Often when driving through the more economically depressed areas of my community, I spot a Jeb! sticker right next to the Confederate flag displayed on the pickup truck. Many times these people hate the Democrats because they’re n***** lovers or f** lovers, while being completely ignorant of the fact that Jeb! and the like are responsible for their continued economic status. Dean is wise to reach out to these “trailer dwellers” whose fathers and grandfathers were loyal Democrats. They have the most to gain from regime change.
So, if I read this right… ‘poor whites’ in The South can be easily identified by the ‘loathsome symbol’ they put on their pickup trucks, and Howard Dean wants their vote. Sounds simple to me.
I think people misread the South on that point. Southerners do not have some sort of visceral aversion to New Englanders. Hell, Kennedy carried the South.
It’s just that the last few presidential candidates from New England have come across as patrician and/or ineffectual, and/or weasley.
Dean is different. He is strong-minded and outspoken, and he shoots from the hip. He has some bass in his voice and a straightforward manner. All of these characteristics have natural appeal to Southerners. Southerners like a politician who is a fighter, and (for male politicians) who exudes some macho.
Further, Dean’s economic message could have real resonance in the South IF presented properly.
I had high hopes for Dean performing better than expected in the South. Were he to win the nomination and name Clark as his running mate, I think he might have had a real chance to take at least two or three Southern states out of the Republican column.
As it is, he has really shot himself in the foot. An apology and clarification is in order. The South has a culture of forgiveness, and that includes politicians, but forgiveness is only extended if you ask for it.
Dean might still recover, but now I’m thinking a Clark nomination might be the only hope of putting any Southern states in the D column.
I agree with spoke. Clark’s appeal to southerners will be extremely hard for Dean to counter, no matter how much machismo he (Dean) exudes.
A dignified Yankee patrician could appeal to the South, were he to approach them honestly and without indulging in brain-dead stereotyping.
Dean, on the other hand, used “pickup truck and confederate flag” as an automatic shorthand for “poor whites”.
He gave what I consider a very heartfelt apology in New York today.
I think its simple reaching out to everyone. Dean wants to be everyone’s president. True compassion.
Not all poor whites down here are bigots, nor are all Confederate flag wavers. But most poor white bigots blame Northerners and Democrats for their inability to have a standard of living my yankee friends enjoy. To attempt to gain their support is admirable.
As an aside, I think a Dean/Clark or Clark/Dean ticket would do very well down here. Edwards’ oppertunistic comments last night were a real shot in the foot. And nobody gives a shit what Sharpton thinks. Dr King wouldn’t want him sitting at his table either.
Oh yeah, I meant to cover Sharpton’s remarks too. Sharpton stupidly played right into Republican hands by focusing on the offensiveness of the Confederate flag. By doing so, is helping the Republicans drive the wedge between black and white Southerners.
A disappointing performance all around for Democrats. Dean made a verbal blunder, but I may be even more disappointed in Edwards and Sharpton. They could have seized this moment to try to draw black and white Southerners together under a Democratic banner, but both chose instead to pander.
E72521, do you have a text for that apology? Or can you give us the gist?
Google news doesn’t have any text. I saw the actual speech on CNN. The 'puter is very slow today…
The thing that I think is interesting is that he made a similar remark to a Democratic audience in February and received a standing ovation. (You may find mention of that in the first linked story.) Now he’s made the same statement and he’s being jumped on for it. My conclusion? the candidates don’t think he was wrong to say it- just wrong to say it in public. They know exactly what he meant. Racist a symbol as the flag is, he wasn’t advocating racism, he was talking about people. Most of the replies I saw were lame and intentionally misread the comment. Hmm…
This Yahoo site says he said:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031105/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_debate_23
I feel like I’m being wooshed here. He basically calls for the ‘pickup truck/confederate flag’ vote and when people go 
he says "You know, poor white southerners. If that’s not a ridiculous and insulting stereotype, I don’t know what is. Note, that it is an insult against white southerners, not blacks.
Actually, this has nothing whatsoever to do with blacks unless the mere mention of the confederate flag is an assault on their very souls. Therefore, Al Sharpton should just shut his pie hole.
From your link, “everyone should be included in the Democratic party”, even people who plaster a loathesome, painful reminder of slavery on their vehicles? Dean is disappointing even for a politician.
Here is an interesting apologia for Dean. A pretty creditable defense, I think.
They’re already included in the other party, which is the issue here I think.
(Bolding mine) That’s debatable.
(Bolding mine)
Why don’t we just work on the tired old stereotype that the Confederate Naval Jack or Battle Flag are racial symbols. There may be/have been groups who use those symbols for their own perverted causes but I for one am in favor of ignoring that miniscule slice of the population.
I liked the rest of your speech though.
I see from that Yahoo site that Lieberman is jumping on the attack-and-pander wagon. His propensity for negative campaigning is really starting to piss me off.
This story had me thinking again today: how come the media continually miss the obvious motivations for peoples actions.
Dean’s been using “confederate flag” because he knows it’s a hot button issue and will get his name in the headlines.
The Democratic candidates are hopping mad that Dean, an outsider, can raise more funds than they can, and potentially opt out of matching funds (and the primary spending limit that comes iwth them) and so are looking for any reason at all to attack him, even those that are only marginally valid.
Dean is playing them, and the media.
Now, if he had said “fried chicken and watermelon” crowd, he would truly find himself on an express trapdoor slide straight to the political trash heap.
It would be nice if the Confederate flag were just a quaint novelty, like stovepipe hats and muttonchop sideburns, that were trotted out only for battle re-eanactments. Such is not the case today.
It would be nice if the Confederate flag were just a quaint novelty, like stovepipe hats and muttonchop sideburns, that were trotted out only for battle re-eanactments. Such is not the case today.