GOP Has Lock on South, and Democrats Can't Find Key

LA Times ^ | December 15, 2004 | Ronald Brownstein

[RWR8189]

• A Times analysis shows that Bush's sweep of the region went even deeper than first appeared.

WASHINGTON — The generation-long political retreat of Democrats across the South is disintegrating into a rout.

President Bush dominated the South so completely in last month's presidential election that he carried nearly 85% of all the counties across the region — and more than 90% of counties where whites are a majority of the population, according to a Times analysis of election results and census data.

The Times' analysis, which provides the most detailed picture yet of the vote in Southern communities, shows that Bush's victory was even more comprehensive than his sweep of the region's 13 states would suggest.

His overwhelming performance left Sen. John F. Kerry clinging to a few scattered islands of support in a region that until the 1960s provided the foundation of the Democratic coalition in presidential politics. Kerry won fewer Southern counties than any Democratic nominee since the Depression except Walter F. Mondale in 1984 and George S. McGovern in 1972, according to data assembled by The Times and Polidata, a firm that specializes in political statistics.

[HamiltonJay]

The Midwest and Mid Atlantic States are also well on there way to being GOP locks as a long overdue re-alignments there are well underway. It will take a few more cycles, but provided the Dems keep running as the idea that American's want to live in a secular socialist democracy, and that Republicans keep running good candidates, Dems are going to be left with the left coast and a shrinking north east.

[sweetliberty]

"I think what the Dems need to do is keep pounding the fact that the south is just a bunch of ignorant bigotted rednecks...."

Yes; it's been working so well for them. Do I really need to add a sarcasm tag?

[sweetliberty]

"Some on Free Republic say the same things about white southerners that the Democrats do."

Yep; and some of us southerners encourage it so more yankees don't decide they want to live in the south.

[George W. Bush]

This is the final pieces of Gingrich's plan falling into place.

When the Congress went GOP in '94, it became inevitable. The repulsiveness of the northeastern liberal Democrat establishment merely accelerated what would have happened eventually.

The South is a bit stubborn politically. Now that they've turned on the Dims, it'll be very hard to get them back. We're looking at possibly another 40 years of GOP dominance in the South.

[Mo1]

I think what the Dems need to do is keep pounding the fact that the south is just a bunch of ignorant bigotted rednecks....

With the comments about the South voting republican because of a backlash against LBJ and the civil rights laws?? .. I think this article attempted to do that

[FreedomNotSafety]

Ohio freeper? I am. Like the idea but would really love to have Blackwell as gov first.

[catpuppy]

The question: Can Democrats come up with a new biracial coalition?"

As long as Democrats view the people in terms of "race" and "coalitions" and "minorities," they are doomed to nominate the ultralibs who cannot win the presidency.

[AuH2ORepublican]

The best part is, we ain't seen nothing yet. We win overwhelmingly in the South even though we get around 10% of the black vote. Once black conservative Republicans can break through in the region (Herman Cain came close in the GOP Senate primary in Georgia, and several House candidates came close as well), it will provide us with better spokesmen in order to convince black conservatives and moderates that the Democrat Party does not stand for their values. And once we get 30% of the black vote, it will make it mathematically impossible for the Democrats to win statewide in any state in the South, and would give us all but a handful of black-majority and black-plurality congressional districts (and we could even win in some black-majority and black-plurality districts).

[deport]

Something some of you may find interesting.... I can't remember who all was into the polling data, etc during the campaign.

22 of the 26 Senators from the Southern State are now republican.

[deport]

Map

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Map

Purchase keepsake map

Square miles of counties won
Bush	2.54 million
Kerry	592,000

Population (2003) of counties won
Bush	159,2 million
Kerry	130.9 million

Counties won by less than 5 percentage points
Bush	164
Kerry	146

Note: County election data is not reported for Alaska,

Source: the Associated Press, ESRI Inc. USATODAY analysis by Paul Overberg.

[lormand]

The domain is registered to "Thomas Paine" in Madison Wisconsin. Yeah, these cowardly Blue staters do not wish to put their real names on the domain registry.

Try doing a whois search for that domain name. You can do a whois search from www.whois.net

[RWR8189]

KQQL has been banned since September or so...

[macbee]

Texans son, are both Southern and Western.

The writer used the term "Southern" and that's what I take issue with. While "Southern" would be a label which a native of Virginia or Alabama would certainly be comfortable with, my experience of Texans is that even those in the southeast (around, say, Beaumont or Port Arthur) would not accept that designation. Frankly, most Texans seem to consider themselves simply as "Texans" and their culture seems far more Southwestern (with its strong Hispanic influences) than Southern.

Any real honest-to-goodness Lone Star Staters should feel free to jump on in here and set me straight.

[mojojockey]

How should I reply to the Dems who say that regarding the southern racist Democrats of the 1960's, they switched to the Republican party?

[TASMANIANRED]

A few switched but the majority stayed.

Al Gores dad is one, Fritz Hollings and Byrd are 2 others.

[TASMANIANRED]

Also William Fulbright Clinton's mentor. All big Dems.

[CTpatriot]

You are right.... If the so-called Republican candidate or party in '08 has no answer to illegal aliens, then the so-called Democrat candidate and party will win... big time. End of story.