What you may not know about rural red state voters

[JPJones]

They are frigging bored. There is little on TV to watch that don't offend them, so instead of Will & Grace, it is FoxNews from the time they get home until they go to bed. The message they get is that Republicans are the party of values and Jesus and the Democrats are the party of blowjobs. At church, the message is not necessarily overtly Republican, but the synchronicity between the church message and the Fox message is convincing.

Republicans have called their opponents flip-floppers for years. It is an attempt to 'feminize' our candidates by portraying them as indecisive. Notice how Bush's campaign was about how he doesn't ask directions, even when he is really lost.

Finally, remember the stories about Kerry yelling at his secret service agent while skiing, eating the pilot's pizza, and saying that he didn't own an SUV? These sorts of things did as much damage as the swiftboaters. They showed that Kerry was not a regular guy. I'm sure you don't care, but they do.

Moveon and ACT did their job, Kerry won big in the cities. However, look at returns from rural areas. Bush won 65-75%. We can no longer win by focusing only on the cities.

[The Flaming Red Head]

1. I don't watch FOX, I don't go to church, I don't own a gun, I'm feminine

I live in a red state and come from a red state. You cater to the right wing down here, and count me out the next time around.


I guess me and my family and friends are no longer necessary for the Democrats to win.


Fine, have fun with your new right wing Democratic party.

[auburngrad82]

2. I don't think you got the point

We have to convince moderate and left-leaning Republicans that their party is not representing them. We need to frame it in such a way that they see that GOP is weak when it comes to the abortion issue (due to many factors caused by poor GOP policies, abortions increased under Bush), that the GOP is weak on the economy (lost jobs, failed "trickle down" policy, etc) and that they are really paying HIGHER taxes under a GOP administration (factor in property taxes and sales taxes, which are state and local taxes and which have rapidly increased to make up for lost federal monies).

We won't win over the fundies. We don't really want to. We need to win over the people with brains that have partaken of the GOP koolaid and have bought into the right wing rhetoric that the media feeds them.

There are a lot of smart people out there that vote Republican. We have a better chance of winning their support since they can think for themselves. We just need to show them that the GOP of today isn't the GOP that they supported in the past.

[DinahMoeHum]

4. Bless you, Auburn grad, Class of 1982!! My point as well. . .

and I'm a "goddamm Yankee".

But seriously, the job of organizing and strengthening the base down South should be done strictly by Southern Dems and progressives.

The moderate/left-leaning Republicans won't listen to a Yankee, but they WILL listen to one of their own kind, if he/she's doing the organizing.

What we Yankees can do here is raise/provide funds and resources/guides. But that's about it.

And, above all, we should have fun. Be, as the old gonzo Hunter Thompson says, a Fun Hog. I almost died laughing when he mentioned to Rolling Stone that Bush "doesn't like music, football, or sex...he's no fun at all..." Not like music or football??? Sheesh, they're next to religion down South (if I may say so myself).

:kick:

[auburngrad82]

5. Football IS a religion down here, right below NASCAR

I live in North Carolina and have lived in the south for most of my life. I agree that the southern Dems need to take the lead in winning back the voters that have been wooed by the GOP.

My problem is I have a temper that would cause my head to explode when I talk to someone that toes the GOP party line. I don't take it out on them but I can feel myself boiling inside so it's not a good thing for me to do.

I can, though, communicate pretty well through writing and I think that will be the tack I take. LTTE, OpEd pieces, article submissions, etc. Those of us that can read down here might see my work and take my message to heart. That's my hope.

By the way, I love Hunter Thompson. My favorite book by him was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, followed by The Hell's Angels. I own and have read most of his books. Hell, I even drink Flying Dog Beer because it reminds me of him. Could be the Ralph Steadman labels...

[auburngrad82]

6. And one other thing

Frank Zappa was THE MAN!

I miss his sense of humor...

[napi21]

8. I agree, it must be a southern dem, BUT there's a problem there too.

I live in Ga. now, and we have good ol' Zell! I went to Dean meertups for months, and joined the Dem party of N Ga. We had several local dem candidates come to speak. I didn't meet even ONE strong one! Where in the world are they hiding their good ones? Or hae they all just aged and died?

You can provide all the $$ in the world but if your messenger is not good at delivering it, you can't win!

[noonwitch]

3. I was amazed by a FR thread yesterday about meth use

I was amazed at what a problem this is in red states/rural areas. It seemed that everyone who posted either had had a problem or had a friend or family member with one.

I'm not criticizing red states for this, just observing that this drug seems to have made little impact in places like Detroit, where crack and heroin are still the big sellers , but has hit rural places so hard. I was actually rather touched by some of the stories, and realize just what a shock this must be to them, after having lived through the crack epidemic of the 80s, which devastated places like Detroit, Baltimore, DC, etc.

[cheshire]

7. Crank is the redneck drug of choice. Funny it doesn't help with that lazy

thing one bit.