Did Zell Miller have a point? Are we no longer a national party?

[fujiyama]

Is this a Right Wing nation?

Sure Dems can win statewide seats in the several red states, but they are having a very tough time getting elected to the federal level. Other than a few popular incumbents, we haven't defended most and I can't think of any open seats Dems have captured in the last two elections (other than Obama and Salazar).

I've seen a million posts on what the Dems should do to change their position in the south - Be more liberal! Be more conservative! Don't change one bit. It's gun control. It's abortion. It's gay marriage...etc etc...

But let's get to the crux of the matter. Isn't America a RW nation? We see it in so many aspects. We don't want to make a sacrifice of higher taxes for better health care and education. We argue about things like creationism being taught in schools (something that simply baffles people in just about every other nation, including many developing nations). I could go on and on. Most of you get the point.

And ultimately, the people don't care one bit. I saw a few posts that caught my eye. One was dealing with pride, and how many people vote as if they were rich, rather than voting for their own economic benefit. They figure, if they made more money, they too won't want to pay higher taxes and that trickle down economics work, and that they don't want a raise in the minimum wage. To economists, this is clearly irrational behavior. They are behaving in ways that simply don't benefit them...

But that's the problem. These people do view themselves as voting for their own benefit. That benefit is fear over social issues.

We see this faux pride on display in just about every other characteristic. We see it in excess credit card spending. We must keep up with the Joneses and we must buy a bigger house, a bgger SUV, and so on.

I think that's where the RW Christianity comes in. We have seen an alliance betweent the fundies and corporate America. Don't be fooled. There is little evidence this alliance will fail anytime soon. As dopmeone on another thread mentioned the corporation has been able to brainwash millions into believing they are doing right....and this same message has been echoed back by the preachers and televangelists. It works out great for the CEOs. They make tons of money and the people demand nothing.

So ultimately, we see a corruption of religion...but this fake spirituality based on greed and intolerance has filled the vacuous hole that was caused by the mindless consumption.

I think we need a major attitude shift in this nation, if Dems are to be successful in large parts of the country. Many people aren't even looking at Dems as an option. They don't even look at the economics, because the social issues trump all.

[Erika]

1. The "social issues" should be American hunger,poverty,medical care

Our public education is also suffering from lack of funding. We have a health care crisis.

I plan on throwing those issues into the face of any Republican who claims they truly voted because of social issues. I've done it twice now and it shocked them into silence.

[fujiyama]

3. Well done

I'm a college student, and you're are absolutely right about the health care crisis.

Out of say 10 students, my guess is only 2-3 might have health insurance. I myself am just lucky that my parents can afford to pay for it.

[JI7]

2. not "right wing" but it is more conservative leaning

especially compared to other modern western nations like canada and in europe.

i have accepted it for a while that's why i don't get upset when democratic politicians appeal to them. i know they have to do certain things to get support in some areas.

[Bleacher Creature]

4. I don't think so -- and I'm not just saying that.

The Right Wing just knows how to push the right buttons better than we do. I really don't think it goes any deeper than that. People easily buy into the who "us versus them" macho crap. They believe and see threats that just aren't real (e.g. "Gay marriage will destroy your marriage", or "Separation of church and state means that the Democrats are going to take away your bibles", and on and on and on).

They also do a better job of making their message consise and catchy. Part of that is our fault, but part of it is the fact that our arguments are much deeper -- which is a more valid reflection on life. It's relatively easy to say that people on welfare are lazy and leeches on society. It's a lot tougher to talk about the sociological reasons why people fall into poverty and how it affects our economy when we have a growing segment of people below the poverty line.

But in the end, the economic interests are going to trump that -- it's just going to take time. And unfortunately, it's probably going to involve a really tough lesson -- which we supposedly already learned during the Great Depression.

[Erika]

5. You're probably right

I had a friend say she voted for Bush because gay marriage would ruin our country. Again, she left in silence when I told her Kerry didn't support gay marriage either.