Reply #36: Well, [View All]

we'll have to make history in 2004 then.

I don't know if this thread was directed at any particular candidate(s), but I hate to break it to you folks. We won't win 5 Southern states next year no matter who our nominee is. Jesus Christ himself could be our nominee, and we'd still lose Georgia, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, and South Carolina. That leaves as mere possibilities North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana. Count them- that's only 4 Southern states that are within reach of any of our people.

What *could* change that? Turnout. If we get extremely high turnout rates of minority voters, people who until now have not participated, and the Dem base, we can make it a battle. But turnout is our only weapon in the South, nomatter who the nominee is.

And despite the fact that I am a Southerner myself, I am so tired of the fixation on this region that some people have. We have a MUCH better chance of taking some of the Midwestern and Western states back than we do in the South. While we shouldn't ignore the South and should work on turnout down here, we should focus most of our efforts where they can make the most difference.