Garbled Crap II

In the tradition of the first Garbled Crap, here is a semi-organized list of some random thoughts.

1. No more talking about the South. Any time anyone talks about the South, it becomes insulting, no matter what side it is on. The Right says that the Democrats need to understand the South and the "moral values" voting, while the Left says that the South can keep their alleged "values" if that means antiquated ideas of propriety. Southerners generally have some regional idiosyncrasies, (just like Midwesterners or Northeasterners for instance), but that is it. Not all Southerners are Bible-banging, NASCAR-worshipping, cousin-marrying, three-teeth-having idiots (as the Left is saying) -- nor are all Southerners Bible-revering, traditional-values-holding, truth-valuing salts of the Earth (as the Right is saying). For crying out loud, both the Left and Right are patronizing Southerners by talking about them as if they were some comatose relatives who couldn't hear you discussing them. It's kind of like comparing someone's intelligence to their appearance ("you're smarter than you look") -- no matter what you say, it sounds pejorative (even saying "you are just as smart as you look" sounds bad). On top of all that, don't you think the South is going to get a collective big head if folks keep giving them all this credit? See #2, below, for related stuff.
2. The religious right does not get credit for the Bush victory. Bush got 8 million more votes than in the last go-round, while best estimates of registered "evangelical Christian voters" who did not vote in 2000 is put at 4 million. Thus, a whole lot more people voted for Bush than just the evangelicals, like folks who think (for reasons I don't understand and have asked my moderate Republican friends to help me understand) Bush will keep us safer, or will do a better job on the economy. See #3, below.
3. "Moral values" votes were not the issue the media thinks they were. Nationally, 22%of voters polled said "moral values" was the "issue that mattered most" in deciding how to vote for president. However, 20% of voters said "economy and jobs" was the issue that mattered most to them. (a) With only a 2% difference, that seems to show (like the 3% "mandate") an overblown conclusion concerning these alleged "moral values." You'd have thought that 89% cited the ambiguous reason of "moral values." (b) These numbers come from exit polling, which seems like it might have some problems with accuracy (just ask John Kerry).
4. No more giving advice to the Democrats. Everyone and their dog has been giving advice to the Democrats, like "learn the values of the South." Kerry lost by 3% to a guy who had an approval rating of 90% (!!) after 9-11 . Terry McAuliffe will be gone soon (hello Howard Dean? That would make Mrs. CNB happy), and, outside of those doggoned Red States down south, the Dems actually gained a Senate seat. Thus, while I am all in favor of the Dems doing better in Congressional elections, I think the death knell is sounded a bit too soon.

That's all for now. Sorry for the stream of consciousness, but them's the breaks. Comments are always welcome.