Jarding & Mudcat vs Schaller & Stats-- tag-team political-junkie-wrestling (I'm the ref), is another way to look at this "discussion" at YK. I'll have a special guest drop by as well, jerome
For Immediate Release: YearlyKos Announces Panel Discussion on the Impact of the South on U.S. Politics
From the Blogosphere: The South is a large region of the U.S., but does it hold an important place in the country's politics? "The South's Importance in the American Political Arena" is a panel discussion by a group of acclaimed political writers - Thomas Schaller, Jerome Armstrong, Steve Jarding and Dave "Mudcat" Saunders - who have written books on the topic being published in 2006.
Many political figures have advocated ignoring the region when trying to appeal to the American electorate on a national basis. The panel will examine this view, talk about the values that are important in the south, and further discuss how political figures can appeal to this very important voting group, which includes voters from various constituencies, including women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans.
Schaller says that "The notion that Democrats should pin their hopes for revival on the tail of a Southern donkey is no less absurd than witnessing the children's variant of the party game, for both involve desperate attempts to hit elusive targets while wandering around blindfolded."
An opposing view is held by Jarding. "It is morally wrong for Democrats to write off and ignore the South," says Jarding. "It is also politically stupid. Today 31 percent of the American population lives in the South. In 25 years that percentage will increase to 40 percent. And with the increased population will come an increase of nearly 50 electoral votes. At what point does the Democratic Party wish to begin playing again in presidential politics?"
Armstrong, the panel's moderator expects that "-- this ought to be lively."
With many Democrats hoping to win a majority of seats in the House during the mid-term elections this November, how the Democratic Party handles the South this year will most likely have a direct impact on the presidential race in 2008.
Gina Cooper, chairman of YearlyKos, says that "As a southerner and a progressive, I am very interested in this debate."
About the panel:
Moderator: Jerome Armstrong is a longtime blogger at MyDD.com who worked on Howard Dean's internet campaign. He is now working for a '06 US Senate candidate and a potential Presidential candidate for '08. He is the founder of the web firm Netroots.com, and co-author of Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots and the rise of People-Powered Politics.
Steve Jarding is the co-author of "Foxes in the Henhouse: How the Republicans stole rural America, and what the Democrats Must do to Run 'em Out." He is also a lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, having spent 25 years working in American politics. He is a past Executive Director of the South Dakota Democratic Party and former Communications Director in Bob Kerrey's U.S. Senate campaigns in Nebraska. He has served as Communications Director of the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and has run leadership PACs for Senators Kerrey and John Edwards. In 2001, Jarding was campaign manager for Mark Warner's bid for governor of Virginia, a campaign recognized by many as the best run in the country. In 1996, Roll Call magazine named Jarding one of the 50 most influential political people in Washington. Jarding received an undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota and a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma where he served as a Fellow at the Carl Albert Congressional Studies Center. In 2004, Jarding was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics. Jarding has taught at the University of Oklahoma, George Mason University, and American University.
"Dave ""Mudcat"" Saunders, is the co-author of Foxes in the Henhouse: How the Republicans stole rural America, and what the Democrats Must do to Run 'em Out."" A longtime veteran of rural politics in Virginia, he first partnered with Jarding during Mark Warner's successful rural campaign for governor of Virginia in 2001. Since then, he has served as rural liaison for Senator Bob Graham and Senator John Edwards. Well known among Democrats, Republicans, and the national press for his colorful, no-sacred-ground, tell-it-like-it-is approach to the problems of rural America, Saunders's politics are well aligned with country culture. Besides working for many years with the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team of NASCAR's Nextel Cup, Saunders is well known among the Nashville bluegrass crowd as well as in national hunting circles. A native of Southwest Virginia in the Southern Appalachians, Saunders still resides in Roanoke, Virginia.
Thomas F. Schaller is associate professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and co-author of a forthcoming book from SUNY Press on black state legislators. He has published academic articles in Constitutional Political Economy, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Public Choice, and Publius. In addition to appearances on C-SPAN, National Public Radio and various other television and radio programs, he has written op-eds for the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Boston Globe, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Salon.com, and The American Prospect online, and is the political writer for Baltimore magazine.
The YearlyKos Las Vegas convention "YearlyKos: Uniting the Netroots" lasts from June 8 - 11, 2006 and has attracted progressive bloggers and blog readers from around the country. http://www.yearlykos.org/