I know this is kind of a short diary, but I smell some BS. I'm curious if there isn't a lot of BS behind it.

Regarding todays NY Times Op Ed

The South will Fall Again

  The secret to political success in the South is winning the Bubba vote. Ever since the Nixon years the GOP has won the Bubba vote. If the Democrats are to ever recapture national prominence they must win the Bubba vote because the South is where electoral power is shifting.

Hope this wasn't diaried already but...

I'm vacationing with my wife in Flat Rock, NC. We were just watching the 5 pm newscast out of Anderson, SC (WYFF-TV) when this story came on:

JONESVILLE, S.C. -- The sign in front of a small church in a small town is causing a big controversy in Jonesville, S.C.

Pastor Roger Byrd said that he just wanted to get people thinking. So last Thursday, he put a new message on the sign at the Jonesville Church of God.

It reads: "Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?"

Byrd said that the message wasn't meant to be racial or political.

"It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ," he said.

When asked if he believes that Barack Obama is Muslim, Byrd said, "I don't know. See it asks a question: Are they brothers? In other words, is he Muslim ? I don't know. He says he's not. I hope he's not. But I don't know. And it's just something to try to stir people's minds. It was never intended to hurt feelings or to offend anybody."

Yes, I am. Is there a 12-step program for me?

I grew up in the Sixties in a lily-white neighborhood, in a area of western Houston known as Spring Branch. The closest thing we had to ethnic diversity in that white-collar oil and gas 'hood was a white family that had moved there from Brooklyn and another from California. There were no black children in school, and maybe a couple of Hispanic kids. I knew no people of color growing up. All I really knew about such people I learned from my parents.

Cross-posted at Facing South

Mississippi voters head to the polls today, their 40 delegates -- 33 unpledged, seven supers -- suddenly important thanks to the tight Democratic race.

In a state where 55% of the Democratic primary electorate is African-American, Obama is heavily favored. If he wins, it will be Obama's fifth Deep South victory (he's taken Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina; Clinton succeeded in the periphery states of Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas).

Obama's ability to run up huge primary victories in the Deep South leads to a bigger question: could he make the South competitive for the Democrats?

Cross-posted at Facing South

Of the several interesting story lines coming out of the post-Super Tuesday South, by far the most striking was former Gov. Mike Huckabee's total sweep of the five Southern Republican primaries.

Despite earlier losses in South Carolina and Florida, Huckabee knew the South was his natural base and he made it a priority, barnstorming through the region. It paid off big time: he locked up 228 delegates with victories in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia.

What does this mean for Election '08?

Cross-posted at Facing South

A week ago, I posted part I about how the South is changing the dynamic of Campaign '08. Since that post, two Southern primaries -- Florida and South Carolina, representing different facets of the fast-changing South -- have transformed the 2008 campaign, disposing of three once-formidable candidates (Edwards, Giuliani and Thompson).

Florida and South Carolina were decisive not only because of where they fell in the 2008 primary calendar; part of the message was also that if they can't do well here in the South, it's time to call it quits.

But with two big Southern primaries over, what will happen after the circus tents of the primaries close down?

Cross-posted at Facing South

I just came back from a trip to New Orleans, this time to meet with leaders of the Interfaith Disaster Redevelopment Finance Fund -- a terrific initiative based at Mennonite Mutual Aid that is injecting badly-needed funds from faith groups in the the Katrina recovery to fill the gaps where Washington has fallen short.

A hot topic in New Orleans was the South's role in the 2008 elections. Many DC political strategists continue to write off the South: GOP operatives because they think of it as safe territory; Democrats because "experts" keep telling them they can't win.

But the South is like that stubborn old aunt that just won't stand to be ignored.

I have relocated to the United States for a while now, and I now live in Atlanta, Georgia.  It is a place that prides itself as the heart of the South in American history.  From an African American point of view, the southern heritage represents slavery, segregation, inhumanity, lynching, social restriction, political stagnation, and ultimately, the spirit of ignorance, destitute, and rejection.  The Americans of Europeans descent see it as a time and systems of supremacy, exploitation of free labor for underserved gain, and the convenience of a controlled dependant and consuming class without power.  

