Sanders tells Schultz: Southern Democrats are tired of being abandoned by the party (2013)

[CajunBlazer]

8. He obviously doesn't understand that social issues trump all in the South...

...and that is not going to change anytime soon.

A hatred of government's "meddling" in Southern social "customs" has been handed down from generation to generation. While it may have lost its sharp racial edge and moved into the areas of gay rights, abortion, etc., that hatred is never the less very much alive and well in the South and it totally over rides economic considerations. It is still the defining aspect of Southern politics.

For instance, well respected studies have show that when our governor refused to extend Medicaid here in Alabama, it cost the state one billion dollars in federal funding and associated economic activity. However, Governor Bentley was running for a second term at the time and he didn't dare accept those federal funds because if he had, he would have lost the election.

One day economic issues may gain precedence in the South, but certainly not in my lifetime. Bernie is barking up the wrong tree.