LOOKING FOR LOVE...: Hey look, Ezra Klein of Pandagon agrees with me about the Democrats and the South. (well, he would agree with me if he knew I existed)

Then there’s Amy Sullivan of Political Aims. Her bottom-line conclusion is don’t punt the South, which I agree with. I would throw a little cold water on her analysis, though. For one thing, (a) yuppies who’ve recently moved to Charleston and (b) displaced textile workers in Dillon or someplace, are two very different groups of people. For another: It’s well worth noting the migration from other regions of the U.S. to the South. And it’s accurate enough to say that “these new Southerners don’t… leave their political beliefs and values behind.” I wish it were that simple. Some of the new Southerners are here because they heard that state taxes and housing costs were low. Some of them are here because of corporate-friendly policies: more lenient land-use regulations and the like. In other words, some people who migrate South are perhaps more comfortable here ideologically than they were in their home states. They brought their conservativism with them when they moved. They self-selected to come here.

Not to reject the Political Aims post; just to complicate it. Incidentally, Ms. Sullivan does know I exist; we had a very cordial e-mail exchange, for which I thank her.