Conservatives In The South Are Depressed

Conservatives In The South Are Depressed

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It now seems certain Romney will win the GOP nomination for President.  Southern conservatives believe that, once again, the GOP has made a horrible mistake and will go down in flames in November.

Believe me, I take no pleasure in the nightmare thought that Obama will have four more years to insure America's ever increasing spiral into socialism and communism, but -- there it is. 

Everyone I speak to among my friends, republican and democrat alike, believe that Romney will be the nominee, but in the same breath they add, "but he can't beat Obama." 

I happen to be in one of the "must win" states for Romney -- North Carolina.  For a time it looked as if Romney would win North Carolina, but now, it is very "iffy."  The Tar Heel state is historically conservative.  Over the past three decades, North Carolina has had an influx of people from states far more liberal than native Tar Heels.  That has moderated the Tar Heel vote.  If I had to tell you today which way North Carolina will vote in November, I simply couldn't do it.  I do, however, suspect a lot of conservatives here will simply stay home rather than vote for a candidate they feel is a RINO, at best.  Neither of the Carolinas favors a candidate who is perceived weak and Romney just doesn't cut it in the in the perception of Tar Heels and Sandlappers.

The voters in my native state of South Carolina will go to the polls, hold their noses, and vote for Romney.  Those who choose not to stay home, that is.  It is a matter of record that SC chose Gingrich in their Primary.   Understand:  South Carolina is far more republican than is North Carolina.  That is one of the reasons North Carolina is in play in this election.  It could go either way. NC voted for Obama in 2008.

I have spoken to absolutely NOBODY here, in NC, who is excited about the chance to beat Obama in November.  In fact, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the election is over and Obama has won.

The unemployment rate, currently, in my county is 13.6%.  The rate for the state hovers around 10%.  Now, with those figures hanging over Tar Heels, and with the conviction that Obama is about to get another four years to make things even worse, you'd darn well better believe they are depressed!

So what if Romney has the best chance to beat Obama?  Let me see if I can describe it this way: Suppose you had a foot race with experienced athletes against a team of athletes with no legs -- except one --  and he had one leg.  The one-legged man has the best chance to beat the veteran team of runners -- even though he out paces his teammates, he hasn't a chance of a snowball in Hades of beating the experienced physically whole team.

Looking at the electoral votes challenge, it still looks, to this scribe, like an uphill battle for Romney.  He must win every one of the states that McCain won in 2008.  He absolutely MUST win Florida and Ohio.  He might get Florida, but Ohio is very "iffy." He is not likely to win his home state of Michigan, which is heavily democratic.   States like Nevada , Iowa, and Pennsylvania will have to go for Romney and that is a long stretch, especially for Nevada and Pennsylvania.

We haven't even gotten to the deep south states.  Expect the minority vote in those states to turn out in droves to vote for Obama.  Conservative voters in the deep south, in general, feel the election is a waste of time first because  the GOP nominee is simply unacceptable to them.  Southerners in the deep south are distrustful of ANY candidate from the northeastern states. (See: Reconstruction)

I have seen reports that say republicans will not go to the polls in November to vote for Romney, but to vote against Obama.  I think there is a lot of truth in that statement.

Look.  We have a lot to be depressed about concerning the November election.  Consider that it is next to impossible for the GOP to win control of the US Senate this November.  There is good reason to believe republicans will even lose a few seats in the US House. 

Add to the mix that the US Supreme Court will, I feel, uphold Obamacare, and there will be no way we can repeal Obamacare without a veto proof House and Senate -- if Obama wins.  If Romney wins, and the GOP still does not have a strong majority in the  Congress, again -- it will be impossible to repeal Obamacare. 

Why am I harping on Obamacare again?  Because if the Supreme Court does not overturn Obamacare, it will take practically all restraints off the federal government.

Obamacare will change, forever, the relationship the people have with their government.  There will be, basically, NOTHING the government cannot force it's citizens to do, or not do.  In other words -- we will have governmental tyranny in America.  No longer will we have government of, by, and for the people.  That will simply cease to exist.

OK.  So maybe I'm jumping the gun on the Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare.  But they (The democrats)  only need to swing ONE Justice to seal it for Obama. I think they can do it.  These ARE the democrats we are talking about, remember?

To say the people of the southern states are "concerned" is an understatement of massive proportion. 

One symptom of this concern is the sale of guns and ammunition in the south.  All over the south guns and ammo are flying off the shelves and "concealed carry" classes have increased exponentially.  In my home town concealed carry classes have jumped from one class a month to one class A DAY!  When people don't know what to expect, the smart ones prepare for everything.

Over the weekend, I attempted to speak with a middle-aged man, a small business owner, about the election.  He waved me off saying, "Look, I have decided there is not a d**ned thing I can do about it.  They're gonna do what they're gonna do, and I no longer have a say in it."  He went on to opine that -- "if it were possible, America should recall all 535 members of the Congress AND replace the President.  But that's not going to happen, so there is nothing I can do but prepare for what's coming."

