Rant of the Week: Southern Government, Southern Values

Over one hundred and forty years after the end of the American Civil War, the South is dominating the American political system. It is doing this by giving its votes to the GOP. Although the media has covered the rise of the GOP in the South, it hasn't tied this in to the kind of government we are getting.

Think about what the Republican Party in Washington owes the 11 states of the Old Confederacy. Because of those 11 states, the GOP controls the Senate; the House; and won the electoral vote for president in 2000 and both the popular vote and Electoral College vote for president in 2004. Take away those 11 states and John Kerry is president and Democrats control the Senate and there is a tie vote in the House.

Now think about what kind of government those states have and the services they provide. In 1999 the top ten states for percentage of seniors living in poverty were all states of the Old Confederacy. Five of the 11 were in the top ten states for percentage of children living in poverty. In 2002 seven of the top 10 states for rate of infant mortality were Old Confederacy states. Of the top ten states for percentage of girls 15-19 who were teen parents, seven were from the Old Confederacy. (Information from http://www.itaffectsyou.org, Red State Project). Clearly these state governments aren't spending their resources on programs to address social issues.

Is this what want for America, a national government that doesn't take care of the most vulnerable people in our society, a national government that turns its back on the poor, the elderly, the sick, and the young? This is exactly the kind of government they have in the South and that is exactly the kind of government we are getting from the Bush Administration.
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MCDAC gives permission for the use of the above without attribution.