Travis Childers was able to win last night partly via his support from poor white voters-the kind of voters who, in the South, have gravitated toward the Republican party against their economic interests over the past several years.
Whenever anyone who has ever been poor and white hears that, it pisses them off. And if you plan on winning places like Mississippi, you (my fellow) liberals need to stop pissing off your likely allies. Trust me, it is in your own economic best interest to win this election. So just letitgo.
Democrat Travis Childers beat Republican Greg Davis in (north) Mississippi's 1st congressional district 54-46. Republicans have held this seat since 1994. And this wasn't just a tiny victory. In 2004 Bush won MS-01 62-37. This was a huge swing in favor of a new kind of politics.
What there's been is a huge increase in houses purchased by speculators and a huge increase in lenders willing to provide them with mortgages. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that speculators are willing to walk away from mortgages if they no longer look like a profitable investment, but this says nothing about the attitudes of ordinary homeowners. What it says is that banks should be careful about loaning money to speculators.
But they weren't, so now they're trying to construct an urban legend about feckless home buyers who are defaulting not because their loans are resetting and they can't afford them, but merely because they feel like it. Hardworking bankers are just the latest victims of a liberal culture that no longer values personal responsibility, you see.
Rep. Scott: "You know, I’m wondering whether the Republicans are looking at the same America that I’m looking at. And that the American people are feeling. Between 7,000 and 8,000 American families are filing for foreclosure every day. While we’re up here debating this bill, the last day and today, over 15,000 American families have filed for foreclosure. We have a crisis"
The challenges of change are always hard. It is important that we begin to unpack those challenges that confront this nation and realize that we each have a role that requires us to change and become more responsible for shaping our own future. -Hillary Clinton
