"SOME SEE BEST CHANCE FOR VICTORY SINCE CARTER".
I was happily shocked to see this on the front page of the editorial section of THE GREENVILLE NEWS this Sunday. My friend had it out and waiting for me. I have about made my friends sick of hearing about politics this year. There are a couple of reasons for that.
First and foremost...most of them were Hillary supporters. And we all still have a lot of conflicting arguments going on there. I must admit it is not a difficult a move for me because I have been a joint ticket supporter since I heard Barack give his convention speech in 2004. I used to post on a draft Hillary site back then and had many discussions about a "dream ticket" of Clinton/Obama. I have always supported both, so I have no dislike of either...no Obama HATE or Clinton HATE. So it is easier for me to talk to either side and point out that it's not as much the candidates that have alienated us (after all they are very similar on most issues)it's their overly pushy, hate filled un-
necssarily vicious supporters that are unwilling to talk about anything but how their candidate was treated. And I have faced a lot of that lately here in Good ol' South Carolina. Second: If you are a Democrat in South Carolina....you always feel defeated. Most people here (average, everyday people...not political junkies like me) feel like....Well I'll vote Democrat...BUT IT WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Well this time....maybe it will.
The former national committee chairman Don Fowler said in the article:
he sees a confluence of factors that makes it entirely possible this stronghold of Deep South conservatism could fall from the ranks of the GOP for e first time since Jimmy Carter and only the second since John F. Kennedy.
He states several reasons for this. The article is very interesting, but what is more interesting is...it's getting the GOP's attention. This is a very GOP safe state. It's kind of like saying we could win South Dakota, or Kansas. I personally think it's because the Democratic nominees SHOWED UP HERE during the primaries. Barack was just here( sort of...he was in Asheville,NC, but we in Greenville consider the Asheville area part of the UPSTATE and get all news broadcast from that area).
It's always been my belief that the reason this state is so red is because we never hear from or see the Democratic candidate. There is never enough money to spend in a state you are not polling close at the end of the campaign. The Gop however, preaches to us in the red states, every day, about the evils of liberals,and the terrible things that will happen if they are elected. It's all most people here know. That's why I believe having a long drawn out primary, a fifty tate strategy....giving every state possible a feeling as if they mattered, HELPED THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE THIS YEAR. It is not accidental that we are winning or close in so many "red" states. It's not simply the candidate.
It is also that they weren't ignored by the candidate.
Fowler credits much of the success this year to the events during the primary season:
Fowler, though, sees hope in the large Democratic voter turnout in January -- 529,000 to 443,000 for the Republicans, according to the South Carolina Election Commission -- and an Obama campaign that has been very active in registering new voters here. Democrats figure they gained the majority of a 2.2 percent increase in registered voters, which includes more than 20,000 new young voters, according the commission.
And....
If Obama captures 85 percent of the black vote, he can win the state with help from 40 percent of the white voters. He campaigned heavily in South Carolina, which held the first primary in the South, drawing big crowds, particularly of young people, including a throng of 29,000 who came to see the him with Oprah Winfrey in Columbia.
We have learned many lessons during this campaign and made history in so many ways.
We could win in SOUTH CAROLINA. I'm volunteering today to put my house on the list to be a "Democratic Neighborhood Headquarters".
Help us to make a statement in South Carolina!