.P. is using "south" as allegorical to "southern strategy".

Arizona is mistakenly called a "red" state, when in fact, if not for all the western snowbirds flocking to Quartzsite and Phoenix area at election time, each would be a far closer call.

[n2doc]

35. South is south. And the bashers here on the thread love the red meat they've been thrown n/t

[cordelia]

41. South bashers will use ANY opportunity to demonize the South. ANY opportunity.

[coldmountain]

54. There's no need to demonize the South, just tell the truth about it

And the only answer most Southerners have is "don't hurt their feelings"

[cordelia]

69. Do you revel in your ignorance and bigotry?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

81. yes, he does. since he got here.

[SoCalDem]

67. Rural v urban n/t

[Tuesday Afternoon]

80. n2doc,

I love you. Will you marry me?

[FarCenter]

83. It isn't even native southerners who constitute the southern economic elite

It was Yankee textile mill owners who moved their operations to the Carolinas.

It was northern real estate people who invested in the real estate and vacation enterprises of Florida.

It was northerners who moved to Texas with the oil boom (e.g. George Bush, scion of a Connecticut banker and St Louis merchant).

Phoenix and Albuquerque are filled with Midwesterners.

[Hekate]

92. Excellent visuals, n2doc. You always find them.

California in particular is like two separate states. I live here -- fortunately for me, I live on the coast.

[JHB]

19. Dovetails nicely with "Cheap-Labor Conservatives"...

The link below was from 2010, and the article is a reprinting of a blog post from another site several years earlier.

The block quote is a bulleted list, and should count as a single paragraph for copyright purposes.

http://sideshow.me.uk/annex/defeattherightin3minutes.htm

Defeat The Right In Three Minutes
by Conceptual Guerilla

***

"Cheap labor". That's their whole philosophy in a nutshell - which gives you a short and pithy "catch phrase" that describes them perfectly. You've heard of "big-government liberals". Well they're "cheap-labor conservatives".

"Cheap-labor conservative" is a moniker they will never shake, and never live down. Because it's exactly what they are. You see, cheap-labor conservatives are defenders of corporate America - whose fortunes depend on labor. The larger the labor supply, the cheaper it is. The more desperately you need a job, the cheaper you'll work, and the more power those "corporate lords" have over you. If you are a wealthy elite - or a "wannabe" like most dittoheads - your wealth, power and privilege is enhanced by a labor pool, forced to work cheap.

Don't believe me. Well, let's apply this principle, and see how many right-wing positions become instantly understandable.

Cheap-labor conservatives don't like social spending or our "safety net". Why? Because when you're unemployed and desperate, corporations can pay you whatever they feel like - which is inevitably next to nothing. You see, they want you "over a barrel" and in a position to "work cheap or starve".

Cheap-labor conservatives don't like the minimum wage, or other improvements in wages and working conditions. Why? These reforms undo all of their efforts to keep you "over a barrel".

Cheap-labor conservatives like "free trade", NAFTA, GATT, etc. Why? Because there is a huge supply of desperately poor people in the third world, who are "over a barrel", and will work cheap.

Cheap-labor conservatives oppose a woman's right to choose. Why? Unwanted children are an economic burden that put poor women "over a barrel", forcing them to work cheap.

Cheap-labor conservatives don't like unions. Why? Because when labor "sticks together", wages go up. That's why workers unionize. Seems workers don't like being "over a barrel".

Cheap-labor conservatives constantly bray about "morality", "virtue", "respect for authority", "hard work" and other "values". Why? So they can blame your being "over a barrel" on your own "immorality", lack of "values" and "poor choices".

Cheap-labor conservatives encourage racism, misogyny, homophobia and other forms of bigotry. Why? Bigotry among wage earners distracts them, and keeps them from recognizing their common interests as wage earners.

[kristopher]

24. +1

Copied to share.
Thanks.