I had the chance to see John Edwards "up close and personal" when he held a small rally at the University where I work today. Turnout was quite respectable, especially for a university as solidly conservative as ours. They introduced him by saying he'd been a walk-on for our football team his first year of college. I had not known that.

He looked as handsome and put-together as he always does, but you could tell (if you were close enough, as I was) that he was a bit tired. Nevertheless, he gave a rousing speech, replete with his familiar stories--Nataline, James Lowe etc. More importantly, though, was the way he connected with South Carolina. It gave me hope that perhaps it isn't over for John Edwards, no matter how much the media want to call the primaries for the front-runners already.

Cross-posted at Facing South

The campaign '08 media hounds are off to New Hampshire, but the big story coming out of the Iowa caucuses is that it puts the South -- specifically South Carolina -- in excellent position to decide our next president.

Both Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Barack Obama have a strong shot at winning the upcoming primaries in South Carolina (Jan. 19 for Republicans, a week later for Democrats).

And thanks to their triumphs  in Iowa, that means both have a strong shot at going 2-for-3 in the first three caucuses -- and possibly delivering a knock-out punch to the other candidates.

Just for a change, I come to praise Georgia, not to rant about it.
It’s easy to be negative when so many of your experiences have been negative. . My in-laws are more than a little batshit crazy.  I fit in about as well as  Marilyn Masons would at a Baptist picnic. I find the politics depressing and the domination of religious  fundamentalism  scary.

The backlash against Louisiana's "Jena Six" escalated last night.

After the second day of closed-door deliberations in juvenile court, Louisiana State District Judge J.P. Mauffrey Jr. decided to implement Bell's probation for previous untried charges, and send Bell to 18 months in prison.

The move caught the defense, who were expecting another day of deliberations today, by surprise. They plan to appeal.

I wonder whether the 9 months Bell already spent in adult prison don't count.

The whole thing, including the timing, seems like a message Louisiana's justice system is trying to send: "Mind your own business, or these kids will suffer for it."

I reported here previously about the public-opinion backlash among Southern whites; here's another example. A teenage in Nashville banned from wearing a 'Free the Jena  6' T-shirt to school. This shirt is apparently included in one of the following categories:

...anything associated with criminal gangs or bearing slogans "that are about or suggestive of drugs, alcohol, sex, obscenities or prove to be a disturbing influence

From the moment I heard about the Jena 6 story on July 3 when Mychal Bell was convicted (conviction overturned since), I've felt this is a classic case for nationwide progressive mobilization.

It had taken a couple of months, and thanks mostly to Colors of Change, grassroots Black organizations, Democracy Now and other radio stations, and the ACLU, a movement has emerged. (the predominantly-white progressive blogosphere has also played a role, but a secondary one; Jena 6 and racial/social justice issues are still blown out of the water any given day here at DK, by  Obama/Hillary/Edwards related posts and headline news).

So some points have been won. But the rural South is still very much an Away game for progressives. The South's blacks and anti-racist whites still need lots of help - because the dormant giant of overt racism there is waking up in response, at least according to this Chicago Tribune story (relayed via truthout.org)  

So don't rest on the laurel leaves.

More below...

 HUNTSVILLE ALABAMA: Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks was the far-right candidate for Lieutenant Governor last year. He didn't even make it to the runoff. The far-right makes a lot of noise here, but they get slaughtered at the ballot box. The core of his message was, "I'm from your neck of the woods." Most statewide elected officials are from south of Birmingham. Those dirty foreign weirdos. Why, people in Mobile were speaking French not too long ago...

 When immigrants marched in Huntsville on May 1, 2006, Mo Brooks told local talk radio that he saw at least a million dollars in health care costs. He sees brown skin and starts calculating how much it will cost to keep people alive. That's the other core of his message. He's also gung-ho against taxes, which makes sense in economically stagnant areas. Huntsville is clogged with traffic on outdated two lane roads.

 Mo Brooks is the darling of the Alliance for Limited Government, which is the local John Birch Society mutation. The head honcho of the group, Brother Boruff, also occupies positiions of leadership at the Madison Baptist Church. Some seed fell on the road, where it was snatched up by the Trilateral Commission. Some seed fell by the wayside, where it was choked by the Manhattan Bankers ...