Is Mitt Romney Vulnerable in the South? >
The South Knows Conservatives, and Mitt Romney Ain't One
The South knows conservatives, and Mitt Romney ain't one
March 7, 2012
What is it about southerners and Mitt Romney? As a life-long southerner, I can tell you a few things. First, we do not trust Mitt Romney. As one southernism goes, "He is as fake as a three dollar bill."
Southerners believe in a number of things. First, we believe you are a man or a woman of your word. Want to make a southerner mad? Lie to us. We expect honesty in our dealings. It does not always happen, and southerners are not always paragons of virtue, but we do expect it. Mitt Romney has taken at least two positions on every issue, with the possible exception of how you spell his middle name.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.]
In the South, we are self-reliant. We do not like the government, we do not trust the government, and we do not want the government running our lives. Two years ago, Nashville flooded. We took care if it ourselves. We did not wait for the federal government to come in and rescue us. In fact, Barack Obama has not visited Nashville since the flood. There must be more Democrats in New Jersey where he did visit during flooding last year. That's OK. We did not need him, nor did we miss him.
In the South, we do cling to our religion and our guns. Romney backed gun control legislation in the past. In the South, gun control means being able to hit your target.
There is a reason why the South is called the Bible belt. Mitt Romney does not understand this. The establishment and the left laughed when tapes of Rick Santorum came out talking about Satan, "the father of lies." They thought he was speaking another language. In the South, this is what we hear in church every Sunday morning.
[See pictures of the 2012 GOP candidates.]
The South is conservative. We know conservatives. We do not like Mitt Romney because he is not a conservative. There is simply no way Mitt Romney can win without the South and there is no way he can win the South.
Tennessee is a great example. Mitt Romney spent a lot of money in Tennessee and Rick Santorum spent very little and Santorum decisively defeated Romney. We simply will not accept Mitt Romney. He is not a conservative. And like John McCain in 2008, he will never carry the South.
- See a collection of political cartoons on the 2012 GOP hopefuls.
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- Other Arguments
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#1539
Yes — Romney's southern problem is a nomination phase phenomenon that will disappear shortly
DAVID CROCKETT, Author of 'Running Against the Grain: How Opposition Candidates Win Presidential Election'
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#2445
Yes — The South complicates things for Mitt Romney in both the primaries and against Barack Obama
JAMIE CHANDLER, Professor at Hunter College
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#34918
No — Romney's southern woes will last only through primary season, and even a single win will strengthen his image
FORD O'CONNELL, Republican Strategist, Conservative Activist, and Political Analyst
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#4304
Yes — Mitt Romney will have trouble in the South, but that doesn't necessarily doom him against Barack Obama
LARA BROWN, Professor at Villanova University
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#5164
No — Don't discount Mitt Romney in the South just yet
RON BONJEAN, Former Chief of Staff for the Senate Republican Conference
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#639
Yes — Mitt Romney will have to show courage to win over the South
KRYSTAL BALL, MSNBC Contributor and Former Democratic Nominee for Congress in the First District of Virginia