[Laelth]

52. Excellent post. Thanks. n/t

-Laelth

[Rain Mcloud]

20. I am both pleased and dismayed that thirty years of following politics

had left me at the same conclusions in the article.
However,i wrongly surmised that the death of Falwell would deprive the southern Reich of a major mastermind in the rise of the new south.
This is analogous to ridding your home of cockroaches by stepping on every roach you see,the ones in deep cover grow stronger having even more resources to feed on.
Right to work and Reagan's Union busting were the first major steps followed by deregulation and now de-funding with the endgame being the end of Social Security,Affordable Care,Veterans Administration,SNAP,Medic Aid i/e all entitlements.
The power of the vote can be subverted by removing limits on campaign donations to insure that corporations will forever hold the government purse strings for disbursement of collected revenues to themselves and their cronies and a boot on the neck of the common slave.
So much for the land of the free and the home of the brave,not a bang but a whimper.

[mulsh]

23. We need a modern general Sherman. Either that or stong leadership and members

to implement some or all of the solutions Mr. Lind proposes at the end of the article.Perhaps large measures of both would resolve this matter once and for all.

Democrats in both houses appear to be united and standing firm this time. I hope they continue to do so.

[hedgehog]

26. Excellent article.

[JohnnyRingo]

37. I've been getting increasingly upset with the South.

I'm not stupid, I know there are a good many liberals living South of the Mason-Dixon Line, but it seems Southern politicians have been enjoying more and more latitude in shaping our country's economic future, and yes, that future seems focused on maintaining an ignorant and permanently poverty stricken work force. "If you don't work, you don't eat" is still the mantra of the conservative movement, and those who find the deck stacked against them join in the chorus.

My brother has lived in Georgia since he graduated high school here in Ohio in 1973. Once an honor role student, he now talks in abbreviated Tea Party catchphrases and ignorant racist blurbs. Duck Dynasty has become the model for his intellectual boundaries. I haven't spoken to him since his last visit when he sat on my couch and told me: "I guess I'll have to vote for Boosh" ...the first time, not in '04. I can now only assume how he feels about Obama, but I'm sorry, I don't want to hear it from his lips graced in that quaint colloquial manner of speaking.

I blame his gradual devolution on his political environment and Southern culture in general. He's not challenged mentally on a daily basis, and he's slid to the bottom of the hill. He's become too lazy to question popular Southern beliefs about blacks, social programs, and unionization. Unfortunately, I've noticed these tenets creeping Northward, as more and more of my friends adopt the mindset of the '60s South. I even discovered the Confederate Stars & Bars on one of my teen grandkid's Facebook page where he describes himself as a redneck (that confrontation is yet pending).

So no, it's not simply about how people pronounce the word "tire", it's ultimately about class warfare and who's winning.

K&R. Thanx for posting this.

[awoke_in_2003]

61. I lived in Ohio until I moved to Texas...

in 1992. Living in the south had the opposite affect on me. I had always thought I was a republican, but that slowly started changing when I moved down here amongst the crazy. The final straw was the run up to the Iraq war. After that, I questioned everything I thought I believed. I find I am a pretty damn liberal guy in most things. Of course, education and age may have helped, too. The republican party does act like a bunch of teenage boys.

[JohnnyRingo]

73. Don't get me wrong...

Ohio is awash with republican idiots too these days. Dixie certainly doesn't have a monopoly on moronic conservatives, but I fortunately live in a Democratic stronghold near Youngstown (see my entry in this month's photo contest).

We consistantly elect dems by a 2:1 ratio, but even that was diluted to 60/40 when Obama was on the ballot. i guess if racists only account for a 6% swing here I should be proud of my home district.

[awoke_in_2003]

75. I lived in the Cleveland suburbs for a bit...

and aso lived in some rural areas. I know Ohio has its share of rednecks.

[Southside]

43. Northern conservatives are the problem

If they have separate interests from the Tea Party why are they falling on line on these votes. How can a moderate republican from Pennsylvania or NY go along with this crap, that is crazy when you go against the best interests of your constituents.

Everyone follows Cruz, now everyone follows Boehner, Peter King is the only one fighting back and he can't stand Obama, but he serves his community first.

