As a Southern Democrat, I Am Sick of Being Labelled "Red" and "Conservative"

[McCamy Taylor]

The backbone of the Southern Democratic Party is made of a coalition of unions, Blacks, Hispanics and gays. When people speak disparagingly of the choices we make in our primary, they are criticizing a group of voters who are much more marginalized than Democrats in other states.

Clinton scored big with unions, Blacks, Hispanics, gays---and a lot of women. She did not score big with the KKK, David Dukes or the Dukes of Hazard, no matter what some folks at DU would like you to believe.

[NanceGreggs]

1. Sorry, Sweetie ...

You are apparently from one of those states that don't count.

[TheUndecider]

14. Truth

Hillary cashing in on her prepaids!
Stand up and tell them we recognize their unscroupliisnous

And we won't fall for it, again.

[NanceGreggs]

15. I'm sure you had a point to make.

I just can't seem to find it.

[rpannier]

16. Give it time and maybe you'll get it

And when you do...
Please explain it to me then
Because I am totally lost

[NanceGreggs]

17. I'll probably have to call in a team of experts ...

... but I'm confident they can crack the code.

I'll keep you posted.

[TheUndecider]

31. Posted at 3 am after the rock out with your caucus out party

I have no idea what point I was trying to make!
Jibberish. Haha NanceGreggs, keeping me honest

[Codeine]

26. "Stand up and tell them we recognize their unscroupliisnous"

Dude, I don't even recognize the word you just tried to use!

[TheUndecider]

32. Me either

Trying to bash Hillary I think, posting while drunk

[sufrommich]

28. "Hillary cashing in on her prepaids!"

Saved for posterity.

[VulgarPoet]

29. * Lack of scruples.

[msongs]

2. the theory is that people who are too dumb to know what's best for them all vote for clinton nt

[72DejaVu]

27. If people are too dumb to make an informed choice

Shouldn't their votes be distributed more or less randomly?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Have a rec

Your post deserves many more.

[aspirant]

4. "Oh,

I wish I was in Dixie hurray, hurray in Dixieland I'll make my stand to live and die in Dixie"

[Lucinda]

5. KNR

[renate]

6. I think you're f*ing brave to be a Southern Democrat

I really do. I lived in the South, not even the deep South, for a while (left ASAP because I am not brave) and that social pressure to conform (I had never been one to conform in my life before then) is really tough.

You're absolutely awesome and I genuinely admire you and people like you.

[That Guy 888]

7. I live in TX, I realize that tonight was,barring some miracle my ONLY input into the Presidential...

election. Is it racism or homophobia to acknowledge that while the major cities (and their suburbs) vote to elect Democratic Presidents at about 51%-65%, the outer suburbs and rural Texans run about 80+ percent gop.

That's what I remember seeing in past election coverage in the counties around me.

When people say the "South doesn't matter" that's what they mean. The last Democratic party official to say screw that build up those Dems give the "Red State" grass roots some support was Howard Dean. While I think President Obama has done some great things, ditching Dean was not one of them, because I live in a state that our party has written off as "Red" and "Conservative".

[tarheelsunc]

8. I think it's pretty offensive.

People try to make it sound like Democrats from the South are stupid and it doesn't matter what we think. They act like just because we live in red states, our votes shouldn't count in the Democratic primary. I don't think they realize that delegates are allocated based on how many people in each state voted for the Democratic candidate in the most recent election. The delegate counts are indicative of how many Dems are in each state. But because we don't vote the way they want us to, they'd rather see us disenfranchised. It's pretty sad to see on a site supposedly full of Democrats.

[consciouslocs]

9. Could not agree more

The condescending attitudes of some of the SEN Sanders supporters is troubling. It is bad enough dealing with the marginalization being an AA in a state with so many obstacles to voting in general; only to turn around and have people looking down their noses at your state and demographic and dismissing the value of your vote.

