Free Republic

Win or lose, some liberal pundits seem constitutionally incapable of civility toward conservatives. Four years ago, the people and states that reelected George W. Bush were branded en masse as “dumb” and as ignorant denizens of “Jesusland” — the kind of stereotyping supposedly only Republicans engage in. Bush won 31 states in that election, encompassing most of the interior of the continental U.S., over intense — some might say deranged — liberal opposition, and so perhaps their being sore losers was somewhat understandable. But even in victory liberal commentators can’t seem to show any class; now the slander of the...

In a nation turned blue, the South remains largely red. That's the takeaway from the 2008 election, and the Republicans' best hope for resurrecting their party. John McCain — for all his political waffling and personal idiosyncrasies — still held on to the South. Except for Virginia and Florida (two states heavily infiltrated by Northerners) and North Carolina (a race so close it couldn't be called until three days after the election), the South remained solidly in the GOP column. From Florida's Panhandle to Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee, McCain actually garnered a higher percentage of votes than George W. Bush...

The only place where Republicans are flourishing in national elections is the Deep South. There is reason to fear that if Republicans do not alter their present course they will be relegated to a permanent minority in Congress and be stuck below the 200 electoral vote mark in presidential elections. Emphasis on social conservatism does not appear sufficient to affect votes for federal offices, even in states where voters approve of socially conservative policies (e.g., Florida voted overwhelmingly against a gay marriage proposal but for Barack Obama). The challenge for Republicans is to maintain a distinctive alternative to liberalism but...

TUSCALOOSA | Don't tell Bill Maher, but the vote among the white electorate in Alabama for president elect Barack Obama was the lowest in the county at only 10 percent. From an analysis by MSNBC: "We took a look at Obama's performance with white voters in all 50 states. In 13 of them, Obama received less than 35% of the white vote. His three lowest performing states: Alabama (10%), Mississippi (11%), and Louisiana (14%). The other 10: GA (23%), SC (26%), TX (26%), OK (29%), AR (30%), UT (31%), AK (32%), WY (32%), ID (33%), and TN (34%). On the...

VERNON, Ala. — Fear of the politician with the unusual name and look did not end with last Tuesday’s vote in this rural red swatch where buck heads and rifles hang on the wall. This corner of the Deep South still resonates with negative feelings about the race of President-elect Barack Obama.

The South, Now With More Racism! (according to the NY Times) And, once again, the South is labeled racist. The New York Times has once again labeled the South racist, crediting the shocking tendency of the South to vote Republican. This time, it’s obvious because the South voted as much as 10% more in favor of the Republican party than in ’04’s election. The title of the article is “For South, a Waning Hold on National Politics,” but it should have been “The South, Now With More Racism!” because it was nothing more than a thinly-guised attack on the South,...

Alan Wolfe, announcing the end of the culture wars with the election of Obama, accuses the South of voting against Obama because Southerners are racists: “The single most disturbing aspect of last night’s election is the transformation of the Republican Party into the party of the Confederacy. Yes, Republicans remain strong in states such as Wyoming and Idaho, and Obama won Virginia and is leading in North Carolina. But both these latter two states flipped to the Democrats because they contain large numbers of white professionals who moved there from other parts of the country and because blacks came out...

Tennessee Republicans served notice Wednesday that the legislature is under new management, all but promising to replace the three state constitutional officers and challenging Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen to open talks on state budget issues. Although Republicans won a one-vote majority in the state Senate two years ago, they built it to a 19-14 margin Tuesday and, unexpectedly, won a 50-49 majority in the House, which Democrats held 53-46 until Election Day. Legislative historian Eddie Weeks confirmed it's the first time the GOP has held a majority of both chambers since 1869, during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Both parties...

WAKE FOREST, N.C. --Barack Obama hardly marched across the South like Sherman. But he certainly made some inroads. The Illinois Democrat failed to win a majority of white votes in any Southern state, and exit polls indicate that a deeper racial divide may persist here than in other regions. But he won Florida. You could argue that Florida - with its snowbirds and ice hockey franchises - is not really "Southern," but that doesn't change the fact that a Northern, liberal Democrat hasn't taken the state since FDR. And it's hard to overstate the symbolic importance of Obama's comfortable victory...

