Huckabee wins W.Va.
In defense of West Virginia I wanted to point out that that today’s primary was only for the republican primary. Contrary to popular belief the Republican Party has a pretty small presence back home. WV is primarily a blue state, somewhat blue, it’s more of a Dixiecrat state. People love Robert C. Bird because he’s pork barreled so much money to the state so the people have followed his lead and registered Democrat.
Although, maybe things are changing, Bush has won the last two elections in WV. I kind of chalked that up to the "these colors don’t run" sentiment that was running rampant throughout the whole country at the time. Maybe a West Virginia friend who reads this can clear this up. Does the makeup of West Virginia still consist mainly of pro-coal, pro-Bird democrats or have things changed so much that someone like Huckabee could win against a democrat in the general election?
Although, maybe things are changing, Bush has won the last two elections in WV. I kind of chalked that up to the "these colors don’t run" sentiment that was running rampant throughout the whole country at the time. Maybe a West Virginia friend who reads this can clear this up. Does the makeup of West Virginia still consist mainly of pro-coal, pro-Bird democrats or have things changed so much that someone like Huckabee could win against a democrat in the general election?
posted by LAB at 12:18 PM
4 Comments:
It's really all about God, guns and Jesus.
WV has been pretty Red since Bush won the '00.
While there's still a strong Democratic presence here, the issue of morality and family values Bush capitalized on so well during the previous two elections has shown the State's true colors.
I hate to say it, but neo-conservativism is definitely on the rise here. This hasn't been helped by the fact that the Democratic candidates in the past few elections haven't been the kind of folks that your average West Virginian can relate to; what with their clear diction, anti-war stance and unpopular views on firearms regulation.
Huckabee winning was definitely disappointing, but I don't know how surprised I was. The Fundamentalist resurgence here has forced me to realize just how much power they wield and how super-organized and motivated they are.
I'm sure you'll remember how 10-12 years ago, as we were getting out of high school, there was this tremendous youth movement towards faith throughout the State, that whole DC Talk "Jesus Freak" thing caught on like wildfire, Carmen was packing stadiums, the mega-churches were being born, and the kids that have grown up with that and stayed in the State now have their own families, and they vote in droves.
I don't want to generalize and blame Christianity for our lack of a progressive political outlook, but there's something about that fervent, almost radical, brand of faith that drives these people that causes them to gloss over other issues when voting.
They will vote for Huckabee because he is a Creationist, regardless of his stance on an unpopular war or his position on the standardized health care that most West Virginians desperately need, or however he feels about foreign relations and the US's stance on the world stage of politics.
So, apparently I'm an idiot.
The big scoop now is that apparently all the WV delegates who were going to vote for McCain decided to throw their weight behind Huckabee. Not because they particularly like him for President, but because they didn't want Romney to take the State. Which is almost admirable, given how much I detest Romney, and given the fact that he may have carried the winning percentage of votes had the remainder been split between Huckabee and McCain.
I still stand by my previous comments, I think it helps to explain why WV has voted Red in the past two elections and why it probably will again this year.
It does seem I put too much stock in Huckabee's Evangelical appeal, but given that Romney was so close in the running, and that he's also a hard-core Fundie, I still think that what I said holds true for the WV political paradigm.
And if McCain gets the nod overall and picks either of them as a VP, you can be assured the State will vote Red.
Uggh, Huckabee won Louisiana too. But I forget how conservative the state seems to have grown over the past 10 years. Much like gentleman robot, I too remember the rise of giant multi-million dollar churches. I was really freaked out my first year in college; I would meet friends during the day only to have them invite me to the Wesley Foundation that night. I was in college for god's sake. I just wanted to get high.
Post a Comment
<< Home