Book Review: Blue Dixie Awakening the South's Democratic Majority

Book Review: 

Blue Dixie Awakening the South's Democratic Majority

This is a review I originally wrote in 2011. The argument made in the book was not entirely prophetic, but more current events has proven the points made within. I have decided to overlay the original post with a revisit to the subject. I will put the current writing in italics 

http://us.macmillan.com/bluedixie

Major Points:

The South has traditionally been a Democratic area, but changes in the party have alienated Southerners The South is not as conservative as many would think Traditional Liberals in the South want to vote for the Democratic candidate but few candidates meet their needs The Democratic Party needs to jettison the notions of being "Republican Lights" Southern Neo-Liberals like Bill Clinton are actually not liberal enough for Southern tastes Obama as a candidate (written before the election) is continuing this pattern

My Agreements:

The South is not as conservative as many would think The South has traditionally been a Democratic area, but changes in the party have alienated Southerners

My Disagreements:

Traditional Liberals in the South want to vote for the Democratic candidate but few candidates meet their needs...This I agree with on the National level, and somewhat on the state level

Thoughts:

There is very little in this book that I disagree with, and that is coming from someone who voted for George W. Bush and John McCain. In fact the fact that I voted for these candidates over "ideal" Democratic candidates proves Mr. Moser's point. Barack Obama was and still is, at least to many Democrats, a dream candidate.

However, five years into a two two Presidency,President Obama has managed to alienate many Democrats for his failure to pass comprehensive gun control laws. In his recent end of the year press conference, President Obama outlined many of his failures. On one hand, I have to agree with Congressional Democrats. There are many areas that President Obama has failed. Such is the be the case with any president, more especially one that is trying to accomplish big goals. One the other hand, President Obama is to be applauded for attempting the rather large feats of removing American combat troops from two deeply entrenched wars, passing the universal health care bills, and even the typically simple task of passing a budget. All of these measure have, not with standing the expected opposition, been met in the the South with support.

Mr. Moser's point of Democrats needing to pay attention to Southern voters should be considered by any Democrat seeking election in the South. A prime example, albeit what some would call anecdotal, of Mr. Moser's overarching purpose of the book would come in the form of resident of Greene County, Tennessee who was interviewed by a local paper. This crux of the article was discussing the fact that many voters were turned off by Barack Obama's rhetoric during the 2008 Presidential campaign. This gentleman who had run for representative of the 1st Tennessee Congressional District, stated that it was not the color of Obama's skin that bothered him, but the fact that he was not a traditional liberal. In addition, it seemed seemed to the interviewee that Obama simply ignored the South as a whole. A closer examination of the electoral map from the 2008 election would confirm this assumption. Obama won only North Carolina, Virginia, and (what many call the Southern most Northern state) Florida.

The 2012 electoral map would at a glance show the President Obama's campaign paid little attention to Mr. Moser's BLUE DIXIE, but a quick recall of relative recent political history, and shifting demographics would so otherwise. Take for instance the counties that President Obama won. No surprise that he won the traditional strong holds of the educated, middle class, and urban, BUT what is the south becoming? Educated, middle, and urban. Cities are thriving South of the Mason-Dixon. Look at the license plates as the travel during the holiday season. Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina will dominate. Go to any large Southern city and look at the non-native plates. Ohio, New Jersey, and Indiana will dominate. People are moving to Southern Cities, and those are the areas in which President Obama did will in during the 2012 campaign. Take as a final example, where the DNC held its convention. Charlotte, North Carolina is the apple of the "New South's" eye! Banking, culture, easy access to transportation, and close quality collegiate education make it an ideal city for people to migrate. Add to the mix Atlanta, Charleston, The Research Triangle, The Piedmont Triad, Knoxville, and even the Gulf Coast and you have areas that make the South rather powerful

Finally I will say that even with the emergence and subsequent fall of the Tea Party, which I would contend to be made up of closet Democrats, the Democratic Party could stand to do well by paying attention to the South. Many Tea Partiers have become disenfranchised with the Republican party, and are simply not heard in the Tea Party (due mostly to overwhelmingly loud spokespeople), so it would behoove Democrats to attempt cajoling them to the other side. I again turn to the example from above to help prove this point. The gentleman had seriously contemplated voting for John McCain had he not put Sarah Palin on the ticket. Many Southerns have flocked to the Tea Party, but many more find them downright repulsive and loud. Many people I have spoken with on the subject have stated that they have more in common with Democrats than the Tea Party.

Predicting a 2016 candidate is not going to be easy, and truthfully I am glad. The Democrats are playing things smart by not tipping a hand as to possible candidates. That being said, the Republicans could clean house with Governor Chris Christie in the South according the Mr. Moser's understanding of the Southern Democrat.

As an aside, I have to admit that it got my liberal blood going and made me want see the Democratic party do well in the next elections...so long as they are traditional Southern Democrats and not New Liberal Yankees...yeah I said it.

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Dixie-Awakening-Democratic-Majority/dp/0805090142