[Todays_Illusion]

10. You have just provided the list of people Hillary will sell out and whe will only need one term.nt

[auntpurl]

11. I completely agree.

I find it very puzzling that some Bernie supporters don't seem to value every Democrat's vote. I am thrilled that oft-marginalised groups and good Democrats who bear the burden of waving the flag from a red state had a chance to have their voices heard yesterday!

Also, some of these states are NOT out of reach in this and especially future elections. VA will go blue again, I expect. Texas will eventually go blue as the bigots are outnumbered by Hispanics. Georgia has Atlanta and other big urban areas whose vote will start to overwhelm the more rural areas.

So, why would any Democrat want to marginalise and dismiss those voters? For heaven's sake, keep them in the fold and they will be the base of a REAL revolution in the future!

[NBachers]

12. What? You don't like being written off as some kind of Confederate toady?? Well color me shocked!

Looks like someone has been catapulting the wrong propaganda.

[Major Hogwash]

13. I don't know what you're talking about.

But the backbone of the ENTIRE Democratic party's base is made of a coalition of unions, Blacks, Hispanics, and gays.

MEN AND WOMEN.

So, I don't know what the fuss is all about over the labels.

[Rilgin]

18. Maybe its the following.

Iraq War Vote: Don't Care.
Fracking Support: Don't Care
TPP Support: Don't Care
Lying about TPP Support: Dont Care
Cluster Munitions Vote: Don't Care
Welfare Reform: Don't Care
Racist Campaigns: Don't Care
Corporate Ties: Don't Care
Bankruptcy Bill: Dont Care
Pay to Play: Dont Care
Hiring Brock (Hit man on Anita Hill): Dont Care
Late Conversion on Gay Marriage: Dont care
Glass Steagel; Dont Care
Support for DOMA: Dont Care
Designer of Libya Policy: Dont Care
Email Problems: Dont Care
Foundation ties to State Department: Dont care
Nafta Support: Dont Care
Triangulation as a political tactic rather than running on principle: Dont Care
Email issues: Dont Care
General Election problems because of Unfavorables: Dont Care
Proven Lies big and small: Dont Care
General Electorate Perception of Dishonesty: Dont Care

These are off the top of my head. Of course no politician is perfect and some of the above issues will not be important to some people. She has been generally moderate liberal in her life but the last ten years after leaving government she cashed in for herself, for Chelsea and for the Foundation. This happens although we have counter paths such as Jimmy Carter who got involved with doing good works rather than just getting rich from corporations. However, once you cash in, you really should not be suprised when people do not trust that you are not bought. Hillary's current actions are the epitome of the revolving door which is another thing that Democrats should and have cared about but evidently currently is "Dont Care".

Hillary is supported by people who claim to be liberal rather than moderate conservative and get offended when people like me call out this claim. It is really difficult to say you are a liberal person if you are going to say "Dont Care" about all the warts and baggage that she will bring to office.

Basically, all I see are claims such as she is the bestest, most experienced, most qualified, smarterst person that the world has ever seen and she will do such good things for all of us. Without any specifics or any recognition of any governing or electionability issues. All issues are just met with ........

[auntpurl]

19. I think perhaps

vagueness of policies is not your best avenue to attack Hillary.

[Rilgin]

20. Proving my point

My point was not that Hillary has no policy positions on her website or elsewhere nor that she has no proposals. I did not say that in my post and do not believe it. I have heard some of her policies such as she wants free junior college and 12 dollar an hour minimum wage. I have no doubt she has others. My brother has actually written environmental policy statements on some issues for past democratic politicians including Obama.

However, to directly address this as a new point. Yes, she is very vague about what she will do in her public speeches. Her public promises are the usual political promises full of smoke and very little fire. For example, she often says something like We will improve on Obamacare and build on Obama's policies. You can not get much more vague than that.

She has put Flint front and center on her map. But her speeches are that Flint is immoral and it has to be a national priority. This is vague talk like most of what she says. We have to fill in the holes of america. What exactly is she proposing to change income inequality in america or climate change other than acknowledgement that they are problems and promising to fix an issue in some way.