[rrneck]

46. The villians are here.

And this place isn't in the south. All those bad guys the author is talking about derive their money and power from the real bad guys who shouldn't even be considered citizens of this country any more.



This is just another fearmongering ATM withdrawal from the culture war cash cow.

[coldmountain]

59. The Tea Party ain't all that Wall Street, they maybe useful idiots for it every now and then

At least Wall Street isn't institutionally racist to the point of irrationality

[rrneck]

60. The Tea Party gets it's money, hence it's power from Wall Street.

Without power, they are moot. Ever heard of Jay Gould? He was a robber baron in the nineteenth century. A quote attributed to him goes something like this - "You can always pay one half of the poor to kill the other half."

To the 1% we're all poor and the bulk of the culture wars, including this hatred of the south, is part of it. Progressives are supposed to support the poor and when they get you too hate the south they are tricking you into betraying your ideals. You're the one being had, not the south.

[coldmountain]

63. Koch Brothers may play on Wall Street but they aren't Wall Street

To me Wall Street means investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The Tea party backers like Club for Growth, ALEC, Kochs, Pope, Murdoch, etc are different animals with different goals.

[rrneck]

66. The goals are all the same. To make money.

Doubt me? So what do they have the most of? Adulation of racists? Have you seen the Kochs in Klan robes? Nope. They have what they wanted - money.

[coldmountain]

72. Heck i want to make money probably you do too

It's the means. Wall Street and the Koch's are different, evil in different ways

[rrneck]

77. So, what is your point?

I don't understand what you're trying to say here. The people on Wall Street, the Koch brothers, and all the rednecks in the south are United States citizens just like you and me. You see, we had this thing called the Enlightenment a while ago, and declaring people evil so that we can disenfranchise them is sorta backward thinking. The whole holy war thing is so fourteenth century.

I'm not interested in leaping into the shit pit of demonizing an entire region of the country. If you want to run around lambasting people as evil that's your business. You sound just like every hard headed southern redneck and fundamentalist preacher I ever heard, and I lived there for almost half a century.

Here's the news. One of the biggest industries in this country is ideology production. You are acting like a consumer fanboy for some sort of ideological bauble. The problem is that the culture war industry is polluting the political environment and creates toxic gridlock in government. If you want to clean up government stop the production of the toxins, which is to say think for yourself and stop feeding on your emotions.

Do you have a solution for the problems we fact other than boycotting a quarter of the country?

[Bluenorthwest]

70. Ted Cruz gets his health insurance from Goldman Sachs, that's where his wife works.

Same animals, same goals.

[Laelth]

47. k&r for the truth. n/t

-Laelth

[flamingdem]

49. K&R

[flamingdem]

51. My Union Colonel Gr Gr abolitionist Granddad just channeled a "yes" to this truth:

quote

It is time for the non-Southern American majority, in alliance with many non-elite Southerners of all races, to target and attack every element of the Southern Autonomy Project simultaneously. If the neo-Confederates want to wage political and economic war, their fellow Americans should choose to respond with political and economic war on all fronts, not on the terms and in the places the Southern conservatives choose.

[coldmountain]

57. Southern progressives need to help wage war on the Confederates not apologize for them!

I'm sick of Southerners blaming the North or saying all the states are the same. it's like drunks blaming potsmokers or caffiene addicts.

[gopiscrap]

58. Yup (with an apology to DU members from the south)

I have always felt Lincon was our worst President, should have just let the south go!

[Fawke Em]

62. You, the Tea Party isn't just relegated to the South.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_politicians_affiliated_with_the_Tea_Party_movement

Looks to me that this malignancy is in every state, with the largest group coming from Texas, which is a South WESTERN state. Us Southerners don't consider Texas as a Southern state, but a Southwestern state - like Arizona or Oklahoma. You know - cowboyland.