THAT is the prevailing attitude in the southern states of America today.  I suspect that attitude is shared by many people on the opposite side of the Mason-Dixon line, as well.

While it is true the southern people have not felt particularly comfortable with the US federal government since its subjugation to that government beginning April 9th, 1865, it is more pronounced today than at anytime since (with the possible exception of forced integration in the 1960's).

With all the above in mind, is it any wonder southern voters are finding it extremely difficult to put their trust in a candidate from one of the northeastern states -- and --  with whom they have, well, practically nothing in common?

If it is true that depression is only anger turned inwards, then the southern states are genuinely PO'ed!

J. D. Longstreet

 

   

    

Conservative Candidates Weak Against Obama

Conservative Candidates Weak Against Obama

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

A friend, whose opinion I value in the extreme, continues to assure me that Obama will lose in November of 2012.  I, on the other hand, continue to be dubious… also in the extreme. 

Recently, I received an email from a conservative democrat friend who told me, flat out, that the republican field does not look well, at all, and he is beginning to believe that Obama will be returned to the Oval Office for four more years as a result.  He wants Obama gone, too.

In our electronic discussion, I told him that many, many, conservative republicans cannot bring themselves to vote for Romney, under any circumstances, even to prevent Obama a return performance.  I explained that I count myself among them.  It is a matter of honor.  I will, as I have done in the past, write-in the name of a solid conservative candidate for President, and move on. 

And this is the problem the GOP has -- and will have -- in November of next year.  There are innumerable conservative voters who cannot go against their conscious and do what they are convinced is the dishonorable thing… vote for Romney.  This is especially true in the South.  Add to that the Evangelical Christians who are never going to vote for a Mormon, conservative or not, and Mr. Romney’s chances of winning against Obama are greatly reduced. In fact, I simply do not believe Romney can overcome this disadvantage, at all.

I know this is an uncomfortable problem and one the RNC and the GOP are skating around, as best they can, for the moment. Nevertheless, it IS a problem and a huge one.  Southern conservatives and evangelical conservatives are STILL looking for a conservative candidate they can support.  Currently, we can see the polls telling us they have turned their attention to Newt Gingrich.  They’re searching. 

Thomas Sowell has written a must read article entitled:  ”Will Republicans Blow It?”  You’ll find the article HERE.  Professor Sowell and I share similar concerns.  I urge you to read this thoughtful and insightful article.

Look.  Conservatives ARE NOT ALL ALIKE.  Even the so-called experts on politics tend to lump all conservatives into one group.  That is a terrible mistake. 

We don’t talk much about it these days, but “honor” is still a really big deal in the South.  Too, in the South, we have a strong distaste for the federal government, which we still feel, to one degree or another, is an occupying force in our land.  That feeling is reinforced every time we consider all the US military bases on southern soil.  It is a tactic borrowed from the Roman Army of ancient times. Keep the occupied pacified by a continuous show of force on their home soil.

So, we have honor, we have a vague feeling of oppression, and then there is -- RELIGION. 

Politics is seen in the South as a dirty, low down, occupation ranking right up there with prostitution.   Southern Christian conservatives want nothing to do with it.  Those who serve in federal public office are frowned upon and cast as rogues shilling for the Federal Government. 

Now, you may not like what you are reading here, but this is my opinion based on over seven decades of life in my beloved South.  I know my people.

Anytime a southern conservative stands for office you can bet he or she is not the best candidate conservatives can offer because the best qualified persons for the job will not run for fear of sullying themselves with the filth of the second oldest profession. 

Add to the above the deep distrust of northern (especially northeastern) candidates by southern folk and you can see the grave disadvantage Mr. Romney has in the South.  Without the South, Mr. Romney hasn’t a chance of beating Obama.

Why are northeastern candidates frowned upon in the South?  “The War of Northern Aggression” -- erroneously called the American Civil War and sometimes referred to as “The War for Southern Independence.”   So many US troops, from the northeastern states, committed what today would be labeled as war crimes in the South during that war (and even worse during the so-called Reconstruction Era) that the contempt for them has been handed down through the generations and is still extremely strong today. 

Voting is a privilege I do not take lightly.  Last week, I was discharged from the hospital.  That day there was a municipal election in our town.  My wife drove me directly from the hospital to the polling place where I cast my ballot from the front seat of my wife’s Buick.  (Curbside Voting) THEN, I went home.

I vote.  I would be a very small man, indeed, if I did not vote – yet -- continued to grind out commentary after commentary criticizing office holders.  For me, it is a matter of honor.

In November of 2012, I will do the honorable thing at the ballot box.

J. D. Longstreet