General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders tells Ed Schultz: Southern Democrats are tired of being abandoned by the party [View all]anneboleyn
(5,611 posts)over their own economic interest EVERY TIME because they get caught up in the "family values" rhetoric rather than the crucial economic argument. They all live in an economically devastated small town.
They are very frustrating (also sad) because they fall hook, line, and sinker for it in each election when they KNOW that the republicans will slash federal aid they receive, and that the local republicans will slash state budgets, which most of them depend on for their jobs. They have been voting like this since the early nineties (when they became old enough to vote). All of that "values" rhetoric in the 80s won them over.
The party should emphasize its commitment to labor and to the working class! I think that is one of the most crucial issues, and I honestly think the party would win landslide victories each time if we beat the economic drum over and over. They must feel that we understand --and are the only ones who can help -- their financial situations.