Southern Election BS

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-02-04 12:51pm

I was watching Bill Maher last night and he's interviewing a Kerry supporter who used to be a Congressman. He is a southern gentlemen and at one point Maher asks him: "Why do Northern Voters have no problem voting for a Souhterner but Southerners tend to vote for only Southeners?"

The guy replies: "Well I guess it all goes back to when you guys invaded us."

Chuckle, chortle, UGH.

Bill without skipping a beat replies: "Yeah but you see you guys were doing something evil. It was called enslaving other human beings."

Suddenly not so funny, the guy wasn't smiling anymore and his big daddy southern chuckles stopped short and Bill wraps up the interview.

Its funny when the North is painted as aggressors and such but oh oh, don't mention WHY we went in there. I have always been disgusted by this portrayal that the South wants to make of itself as this noble place that was invaded by Yankee aggressors. Get over it and answer the fucking question of why Sountherners are insular when it comes to Northern candidates.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2004-02-04 02:39pm

The south has voted for northern candidates in the past.

In 1988, the entire south went for northerner George H.W. Bush.
In 1984, it went for Californian Ronald Reagan.
In 1980, it went for Californian Ronald Reagan, with the exception of Georgia.
In 1972, it went for Californian Richard Nixon.
In 1964, Arizonan Barry Goldwater won only 6 states. Five of them were in the deep south.
Let's not forget the south was solidly for FDR for his 4 terms.

It's not that the south won't vote for northerners, it's that the south won't support northern liberals.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2004-02-04 02:42pm

Oh, I forgot to add that in 1996, of the ten states that made up the old Confederacy, six went for Kansan Bob Dole over southerner Bill Clinton.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-02-04 02:53pm

Glocksman wrote:The south has voted for northern candidates in the past.

In 1988, the entire south went for northerner George H.W. Bush.

NOTHERNER George H. W. Bush?! C'mon, that's a misnomer if I ever heard one.

Also I think Bill Maher's point is that by Northerner he means Northeast as he was using Kerry as an example compared to Edwards who is from the South and the differences in the outcomes of their primaries.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2004-02-04 03:07pm

Does 'Kennebunkport' not ring a bell?

Bush Sr. may have called himself a Texan, but he sure sounded like a northeasterner to me.

Also I think Bill Maher's point is that by Northerner he means Northeast as he was using Kerry as an example compared to Edwards who is from the South and the differences in the outcomes of their primaries.

Given that everything else is roughly equal, people will vote for the candidate that is more like them. Edwards did better than expected in NH, but did he win? Looking at the map, Edwards won only in SC, Kerry won everywhere else except for Missouri (Clark). I could ask 'why the bias against southern candidates in the north?

With the election history of the south, I don't think there's a bias against northerners per se, but a dislike of northern liberals. All of the northeastern candidates have been liberals and therefore lost the south, which is more conservative than the rest of the nation as a whole.

I'm not southern, but given a choice between 2 candidates that are the same politically, but one is from the midwest and the other looks like a Kennedy on Botox and sounds like a Boston Baked Bean, I'm voting for the guy who talks normally.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-02-04 03:48pm

lets look at all of the postwar Democrat presidents. Clinton, Carter, Johnson and Truman were all southerners. The only Northerner was Kennedy and he barely scraped by Nixon in 1960..... even with a good ol' boy Texan as his VP. Dukakis got his ass kicked in the south. Mondale got his as kicked...well, everywhere but Minnesota. George McGovern? ack! Northern Liberals start off handicapped, and only one has ever made it through...and he was pretty moderate. He also was shot to death in Texas.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2004-02-04 04:39pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:lets look at all of the postwar Democrat presidents. Clinton, Carter, Johnson and Truman were all southerners.

Truman was from Missouri.

Col. Crackpot wrote: The only Northerner was Kennedy and he barely scraped by Nixon in 1960..... even with a good ol' boy Texan as his VP. Dukakis got his ass kicked in the south. Mondale got his as kicked...well, everywhere but Minnesota. George McGovern? ack! Northern Liberals start off handicapped, and only one has ever made it through...and he was pretty moderate. He also was shot to death in Texas.

What the election results prove is that being a liberal is a handicap in the south, and even southern liberals have a hard time winning against northern non-liberals.

Look at the map for the 1992 and 1996 elections.

In 1996, Bob Dole (Kansas) won Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas.
Southerner Bill Clinton won Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and Louisiana.

In 1992, transplanted 'Texan' (Connnecticut-born and raised) George H.W. Bush won Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Texas.
Arkansas native Bill Clinton won Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Tennessee.

The last time the south solidly backed a southern liberal was in 1976 with the election of Jimmy Carter. I think the only reasons Carter won the south then was because he didn't run as a liberal and the reaction to Watergate.

Compare that to the 1980 election when Californian Ronald Reagan took the entire south with the exeption of Jimmy Carter's home state of Georgia.
I do not believe that there is a bias against northeasterners in the south. The bias is against liberals, and every candidate from the northeast since 1960 has been a liberal.

Oh, and Dukakis got his ass kicked in 41 states, not just the south.