interesting article on the partisan aberration that is Elliott County, KY

[Indy Texas]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/solid-south-democratic-party-kentucky_n_3151539.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000010

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[Bacon King]

The article shows, IMO, the biggest factor in keeping Elliot County voting Democratic is Rocky Adkins' personal machine.

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[memphis]

Since the alienation of the Dixiecrats, Elliott has long been the best uber-white rural Dem county in the South. It went 65% for McGovern and 73% for Mondale. Obviously, going from voting so heavily for those landslide losers to barely supporting a winning Democratic candidate shows serious movement. Support for the Dems isn't what it used to be in Elliott County. Houston County, TN should get an honorable mention. Romney narrowly carried it last year, but same idea. McGovern won. Mondale won it 66-34! But Obama only got 46% But that's still much better than Dems did with whites nationwide, much less in Tennessee. If whites everywhere voted like they did in Houston County, TN, the Dems would win close to 500 EVs. 2016 should be an interesting race. The Dems haven't done much for people in these areas for a long time. Poors suddenly having access to healthcare may endear some of them back to the Democratic Party. Or it might not. We'll just have to wait and see.

[TDAS04]

The article explains that Elliott County's love of FDR has been a major factor in its loyalty to the Democratic Party, but why was it Democratic before than?  Was it pro-Confederate?  That would distinguish this county, and a few others, from such Kentucky mountain counties as Jackson and Owsley.  Those counties have always been solidly Republican, due to Union-support during the Civil War; that party of Kentucky was quite pro-Union, as were East Tennessee and West Virginia.

Appalachia has been kind of a funny patchwork of counties that have been staunchly loyal to one party or the other.  Even in the most consistently GOP region anywhere--East Tennessee--Sullivan County used to be more Democratic.  Maybe the isolation caused by hilly geography explains why neighboring counties have had such opposite partisan affiliations, historically.  Coal might also have an impact, since West Virginia wasn't that Democratic before FDR, but why was this Kentucky county always Democratic?

Interesting article.

[minionofmidas]

The article explains that Elliott County's love of FDR has been a major factor in its loyalty to the Democratic Party, but why was it Democratic before than?  Was it pro-Confederate?  That would distinguish this county, and a few others, from such Kentucky mountain counties as Jackson and Owsley. 

And more to the point also from Bell, Harlan, Letcher etc.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Since the alienation of the Dixiecrats, Elliott has long been the best uber-white rural Dem county in the South. It went 65% for McGovern and 73% for Mondale. Obviously, going from voting so heavily for those landslide losers to barely supporting a winning Democratic candidate shows serious movement. Support for the Dems isn't what it used to be in Elliott County. Houston County, TN should get an honorable mention. Romney narrowly carried it last year, but same idea. McGovern won. Mondale won it 66-34! But Obama only got 46% But that's still much better than Dems did with whites nationwide, much less in Tennessee. If whites everywhere voted like they did in Houston County, TN, the Dems would win close to 500 EVs. 2016 should be an interesting race. The Dems haven't done much for people in these areas for a long time. Poors suddenly having access to healthcare may endear some of them back to the Democratic Party. Or it might not. We'll just have to wait and see.

Memphis, they will almost assuredly be endeared back towards the Democrats, but it's not going to have anything to do with healthcare.  Catch my drift?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Since the alienation of the Dixiecrats

You mean the death of the Dixiecrats?  Most of them never left the Democratic party.

[Flake]

Since the alienation of the Dixiecrats

You mean the death of the Dixiecrats?  Most of them never left the Democratic party.

was it really necessary

to revive a thread

that hasn't had a post in two years

so you could post a snarky comment about dixiexrats