How The South Will Rise To Power Again

[cpzilliacus]

NewGeography.com: How The South Will Rise To Power Again

The common media view of the South is as a regressive region, full of overweight, prejudiced, exploited and undereducated numbskulls . This meme was perfectly captured in this Bill Maher-commissioned video from Alexandra Pelosi, the New York-based daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Given the level of imbecility, maybe we'd be better off if the former Confederate states exiled themselves into their own redneck empire. Travel writer Chuck Thompson recently suggested this approach in a new book. Right now, however, Northeners can content themselves with the largely total isolation of Southerners from the corridors of executive power.

Yet even as the old Confederacy's political banner fades, its long-term economic prospects shine bright. This derives from factors largely outside the control of Washington: demographic trends, economic growth patterns, state business climates, flows of foreign investment and, finally and most surprisingly, a shift of educated workers and immigrants to an archipelago of fast-growing urban centers.

[kphoger]

Drat.  Redneck Empire would have made an awesome name for a country.

[Road Hog]

What will happen is the South will grow more purple as the migration continues. It's happened already in Virginia and North Carolina and it's predicted to happen in Texas in the next decade.

[sandiaman]

When I  was  growing  up  in San Francisco  in  the  60's,  the  south  was  viewed  as  some  dark, forboding  land  full  of  bigots  and  fear.  And  that  was  pretty  accurate  for those  times.   Remember  Easy Rider?  I  wouldn't  dare  go down  there  with  my  long  hair  and  beard.  Now  it  is  one  of  my  favorite  parts  of  the  country  to  visit.  The  people  are  genuinely  friendier  and  more  down  home  than  in many  other  regions  of  the US.  Are  there   still racists  there?  You  bet,  but  no  more  or  no less  than  any  where  else.  And not  all  racists  are  white.   There  is  still  a  pleasant  difference  between  the  sexes,  they  don't  blend  in  like  the unisex look  you  would  find  in  the  Castro District.

[cpzilliacus]

What will happen is the South will grow more purple as the migration continues. It's happened already in Virginia and North Carolina and it's predicted to happen in Texas in the next decade.

Don't forget Georgia and (especially) Florida.  I think the Sunshine State will increasingly become a lost  cause for the Republican Party, at least in presidential elections.

[cpzilliacus]

Are  there still racists  there?  You  bet,  but  no  more  or  no less  than  any  where  else.  And not  all  racists  are  white.

This is correct.  Some of the most-racist places I have visited in my own life are well beyond the boundaries of the former Confederate States of America. 

[Duke87]

Of course, some of those points of supposed attraction (lower taxes, fewer unions) are directly correlated with the region's conservatism and could well change if more liberals move down there and change the political landscape. Oh irony.

Personally, I find the culture in "the south" as it currently exists to be rather off-putting. Everyone is too damn polite for no good reason. And the region is crawling with speed traps. Will any of this change as more people move there? Probably not. The former, at least, is probably another point of attraction for a lot of people.

Although, the fact that the southern job market is in better shape right now is probably the single biggest reason for young people to move there.

[Road Hog]

What will happen is the South will grow more purple as the migration continues. It's happened already in Virginia and North Carolina and it's predicted to happen in Texas in the next decade.

Don't forget Georgia and (especially) Florida.  I think the Sunshine State will increasingly become a lost  cause for the Republican Party, at least in presidential elections.

I didn't count Florida but I should've in terms of geography. Florida has been a purple state for years.

Georgia and South Carolina were always a lighter shade of red but never a solid red in any of the pre-election maps I saw.

[hbelkins]

Personally, I find the culture in "the south" as it currently exists to be rather off-putting. Everyone is too damn polite for no good reason. And the region is crawling with speed traps.

What's wrong with being polite as a natural state of activity? Beats being rude for no good reason, which is a perception (valid or not) many have of the northeast.

And I've seen more speedtraps in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania than in the south.

[xcellntbuy]

If you are looking for rude behavior plus the added extra of highly aggressive driving, south Florida is the perfect place.

[Duke87]

What's wrong with being polite as a natural state of activity? Beats being rude for no good reason, which is a perception (valid or not) many have of the northeast.

Nothing, I suppose, if you're used to it, but it seems strange to me and kinda creeps me out. I'm used to an environment where if someone in public is out of nowhere being nice to you it's because they're either about to ask you for money or try to sell you something. So, whenever a random stranger addresses me as "sir" or some such I instinctively want to get away from/avoid that person.

And I've seen more speedtraps in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania than in the south.

Maybe to some degree expectation influences perception, but I feel like of all the states I've been to the one most visibly crawling with cop cars is Florida.

And even with no cops in sight, I have noticed that all over the south, speed limits are far more closely adhered to than in the northeast - which makes me assume the roads must be heavily patrolled, but perhaps it's just a different culture.

[brad2971]

What will happen is the South will grow more purple as the migration continues. It's happened already in Virginia and North Carolina and it's predicted to happen in Texas in the next decade.

This presumes that the politics that we practice now (I'm not referring to political party; those have historic staying power) will be with us for the next decade. The presidential elections of 1896, 1932, 1968 and 1992 very much argue against that.

[oscar]

I didn't count Florida but I should've in terms of geography. Florida has been a purple state for years.

Moreover, whatever its political leanings, south of the Panhandle Florida's not terribly southern.

I always think of south Florida as a blend of southern New York, southern Canada (on the beach when I was there last month, I saw a lot of French-speaking tourists from Quebec, and many tourism-related businesses fly Canadian flags), and northern Latin America.  Nothing like, say, Mississippi.

