Senate Vote on War Shows GOP is Southern Party

If you click on the link in this entry's title you will see a regional breakdown of yesterday's (3.27.2007) Senate vote on the Republican amendment to the Iraqi War funding bill. This breakdown was complied by the Washington Post. The amendment was an attempt to strip language from the bill that imposes a deadline for American troops to be in Iraq.

There were 48 votes for the Republican amendment. Of these 48 votes 22 came from Southern states, 12 from Western states, 8 from Midwestern states, and 6 from Eastern states. This is a small example of the regionalization of the Republican Party. Increasingly it is becoming a Southern based party.

Now on the one hand, given the small state bias in the United States Constitution as seen by the fact that each state has two Senators regardless of population and the Electoral College, this works for the GOP. On the other hand, though, you have to wonder how long a party that is increasingly playing to one section of the country can maintain its viability in national politics.