Some advice for Sanders supporters

[struggle4progress]

24. After our 2010 state legislature loss here, due to low turnout, gerrymandering handed our state over

to flat-tax, anti-Medicare, anti-education extremists: before then, we used to have approximate R/D splits in the legislature and Congressional delegation

I'd be delighted if more of the US were like Oregon, but I've lived much of my life in the South, and I suspect calling oneself a "socialist" is still a deal-killer here, though I'd be pleased to learn otherwise. It's probably not a deal-killer in my town, one of the bluest in the state: even twenty years ago, a local progressive candidate destroyed his political career by sending out a letter accusing an opponent of being a "communist" -- which resulted in her election, since nobody here was going to support red-baiting

But I think that's unusual for the state

The center here is a bit antsy-dancey: I got doors slammed in my face in 2010 with comments like "We voted Dem in 2008 but we sure aren't voting Dem this year." Knocking doors in 2012, I'd hear at one house "We aren't voting for Obama because he's pro-gay-marriage" and then a few doors down "We aren't voting for Obama because he's anti-gay-marriage." It's just weird sometimes. If I have to knock doors for Sanders a year from now, I may need some good responses to "Hey! Isn't he the socialist?"