Blue Dogs in the South Are Purged -but Democrats are Rebuilding in Obama's Image

[Frodo]

Think of it as a process of creative destruction:

The Democratic Party in the South Has Changed for Good:
The party has been decimated in the South in the Obama era. But it is rebuilding itself in his image.

BY MICHAEL A. COOPER JR.
January 7, 2016

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[Zioneer]

I guess Democrats are saying goodbye to much of the South, then.

[MaxQue]

I guess Democrats are saying goodbye to much of the South, then.

Well, why should they keep a image which appeals to nobody?

Not enough conservative for Dixiecrats, too conservative for liberal youth and urban voters.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Good. It's better to be the party of Obama than the party of Third Way right-wingers.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Sounds like a sequal hook in some pulp manga tbh. Republicans thought they killed their enemy, but that WASN'T EVEN HIS FINAL FORM

[Miles]

Think of it as a process of creative destruction:

Ah, I see - I always wondered about your obsession with constantly pointing out Democrats' decline in the south.

[Zioneer]

In all seriousness, this is similar to what's happening in Utah; Blue Dogs are fading away, and while overall Utah Dems are still somewhat moderate, the angry progressive base is rising in power.

[Bojack Horseman]

So how long until we can start talking about taking back the House?

[Bandit3 the Worker]

So how long until we can start talking about taking back the House?

And the Kentucky Senate too, not to mention the local fiscal courts.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Sounds like a sequal hook in some pulp manga tbh. Republicans thought they killed their enemy, but that WASN'T EVEN HIS FINAL FORM

DUN DUN DUN

[Ebsy]

Sounds like a sequal hook in some pulp manga tbh. Republicans thought they killed their enemy, but that WASN'T EVEN HIS FINAL FORM

DUN DUN DUN

Where's the AdamGriffin White Georgia transforms into Black Georgia gif?

[RINO Tom]

Good luck with that.

[Mercenary]

Basically the party is just becoming even more ideological just like the GOP has been.

[Suburbia]

It shows that the party is saying that they don't care about whites anymore.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

It shows that the party is saying that they don't care about whites anymore.

Where does it say that?

[NerdyBohemian]

Yep let's keep building on that shakey cosmopolitan coalition and act really condescending towards certain segments of the population.

[RFayette]

Yep let's keep building on that shakey cosmopolitan coalition and act really condescending towards certain segments of the population.

This seems to be the issue for Dems.  While the South is urbanizing, there are still plenty of rural/small town/exurban, no-college degree whites which find the current Democratic Party agenda and image to be anathema to them.  Many suburbanites are conservative as well in the South, and the Dems in those areas changing its image won't necessarily pick that many of them up.  It seems like in the end, for the Outer South, it's pretty much a wash no matter what the Dems do.

[Virginiá]

This seems to be the issue for Dems.  While the South is urbanizing, there are still plenty of rural/small town/exurban, no-college degree whites which find the current Democratic Party agenda and image to be anathema to them.  Many suburbanites are conservative as well in the South, and the GOP in those areas changing its image won't necessarily pick that many of them up.  It seems like in the end, for the Outer South, it's pretty much a wash no matter what the Dems do.

What exactly would they do to win back more rural/small town working class white voters, though? I've always wondered what kind of strategy would yield fruit in this regard. As we've seen, Southern Democrats taking up conservative positions did not help the last holdouts much.

[RFayette]

This seems to be the issue for Dems.  While the South is urbanizing, there are still plenty of rural/small town/exurban, no-college degree whites which find the current Democratic Party agenda and image to be anathema to them.  Many suburbanites are conservative as well in the South, and the GOP in those areas changing its image won't necessarily pick that many of them up.  It seems like in the end, for the Outer South, it's pretty much a wash no matter what the Dems do.

What exactly would they do to win back more rural/small town working class white voters, though? I've always wondered what kind of strategy would yield fruit in this regard. As we've seen, Southern Democrats taking up conservative positions did not help the last holdouts much.

I agree it's a bad situation, but the best-case scenario for the Dems is to run very culturally conservative campaigns (flags, guns, Jesus, Bible, pro-life, pro-family, etc.) and draw a stark contrast on economic issues which have broad support, like minimum wage, roads, and more school funding.  The number of liberal urbanites who would not vote or vote Republican because of this kind of campaign is pretty low in reality, though such viewpoints are often over-represented on the Internet, and it gives the best chance of broadening the Dems' appeal here. 

Clearly, this approach often falls short (see Pryor, Landrieu, etc.), especially when a Democrat is in the White House.  But I don't think the alternative is much better.

[Virginiá]

I agree it's a bad situation, but the best-case scenario for the Dems is to run very culturally conservative campaigns (flags, guns, Jesus, Bible, pro-life, pro-family, etc.)

See, this is what I was thinking, but I think there is a major problem with it at this point in time. At the state level, it would most likely be plenty sufficient, but in terms of the US House/Senate, those candidates would have values that go directly against the national party (gay marriage, abortion, etc). Their constituents would expect them to fight for those values, which would involve fighting their own in Congress. With enough Congressional Democrats holding these positions, they could turn into the Democrats own freedom caucus. The risk of this occurring is probably high, considering the Traditional America vs New America is a primary focus nowadays.

Considering that the voters could just swap them out for a Republican if social values were the determining factors, it would put those socially conservative Democrats in a delicate situation.

Part of me thinks Democrats should just wait until they are able to get social values out of the conversation in these regions so they are not really bound by it when the check comes due. Though, that could be awhile, if ever.

[Green Line]

The South didn't seem to like Obama's image in the past two elections.. sounds like good news to me.

[Ebowed]

The South didn't seem to like Obama's image

Well, obviously.

[DS0816]

So how long until [Democrats] can start talking about taking back the [U.S.] House?

It will happen on the watch of next Republican U.S. president with two elected terms.

[RINO Tom]

So how long until [Democrats] can start talking about taking back the [U.S.] House?

It will happen on the watch of next Republican U.S. president with two elected terms.

It's certainly not impossible (and obviously eventually Democrats are going to win back the House), but there are enough wealthy, exurban districts that are never going to elect a Democrat because they want a politician who is going to keep their taxes low, and now Democrats seem to have burned all of the bridges that they had left in socially conservative districts that were open (at least for a period) to their economic messages.  It's a tough path (just as the GOP has a tough path in the EC right now).

[VPH]

I don't think one strategy fits everywhere. For example, in Georgia it's probably a better strategy to run on Obama's legacy, seeing as to how the Hispanic population is on the rise and general Black turnout is higher. Both of those demographics could help flip Georgia without much of a shift in candidates. However, in Arkansas or Louisiana, Democrats should look to cultural conservatives or moderates who are progressive on economics. They cannot be flaky on economic issues. Minimum wage increases are popular in places like West Virginia and Arkansas.