Southern Politics Revisited

The upcoming midterm elections offer an opportunity to analyze the American political landscape, contemplate the challenges confronting the Democratic Party, and reconsider Southern politics. Three recent and worthwhile analyses are the following:

• "The Inside Agitator" by Matt Bai (The New York Times Magazine, 10/1/06) profiles Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee, and his efforts to introduce a 50-state strategy. Dean's attempts to rebuild state parties in places that Democrats conceded in the past have sparked opposition from party elites. The question, argues Bai, is a philosophical one about how to expand the party. In other words, does expanding the party win elections, or does winning elections expand the party?
  

• A package of stories in The News & Observer of Raleigh (10/1/06) discusses the impact of religion on Southern politics. A recent survey by Baylor University found that 44 percent of Southerners hold an "authoritarian" view of God. This view sees God as being actively involved in the world and punishing the unfaithful or ungodly. That idea raises questions about how progressives can speak meaningfully to Southerners about controversial social issues or questions of economic justice.
  

• An extended essay by longtime political observer E.J. Dionne in The American Prospect (October 2006) discusses five new books dealing with different aspects of progressive politics. Dionne's essay crisply summarizes some of the key debates raging within the Democratic Party. Southerners may be most interested in Dionne's discussion of a new book by University of Maryland professor Thomas Schaller. Schaller argues that Democrats should concede the South and focus instead on the Mountain West.