As I have diaried before, I live in a heavily red area of a red state (GA), but a state that seems to be flipping, in both the presidential race and the senate race. (It will be great to see the last of the loathsome Saxby Chambliss.) Our local paper is filled every day with the vitriolic rants, either in the anonymously submitted Sound Off column or the letters to the editor, from the ultra-right-wing, FOX-Limbaugh faction of the area. Just about every establishment one enters here, especially the doctors’ offices, has its TV sets tuned to FOX.
This area is heavily populated by retired and active duty military personnel. The idea of following the orders of your commander, especially of the Commander-in-Chief, plays a very strong role in the preponderance of Republican voters here, and the fact that military people seem to support a fellow military man. (The Iraq War has been strongly supported here by the retirees; the younger military families who are actually paying the price of the war, not so much.) In addition, we do have our share (maybe more) of the racists who would NEVER vote for a black man.
Our local newspaper is owned by the McClatchy News organization, but I have often been dismayed by the dearth of articles from McClatchy; more likely they are from AP, with the majority being slanted pro-Bush, and pro-McCain, especially if they put Obama in a negative light.
The editorial page editor is a Democrat who has had to walk a fine line between keeping his job, what with having a Republican editor and publisher and a heavily Republican readership, and in staying true to his convictions. I have often written him letters (not for publication) of support and commiserating with him when the anti- letters start rolling in.
Imagine my great surprise and delight this morning to open the paper to the editorial page and to learn that the editorial board has endorsed Barack Obama! This is a major departure for this paper. It has endorsed the Republican candidate for the past several election cycles, probably ever since endorsing Jimmy Carter.
I have written the editorial page editor and praised his courage in bucking the majority opinion in the area. I don’t know what kind of battles he had to fight behind the scenes. But, maybe it wasn’t such a battle after all. Maybe even the Republican editor and publisher have begun to remember that they have to live in this country, too. Maybe they have lost some money in the market roller-coaster. Maybe they see their retirements threatened. Maybe the message from Obama has filtered through their Republican-battered cottage-cheese brains and they have seen the bankruptcy of the McCain-Palin agenda.
On top of this wonderful endorsement comes the almost unbelievable prediction that the state may be flipping from red to blue. Jim Martin and Chambliss are neck and neck, and Obama’s stats are on the rise.
Little by little we seem to be turning things around. Obama’s campaign HQ here has been very active in getting folks registered, and in early voting (which I’ve already taken advantage of) the lines have been long. I haven’t heard of any problems with the registration.
Rejoice with us, fellow Kossacks! We may just be turning an important corner.