The South and Congress

until 1936 the south almost had veto power in the democratic
national convention
o rule was 2/3rds rule
o if southern states united, they could block candidacy
o 1958 riots supporting McCarthy opposed to vice president
getting nomination
Humphry almost wins over Nixon in 1968
1972 Mcgovern becomes democratic nominee and only wins one
state
1976 carter comes along from the south and he looses in 1984
1984 Walter Mondale runs
maybe they could get southerner to get nomination
o ideal candidate was Ga Gov Sam Nunn and VA Gov Chuck
Robb
Super Tuesday was in March to decide candidate
o Robb and Nunn dont end up going and senator from
Tennessee Corker
o Jesse Jackson said he was also going to run in 1988
o Jesse Jackson wins plurality
Carries most of the section 5 states
4 deep south plus Virginia
Al Gore places second
3rd place Dukakis concentrates of Florida and
Texas
Jackson gets democratic areas, Gore carries
moderate districts, but Dukakis has no strength
anywhere else.
Lee Atwater was George H.W. Bush advisor
o Georgia schedules their primary a week before Super
Tuesday
o Jennifer Flowers comes forward and says Bill slept with her
o Clinton skipped draft, smoked dope,
General Elections
o 207 to win
2012 south gets 160 votes
60% of what you need to become president
if you lose south you must do well everywhere else
solid south 1880 1932
FDR comes along and they win 5 in a row
The south and congress
o In congress, the south has always tried to get back for
losing the civil war

o Most legislatures tended to stay democratic

o Very strong seniority system
Filibuster 60 person
o South is one of the only places to still use a filibuster
o 9/12 efforts to invoke cloture involved civil rights issues
Traditionally majority party gets 2/3rd plus one of the rules
committee who is responsible for getting legislation started.
1957 Civil rights act gets blocked because someone on the rules
committee cant come up
Prior to 1974, the most senior member on committee was
committee head
1946 democrats lose control of house
Southerners hold around 60% of committee chairs but only about
30% of party
o because of seniority
south was 1 party area and so they didnt have to spend a lot of
time campaigning
Southern democrats were very conservative
o Conservative Coalition made up of southern democrats and
most republicans
1940-1970s there was a 2 party system with a faction
Conservative coalition issues:
o social welfare both northern and southern democrats are
united
o CC is born with fair labor standards act
Deals with hours and wage
o Populist wanted farm prices, railroads, and banks regulated
o Dramatic drop with OSHA standards put into place
o Foreign policy
South are quite liberal
1790s south wanted tariffs and foreign trade