John McCain now leads Barack Obama 54% to 42% in Tennessee, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state. The latest numbers represent a modest slip for the Republican, who led 58% to 39% in late September. However, McCain has held double-digit leads since tracking began in April, with his lowest level support at 51% in June.

FAYETTEVILLE - John McCain enjoys a solid lead in Arkansas, according to a statewide poll. McCain leads Barack Obama 51 percent to 36 percent among polled registered voters, according to the Arkansas Poll. That leaves 14 percent of Arkansas voters undecided, and those still undecided tend to be voters who identify themselves as Democrats, according to poll results. If Hillary Clinton had been the Democratic nominee, 54 percent of participants would have voted for her. The poll interviewed 1,628 people via telephone between Oct. 1 and Oct. 21. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percent.

Please pay attention Roger Wicker and Greg Davis There are many myths in southern culture. One of the latest is the myth of the modern day, "conservative" Mississippi Democrat. Currently, Senator Roger Wicker (R) and Greg Davis are locked into real battles with former Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D) and Rep. Travis Childers (D), respectively, for federal contests. Let's start this conversation with two basic facts. First, Mississippi is overwhelmingly conservative. That's a given. To even have a prayer (pardon the pun), a Democrat for statewide office must be conservative on God, guns and abortion. That's just a fact. A "true...

Debate to happen...

A new poll shows that Republican John McCain might win South Carolina as handily as George W. Bush did four and eight years ago. McCain had a 59 percent to 37 percent lead in this state over Democratic rival Barack Obama, according to a recent American Research Group poll. Four percent remained undecided.

Yet another poll shows Republican presidential candidate John McCain with a commanding lead over Democrat Barack Obama in Georgia. The new survey — commissioned by WXIA-TV (11Alive) in Atlanta and WMAZ-TV in Macon, and conducted by SurveyUSA — puts McCain at 57 percent , with Obama trailing at 41 percent.

McCain 2:1 Atop Obama in Alabama: In an election for President of the United States in Alabama today, 09/18/08, seven weeks from Election Day, Republican John McCain defeats Democrat Barack Obama by 30 points, 64% to 34%, according to this exclusive WKRG-TV poll conducted by SurveyUSA.

ATLANTA --- Democrat Barack Obama's campaign in Georgia is in the midst of a deep slide, according to a poll released Thursday. A new InsiderAdvantage/Poll Position survey of likely registered voters indicates a steep decline for Mr. Obama. It shows Republican John McCain with the support of 56 percent of the respondents to Mr. Obama's 38 percent.

WSFA 12 News has a look at the results of one well-known Alabama political poll in the Presidential race. It appears undecided voters are making up their minds and they're choosing Republican John McCain. According to the Capital Survey Research Center poll of likely voters, McCain has a commanding 20 point lead over Barack Obama, 55% to 35%. When you look back at the last four polls, Obama has stayed virtually flat from 34 to 36%. While McCain started strong in June, dipped in July and August and regained his lead in September. Voters who favored neither candidate dropped significantly...

Democrat Barack Obama's campaign has pulled ads running in Georgia and shifted some of its paid campaign staff from Georgia to North Carolina while contending that it's not surrendering the state to Republican John McCain.

Obama campaign shifting some people out of Georgia Will continue voter-registration drives By JIM GALLOWAY, AARON GOULD SHEININ asheinin@ajc.com The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday, September 09, 2008 Nearly three weeks after dropping its TV ads, the Democratic presidential campaign of Barack Obama will shift personnel out of Georgia into more competitive states like North Carolina, staffers confirmed Tuesday. The movement of resources reflects a quickly tightening, state-by-state race for the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the White House. Campaign officials declined to specify how many of approximately 75 paid Obama staffers will be redeployed, and denied that the move signaled...