It's fine to characterize the GOP for what it has become - a regional party...
...but I was very disturbed, in the comments, to see multiple, not isolated, threads of south bashing. Terms like redneck, ignorant, attributing southerners with a lack of education, making blanket statements about racism. This needs to stop now.
The GOP's descent into regional party status is their problem, do not make it our problem.
The Democrats are a National party, and if you believe in Dr. Dean's 50 State Strategy, which got us to where we are today, you will understand that writing off an entire region is wrong both ethically and strategically.
I am from Kansas. In March I stood in line with over 1000 people, filling up 2 auditoriums (when one was originally reserved) to attend the Democratic Caucuses, and to cast, with 80% of the others in attendance, a vote for Barack Obama.
Obama lost Kansas, and Kansas firmly performed as a red state in November, but me and the 1000s of Kansans who turned out for the caucuses, who were energized and worked for the Democratic party and progressive causes, do not deserve to be shut down because of the way our fellows voted. I would argue we deserve support, and that this support will reap its benefits in the next 5-25 years as a new generation become voters. Witness Virginia.
And when you bash the South on this site, you essentially destroy the work of thousands of your fellow progressives. When you campaign for your favorite Dem in a purple or blue state, you do a valuable service. But here in the red states its trench warfare. It is being inundated, 24 hours a day, especially in the Bush era, with rightwing nonsense, with people who should know better going along to get along, with taking unpopular positions in social circles and the workplace, to educate and inform, and to do your part to bring change.
Terms like "flyover country" bother even some of my liberal friends, who call coasters things like "elitist" even though they are solidly Democrats and progressives. You have to work hard to make progressives utter rightwing buzzwords. And threads like the one referenced do just that.
Guess what? I paid less for my house than my friend in California. My school system is better and safer. And I still get to see Harry Potter in IMAX the same day you get to. My family is here. My dad has Parkinson's disease and even if I got a job offer elsewhere I would not leave him and my mom in his condition. People, including progressives, have roots here in the Midwest and in the South. By saying things like "fuck the south", calling people rednecks, implying entire regions lack education, is not only bound to be innacurate (it obviously is), but ultimately insulting. I would even venture to say that, belittling an entire region because of its history, is a lack of empathy at best, and at worst perhaps, if not racist, then, gasp, elitist in the pure, non-rightwing sense of the term.
And statistically its just not accurate either. Sure, 40-something percent of Southerners claim to be in the birther camp. But 1) that is still a MINORITY, and 2) I think if the poll delved deeper (Kos- next time why don't you do this?) and asked their commitment to the birther meme, you would see lower percentages.
This may be the Republican "base", but as has been pointed out by Thomas Frank and recently in the healthcare debates, this "base" is not being well-represented: they are economically hurting, and need healthcare and jobs as much as people in the industrial midwest. If we really believe we are right about the prescription to solve these issues, the answer is not to insult or to write-off, but to engage, educate and LISTEN.
I'll give you an example of what happens with the good intentions of public policy debate:
We all know that driving 55MPH saves gas and lives. But have you ever driven 55MPH down I-70 through the entire state of Kansas? By making the speed limit 55, you isolate small towns further, because it takes that much longer to get places, and people in these towns, because you are sure of the science behind what you are saying, think you're not going to listen to them. So they tune you out.
Instead of writing this region off, why not ask a question: if this region really isn't buying into Dem solutions, what is the reason, the perception problem in how we market these ideas? That is how you have a 50 state strategy, and you make change not only at the national level, but in the state legislatures, where REAL changes have immediate impact.
Let's think about using Daily Kos as a means to support meaningful change throughout the country, and not as a forum to drive wedges and make life even harder for progressives doing the hard work.
UPDATE: Wow- Thanx for the recc list. I apologise for any minor errors - I did not have a chance to proofread before publishing (shame on me, I know), as I got called away and was unsure when I could get back.
I want to make a point:
The number of people saying "NO"- they are not frustrated by South Bashing (45% as of 3:00PM CDT), is almost the same as the number of Southerners who don't believe Obama was born in this country.
Karma?
UPDATE 2:
A comment was made: what is the possibility of Barack Obama being elected a Senator from GA or MS?
To which I would reply -- What is the possibility of Civil Rights legislation passing if Lyndon Johnson were from Illinois?
By writing off an entire region of the country we condemn all those who live not just in that region, but in the United States as a whole. Civil Rights legislation was needed in the South, but EVERYONE in all 50 states benefited. It does us no good to have any portion of the United States left behind or unrepresented. Which is why we are a 50 state, national party.