How Liberals Can Win (Back) The South

Preamble

The South has always been thought of as a bastion of conservative thought and, often, extremely conservative action. However, within the so-called red of the South are islands of deep blue, and, overall, the South is not as red as some people think. In fact, the natural friend of the average Southerner is not Republican red but Democratic blue.

What has pushed the moderate Southerner into the unloving, usually hypocritical, arms of the conservative Republican fold is not the appeal of abortion-hating, Bible thumping, frothing at the mouth far right no-tax-for-the-rich conservative crowd, but the little annoying habits and positions taken by politicians from other regions.

Rather than bemoaning the ignorance of the Southern voter, why not give up a few trivial positions and win the majority back? Of course, what I may characterize as trivial is certainly not going to be so with everyone, but compared to the larger issues of looting the Treasury, high crimes in the White House, and the lives lost in Iraq, I certainly don't think these positions amount to much.

Let Us Smoke

First of all, I am not currently smoking. (I never quit but I stop for years at a time.) I know dozens of smokers who really got upset when they were forced outside by what they perceived as liberal, Democratic nannies. Yeah, yeah, we know all about second hand smoke and killing people and all that. But no one believes that one errant tobacco molecule is going to kill you dead, especially when you compare it to all the crap spewing into the air from other sources. If you somehow can't find it your heart to let us come in from the cold into a designated smoking area, can you please leave us alone when we are outside? Every time a smoker is flogged in the parking lot of a bar or a sports arena, Democrats and liberals get the blame.

Put PETA on a Leash

Apparently there two kinds of people who join PETA: people who love animals and people who love animals and are raving lunatics. Now everyone is entitled to not only have an opinion but also to express an opinion, and that certainly includes rabid PETAians, and sportsmen of various kinds.

Keep in mind, before you jump to conclusions, that hunters and fishermen were the original American environmentalists, long before it became trendy in the 70's. You can have any kind of opinion you wish about us and that's fine, but leave us alone. Your right to complain stops the moment you block a road to a stream, scare birds from the field and otherwise make it impossible to hunt or fish.

Forget About the Confederate Flag

First of all-- the Confederate flag never flew over any slave ship so to automatically equate the Confederate flag with slavery is erroneous, though I can understand the connection. I am not going to try and explain the Civil War but I will say this-- the South will get over the Civil War as soon as the North lets us. My family had troops on both sides and it is a matter of heritage. If you don't understand it, that's fine. It, therefore, should not be a big deal to you one way or the other if people do Civil War reenactments or fly the Confederate flag off their front porch.

It is also a mistake to assume that everyone is a racist who is a member of some sort of Civil War society. The United Daughters of the Confederacy has at least one black member, by the way. Also, keep in mind that Dixie is really just a song.