At the NYTimes, a discussion on the disappearance of white Democrats in Mississippi, a trend seen across the South. This is really an amazing article which spells out how old-line traditional Democrats with traditional power voting blocs in the South have been slowly whittled down for decades and the remnants of the old coalitions are finally throwing in the towel. But the tale told by demographics is a stark one. Mississippi has, proportionally, the largest black population of any state, at 37 percent. Given the dependably Democratic voting record of African-Americans here, strategists in each party concede that Democrats start out any statewide race with nearly 40 percent of the vote. That is a remarkable head start. And yet Brad Morris, a Democratic strategist, is being optimistic when saying this: “We’ve hit rock bottom.” Simply put, the votes Democrats count on automatically may be the only ones they can get.”
“At a glance, Democrats may seem to be in better shape here than they are in neighboring states. Republicans won a supermajority in the Alabama Legislature in the 2010 elections and took over the Louisiana Legislature a month later as a result of several party switches, while Mississippi Democrats still control the State House of Representatives. Unlike in Louisiana, Democrats in Mississippi have actually managed to field candidates for a few statewide offices in this year’s elections, and hold the office of attorney general.
It appears many are starting to concude that the racial based redistricting and the push for proportional voting for groups (sometimes caused by the federal government itself) is having an unintended but predictable result – even more polarized voting and racial bloc voting.
“The facts speak for themselves,” said Dick Molpus, a Democrat and a former secretary of state. “This is a racial divide by political party, and it does not bode well for our future.”