CAN THE DEMOCRATS WIN BACK THE SOUTH?

Food for thought....

Governorships, senate seats, state legislatures controlled by the Democrats in deep south states

1960 - 100%
2002 - 60%
2014 - 0% (After Mary Landrieu's projected loss in LA senate run-off)

Now there are a number of reasons for this from white racists leaving the Democratic Party over its support of civil rights legislation in the 1960’s to aggressive courting by the Republican party to social issues to the final throwing off Civil War party identification to this president who many white Southerners can’t stand for racial or ideological reasons.

But does this have to be a permanent condition?  Are Democrats from now on permanently marginalized in Dixie?

Maybe not.  It is clear to me that Republicans win in the South because they know how to play up issues that are good for them such as social issues and rejection of convenient government targets such as Obamacare as well as dog whistle racial appeals.  Under this pretence, many Southerners will vote against their own best interests. 

The main failure of Democrats running in red states (whether it be in the South or anywhere else in the USA) is running as faux Republicans.  This might work for awhile, a term or two depending on the weakness of the opposition, but given the choice between a Democrat attempting to appear conservative and a real Republican the voters will choose the Republican.      

While voters were busy voting out Arkansas senator Mark Pryor, a conservative Democrat, in favor of Tom Cotton, a far right wing Republican, they also voted for a raise in the state minimum wage.  This also happened in a few other states as well  - Voting out incumbent Dems but voting for issues more associated with the Dems that were on the ballot.

The way for Democrats to win elections in red states is to do what Republicans do – Talk about the issues that are their strengths not mimicking the other party.  The minimum wage is a good example.  Pryor in Arkansas opposed the idea of a federal minimum wage and was a grudging supporter at best of the state measure that passed.

The notion of America’s poor and lower middle class as “temporarily disadvantaged millionaires” in their own heads is present only because no one rebuts this notion with the idea of positive programs and legislation that can help people in poverty.  Ignore issues where the majority in a state might be split or opposed and focus on economic issue such as minimum wage, equal pay for women, college student loan debt etc.  The Democrats can go a long way to winning governorships, senate seats, and state legislatures in the South and other red areas if they pursue this as their strategy.