[coldmountain]

64. Like the Taliban isn't just in Pakistan AND Al Queda isn't just in Saudi Arabia

The South is the homebase for all this insanity

[Initech]

65. The tea party is like the Joker from The Dark Knight.

They're like a dog chasing cars. They wouldn't know what to do with one if they caught it. They shut down the government. Now what?

[spanone]

71. nO. they're crazy AND they had a plan.

[bvar22]

74. It is past time for the DNC to spend a little money in The South!!!

Many of the people who live in Red States DO NOT KNOW that their Republicans turned down the Medicaid Exoansion that would have given access to health Care to the neediest bunch in America.

Repeat: The DO NOT KNOW

...because NOBODY is telling them.

The Democratic Party would be well served to cut some prime time commercials played in the Red States telling them that their Republicans , who ALL enjoy Big Government Public Health Care, and do NOT want the people of their state to have it.
It is their children who will suffer, and some even DIE, because of the Republicans. (Did I mention that their Congressmen & Senators ALL have Big Government Health Care?)

Then inform them that their children would be covered FOR FREE for 3 years.
In most debtor Red States, it would be PAID FOR by the Yankees in New York,
and the Liberals in California!!!

Spend some MONEY and TELL THEM!

The South is Ripe for the Picking,
and we made GAINS under Howard Dean's 50 state plan,
but have LOST ground undererry McAuliffe and the current crew.

They do NOT know.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

89. The GOP propaganda machine puts ours to shame. And our propaganda

has the benefit of actually being true, so I should be even easier to sell.

[Rstrstx]

76. Disagree, if it weren't for gerrymandering in the north the House would be Democratic

And how is the South responsible for Boehner, Bachmann, Arpiehole, Walker, etc?

[lumberjack_jeff]

79. "is primarily about cheap and powerless labor, not about race."

thought provoking.

[Coyote_Bandit]

82. Tea Party Darling

Michele Bachmann is from "The South."

Who knew that Minnesota was in "The South"?

[dem in texas]

84. there are a lot of ignorant people posting here

All Southerners are not bigots and racists, I was raised in the South and have lived in several Southern states and met many fine people from all walks of life.

In Texas, the large cities are Democrat. What hurts Texas is all the rural counties. Their votes outnumber the urban area votes in the state legislature. That is how the districts get gerrymandered. The make-up of the population is changing, more Hispanics everywhere and at some point, the repub's will not be able to gerrymander to keep control. In the meantime, Texas has a great Democratic candidate for governor, Wendy Davis. Dem's please help her by making a contribution to her campaign. A good strong Democratic candidate for governor is good for the down ticket Dem candidates.too.

Just remember the vote powerhouse states are Texas, California and New York. If Texas goes blue, the Democrats will have it locked up for a long time.

[Hekate]

91. ..."is primarily about cheap and powerless labor, not about race". Try to remember that, people.

One way to ensure that labor remains cheap and powerless is to pit the races against each other, as was historically done with Black freedmen and immigrant Irish once upon a time as they competed for low-waged jobs. Another way is to keep the public school system as lousy as possible, whether segregated or integrated. An ignorant workforce is pliable. Yet another strategy -- poor health. Being sick or simply suboptimal saps intellectual as well as physical energy.

The elites are not crazy, but they use demagogues (i.e. talk radio hosts) to herd the crazy and bewilder that cheap, powerless workforce.

[blkmusclmachine]

94. Economic Terrorism is the Tea Party/Republican Plan.

And they want to do it all over again in January 2014.

[MFrohike]

95. One thing

The author is a native Texan. He's been writing about particular southern attitudes on various issues for the last 20 years. This is not a case of an outsider looking down on us dumb hicks, but one of our own accurately describing the attitudes and practices of the "elites" in the south. He's essentially tied the tea party to the Bourbons to the plantation owners in terms of attitude and outlook. He's not telling southerners who think anything we don't already know.

As for those taking the opportunity to dump on the south, I suggest the admonition about clearing the log from your own eye before dealing with the mite in ours. No region of this country has a monopoly on bad OR good. If you can't be bothered to remember that, feel free to mention your state and I'm sure we can find its lesser points.