What kind of lame duck president turns his back on his base in their time of greatest need?
Looking only at Hancock and Harrison counties along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, they went overwhelmingly for the GOP in 2004. The bulk of the state's tax base from shipping, fishing, casinos and tourism comes from these counties. By all rights, they no longer exist as a revenue generator and the response Cheney got yesterday is a probably a fair indication of the overall local sentiment.
Now multiply that times 3 states, a vast number of counties, the number of US and international tourists impacted by the administrations ineptitude and you get a potentional base erosion that's going to be impossible to rebuild.
This impacted families in the south. What Bush doesn't seem to get or possibly *want* to get is, family in the south isn't just mom, pop and the kids. It's everyone; cousins, aunts, uncles, brother in-law twice removed on the mother's side, etc. This is a cascade. For every one person affected, they've got 20+ relatives in surrounding states as well.
The "Family Values" meme to which this administration clings creating artificial and inconsequential national wedge issues, is officially dead. They don't value family. They don't value human life. They value property, profits and big business over tax paying voters.
Posted by kerry at September 9, 2005 05:01 AMYou're dead right, Kerry. Before my sister was able to find a way out of Biloxi she was staying with friends there. My sister is a member of The Loyal Order of the Moose - a fraternal organization - or more specifically a member of The Women of the Moose so she knows a hell of a lot of people. Nationally there are about 1.5 million members. They are by and large middle class and tend toward the more conservative although the organization is considered to be nonsectarian/nonpolitical. These folks - many of them anyway - voted for Bush. Twice. When she called me to let me know she was okay one of the first things she mentioned was how mad all of her friends were at Bush and everyone else in the White House. She was very passionate about it and my sister and I NEVER talk politics so I was kind of surprised that she said anything about this. Her friends in Biloxi work in the casinos, hotels, liquor stores, tourist shops or in little Mom & Pop establishments along the coast. Now they are all out of jobs and have no way of knowing when (or where) they will work again. Her friends who admit they voted for Dubya are now saying they made a mistake and the man is an idiot. He's lost an awful lot of support for certain in that part of the country.
Posted by: lulu at September 9, 2005 07:26 AM"Her friends who admit they voted for Dubya are now saying they made a mistake and the man is an idiot. He's lost an awful lot of support for certain in that part of the country."
That epiphany was timely. Does this mean there not going to vote for him in 2008?
Posted by: Pre-K at September 9, 2005 09:35 AMIt means a red state may just turn blue.
Posted by: lulu at September 9, 2005 10:18 AMMaybe. I'd have thought the path from Gov. Haley Barbour/Bush to Blue State would be to steep to cover in less than a decade. Then again, I'm on the West coast and don't know squat about the South.
Posted by: Pre-K at September 9, 2005 10:43 AMSo what else is new? Bush is an anti-human values idiot who continues to destroy our Republic and shred the Constitution. However, Bush is as solid as ever with his base and they are circling the wagons. Watch the Swift-Boat horrors they will unleash now, in order to bamboozle the sheeple with the help of Faux News and friends. Not one ReThuglican I know would change their vote for the Democratic "Republican-lite" candidates the Party threw (or will throw) out there. Worse still, they actually LIKE 99% of what Bushit has done and stands for, with a few "policy disagreements" they are willing to overlook. Overall he is still a cult leader of the mindless. Add to that the electronic voting machines and the aggressive voter disenfranchisement. The Progressive voice is at least louder now, but not meaningfully broader. ReThug's will pick up 2 Senate seats and 4-6 House seats in the '06 elections. We will then all be shocked yet again.
Posted by: ipu4me at September 9, 2005 12:17 PMAlthough I normally share your apocalyptic view, I've got Republican friends who now greet me with "hey fellow Democrat" and are deeply regretting their November decisions.
Pause for a moment, take a deep breath and read this piece
http://www.100monkeystyping.com/wlog/archives/001763.html
This is some of what us blues are hearing down here in red-land.
Posted by: kerry at September 9, 2005 12:58 PM