Why is the South so conservative?

[GeorgiaSenator]

ConKiller...have you ever been to Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, Dallas, New Orelans or Memphis.  They are much more rural than Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island arent they
?

[GeorgiaSenator]

I dont believe it...a well throught out piece by a Democrat that did not include name calling or personal insults.  My hat goes off to you!!!

The South has always been resentful of establish Northern power. That goes all the way back to Jefferson vs. Hamilton, farmers vs. industrialists. It continued with Jackson and his fight to kill the national bank. Calhoun took it to a whole different level with his support for nullification, arguably forming the Tea Party of his day. Of course the issue of slavery and the Civil War exasperated this and turned the resent into warfare. Reconstruction, Northern industrialization, the Civil Rights movement, etc. have all played into this. This resent towards the North has evolved into anger towards Northern Culture, which has spread to the west coast. Basically the South has always resented the North, and by proxy, Washington D.C. Other posts about religion, a large number of veterans, and tradition are certainly correct. But IMO what makes the South different is that it has historically always been fighting against Northern influence, which today means social secularism, government intervention in the economy, and a welfare state (or so they believe).

Also, in regards to the claim that the South is somehow economically to the left, that's just not true. They are not progressive in any political areas, though they can be populist. Essentially, they want low taxes, less regulation, but also Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. There are not many union members in the South, and so there isn't a lot of support for organized labor. But if anything, the old-style populism is being pushed aside. The South isn't poor backwoods hollers any more. It is increasingly an exurban society of middle class whites who have gone to college, make a steady income, and are quite religious. Thus, you don't get many Jim Eastland's and Russell Long's any more. Now you get Richard Burr and Lindsey Graham.

[GeorgiaSenator]

Memphis...are you a racist???

The South is the part of the country least receptive to the idea of a welfare state. It all goes to the coloreds anyway, right?

[GeorgiaSenator]

I don't know if I would use those words but what you communicate is generally true.

Because people from the North are usually assholes and Southern culture is not as receptive to assholes.

[GeorgiaSenator]

I'm Not a Witch...you have a lot of people tell you that you are an intolerant bigot dont you.  You seem like someone full of fear and hate towards anyone whose ideas are simply different from you.  You need sensitivity traning!!

Simply put, racism.

The Realignment of the Solid South transformed the area from solidly Democratic to now almost dominated by Republicans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johsnon, substantially transformed the voting habits of the South as is evident today. You see some of the most racially polarized voting in the Deep South in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama where there's a white man's party and the colored folks' party. Shouldn't be that way, but that's Dixie for you.

I think it is mostly due to religious fundamentalism. Outside of Louisiana, the Bible Belt encompasses all of the South to where you can't blink without seeing a church. The Republican Party does so well in the South by playing the fear card and injecting the culture/social issues of God, guns and gays to distract their voters from the real issues. The base of the Republican Party is, after all, in the South which has the least educated populace in the nation. Stupid is as stupid does. I can't believe the traditional Confederate-flag waving pickup-driving rednecks in the South actually vote Republican because they support giving tax breaks to all 10 of the millionaires below the Mason-Dixon line. No, they vote Republican because the Democrats want to kill babies, destroy the sanctity of marriage and take away our guns and Bibles.