Jimmy Carter was revered for his evangelical beliefs. It's one of the reasons he won the South easily in 1976. Of course, he's not some firebrand religious nut, but still religion sells in middle America, as I'm sure you know living in Texas.
As far as why people who have been hurt by Prez Bush's policies support him, I guess it's just a flaw in human nature. It's like the beaten wife who stands by her husband because she loves him. Once people have an affinity for something, it's almost impossible break it. A lot of it has to do with plain old ignorance, most people don't see the big picture, how some of George W.'s policies have encouraged their jobs to be outsourced out of the country, and their wages to stagnate, and their prescription drugs to be so expensive. People often vote against their interests. It's amazing how most of the states that are net donors to the federal government, usually vote Democratic (for bigger govt.), while the states that tend to get more back from Washington then they contribute vote ostensibly for the smaller government party.
I live in the northeast and Bush isn't too popular here, but Republicans are generally at a disadvantage here. Most Republicans up here would be considered liberals for sure in Texas. In my state it really doesn't matter if the Ds or Rs are in control, both tax and spend like there's no tomrorrow, both have big government tendencies (kind of like our current GOP bunch in Washington, smaller govt?!?).
Unless something miraculous happens over the next 5 months, Bush is going to be bounced. The Dems tend to be undercounted in polling by at least 2% and undecideds vote for the challenger overwhelmingly on a historical basis. Considering where the polls stand now, Kerry is in a very good position to send Bush back home. |