If you are looking for rude behavior plus the added extra of highly aggressive driving, south Florida is the perfect place.

I can't argue with that. 

[brad2971]

Of course, some of those points of supposed attraction (lower taxes, fewer unions) are directly correlated with the region's conservatism and could well change if more liberals move down there and change the political landscape. Oh irony.

Personally, I find the culture in "the south" as it currently exists to be rather off-putting. Everyone is too damn polite for no good reason. And the region is crawling with speed traps. Will any of this change as more people move there? Probably not. The former, at least, is probably another point of attraction for a lot of people.

Although, the fact that the southern job market is in better shape right now is probably the single biggest reason for young people to move there.

My state of CO has been quite the purple state the last 16-20 years, with Dems having both the legislature and the governor's office at the moment. Those Dems made a ballot attempt to rescind previous income tax rate reductions dating back to 1999. That effort, in 2011, failed by a 65-35 margin; even Denver voted against the measure.

California's Dems threaten every so often to repeal various parts of Proposition 13 (split roll, among others). They've never come close to doing so.

Texas has some of the most consumer-friendly laws in this nation (especially in real estate). Texas's Republicans have never come close to repealing or changing said laws.

Do not presume that a political party gets the changes it wants when it reaches the mountaintop.

[KEK Inc.]

I will say that Texas is not fiscally conservative when it comes to road design.  Of course, Republicans are not fiscally conservative.

[StogieGuy7]

What will happen is the South will grow more purple as the migration continues. It's happened already in Virginia and North Carolina and it's predicted to happen in Texas in the next decade.

I'm waiting for those source regions in the north to go from blue to purple, but so far I've only seen WI go that way.  MI could, I guess.   And we have states that are far more red than they were 20 years ago (yes, think about it): MO, AR, LA, OK. 

It follows to reason that if you have enough liberals move south, their clout should eventually be diluted in the areas where they came from.  After all, nationally this is still basically a 50-50 country between left and right.   Unless........

....many of the northerners and Californians moving to these places aren't actually liberals.  Here's food for thought: many native Granite Staters (NH natives) blame imports from Massachusetts for turning the state purple/blue in recent decades.  But that's totally false.  Were it not for the immigrants from MA, NH would be profoundly blue like VT.  It's because tens of thousands of MA Republicans fled to NH over the past 30 years.  And it's why the most Republican counties in NH are those that border MA.  The rest of the state is filled with people who migrated there from NY, NJ, PA, MD, etc.  These people also settled in VT and are overwhelmingly liberal.   Even Mainers who moved to NH lean left.

So, to summarize my long story, you have to look at not just where people move from but who they are.  An influx of Californians into a given area (like Phoenix or Vegas) doesn't necessarily mean that those places will turn politically blue.  The opposite could just as easily happen.

[Anthony_JK]

The reason for the possible liberalization of states like AZ and TX is not due to migration from the North, but rather the growth of the native Latino and Black electorates, which is solidly liberal and Democratic...and as long as the GOP is dominated by its Tea Party/New Right faction, that trend will intensify, if anything.  Plus, younger people of all races are becoming more socially liberal; that will cut into the "red state" growth.

[Stephane Dumas]

A bit off-topic, I spotted a satiric book on Amazon.com titled "Better Off without 'em:A Northern manifesto for southern secession". http://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Without-Manifesto-Secession/dp/1451616651/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Virginia study the possibility to do its own alternative currency http://wtvr.com/2013/02/08/holmberg-what-would-virginia-currency-look-like-in-a-financial-disaster/

[cpzilliacus]

Virginia study the possibility to do its own alternative currency http://wtvr.com/2013/02/08/holmberg-what-would-virginia-currency-look-like-in-a-financial-disaster/

That proposal originated with Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13, Prince William County and City of Manassas Park).  See this recent Washington Post blog  posting for more discussion about Del. Marshall and his proposal.

[bugo]

When I lived in Kansas City, I was friends with a black guy who was a Muslim.  He was very cool and we could talk about everything.  Religion and racism were topics we discussed often.  He knew I was from the South and he said he was terrified of the region and wouldn't go there.  I told him he would be fine in most places, and if he were riding with me he would have no problems.  I also told him that in some parts of the South, he would have fewer problems than I would (if I had any problems at all.  I lived in Chatham County, Georgia which is over 50% black and the only thing that ever happened is a black guy yelled "white boy" at me when I was driving down the street, which I found hilarious other than threatening.)
Post Merge
There are still racists in the South (as there are in all parts of the country) but they are mostly cowards and keep their racism to themselves if there are African Americans around.  They'll say "n this" and "n that" when it's only whites who are around but as soon as a black person shows up it's "yes sir" and "no maam."  The town I grew up in, Mena, Arkansas, is notorious for being a racist town.  When I went to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, if a black person asked me where I was from I would say "Mena" and every one of them knew about it and its notorious reputation.  Mena was a "sundown town" and back in the day, there was a sign at the city limits that said "n, don't let the sun set on your ass" meaning that they had better be out of town after dark.  Whites would follow them to the city limits, sometimes bumping them with their car bumper.  Things have improved greatly since then, but there is still a lot of racism (and homophobia.)

changed "awesome person" to "n" for slightly easier context to understand

[bugo]

(Please don't merge these three posts, as each post addresses totally different things.)

You have to remember when talking about the red state/blue state split that most red states are only about 60% Repub and most blue states are only about 60% Dem.  That leaves 40% of the opposition party in most states.  I've lived in red states all my life, and I know many, many Democrats/liberals or libertarians.  It's not a black and white thing at all.