This is just the way politicians drum up support for themselves. I think its kind of depressing that it works but it was not the point of my post.

However, my post was not about her vagueness.

My post was on the fact that the response to the problems with her candidacy is always Dont Care which becomes rather amazing given the quantity of issues she brings with her to the election that we really could do without.

[Doctor_J]

21. Rec this reply

[yardwork]

22. As a Democrat who has lived in the south for decades, I agree.

[bigtree]

23. right on

..this effort to dismiss votes in the South leaves an important base of voters out in the cold.

[sufrommich]

24. It's an attempt to devalue minority voters.

It will play as well as "OMG arrest Bill Clinton!" with democratic voters.Tone deafness has reached levels never seen before.

[LexVegas]

25. Its a backhanded way of diminishing minority votes. nt

[mhatrw]

30. When everything around you is so deep red, deep purple starts to look blue. nt

[one_voice]

33. I was appalled when I saw

people saying that entire segments of people just didn't matter. I have family scattered throughout the south. Screw anyone thinking they don't matter.

My dad is from Alabama, he still has lots of family there. Mississippi, NC, Georgia, Florida (is that considered the south) & SC. I also have family in Ohio, PA, & Washington State.

We're scattered all over the place. I love going down south to visit.

[Lizzie Poppet]

34. That's a valid and important differentiation.

While there's some indication that a lot of Democrats have switched party affiliation to vote for Trump, that's not remotely limited to the South, nor is it indicative of the general Southern Democrat voter.

I think it is, however, fair to say that Democrats in the South are generally more conservatively-inclined. Not "conservatives," per se, but not as far left as, say, I am. I don't have a problem with that, as the Democratic Party is intended to be a big tent. I wouldn't expect all of its members to be as far left as I am (and to be fully forthcoming, I'm not a Democrat anyway...I'm an independent and a socialist). But I would be very surprised indeed if Southern Democrat opinions and polling trends were not a bit more conservative that average for Democratic voters. That the more-conservative option would have more appeal is only natural.

Do I think these voters are making a mistake in not favoring the more-progressive candidate? Of course I do. I think any voter who is not a member of the financial elite is making a mistake not supporting Bernie Sanders in this election...if I thought otherwise, I wouldn't be a progressive. But I also don't think it's remotely fair to characterize someone who is in my opinion making a mistake as "stupid" or a "redneck RW'er" or what-have-you. That's unfair (and arrogant).

[Fumesucker]

35. Welcome to the DU, where bashing the South and Southerners is a tradition

[NaturalHigh]

36. I have seen tons of tasteless comments about the South...

and "the Confederacy" here through the years. One year when wildfires were particularly bad here in Oklahoma, I remember some assholes posting stuff like "hope they don't need any federal aid" and "maybe their god is mad at them." Yeah, we've always had to deal with really shitty posts from some DUers.

[mcar]

37. From one Southern Democrat to another

[Bluenorthwest]

38. If LGBT are a Southern backbone, please read this North Carolinan's words and act accordingly:

"I first stepped into my local LGBT youth assistance agency, Time Out Youth, in the fall of 2012. At the time, the non-profit organization had seen a 419 percent increase in homeless LGBT young people in need of temporary shelter in Charlotte, N.C. I was there to write a story about why this was happening.

I talked with one 23-year-old, partially deaf, transgender man who told me how a staff member found him sleeping in his car and helped him find a place to stay through their host home program. He had to temporarily stay at the Vanlandingham Estate near the TOY office because there is no emergency shelter equipped to fairly accomodate LGBT people in Charlotte.

It’s not even just a problem in my hometown. There are barely any emergency LGBT shelter options in the entire Bible Belt. Per CenterLink, an online database of LGBT centers across the United States, only North Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee provide some kind of emergency services for LGBT youth, even if it is not in the form of a stand-alone shelter. Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky do not even have LGBT centers."
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2013/10/28/op-ed-lgbt-kids-bible-belt-need-our-help

If you get out and look for it you will find lots of sad tales and not much in the way of social osteopathy for this precious spine of the Party.....