Real Americans now in the minority (MySpace 11/14/2008)

Subject	Real Americans now in the minority
DateCreated	11/14/2008 2:13:00 AM
PostedDate	11/14/2008 9:55:00 AM
Body	Some six years ago, a surfer dude lawyer, without any prosecution experience, ran for District Attorney in Humboldt County. The incumbent was generally well-respected, and was supported by the powers-that-be, including the local timber industry. So it surprised a lot of people when the surfer dude won - though, admittedly, his campaign had been exceptionally well organized. But when this newly elected DA threatened to take a timber company to court, his political enemies immediately mounted a recall - "soft on drugs," "soft on child molesters," etc. However, the result was a voter backlash. More people voted against the recall than had voted for him initially. The rules had changed. Many had not noticed, but a demographic and economic shift had been going on. The newer population tended to like surfer dudes, and the timber industry, despite its ongoing bluff, had lost most of its actual stature and influence. Politics will never be the same in Humboldt County. Now it's 2008. Obama won, despite all they threw at him - a preacher who said "God damn America!," a terrorist pal, his years in Indonesia, his middle name, his socialist proclivities, an illegal aunt. The smear campaign got some of the Republican base worked up to a potentially homicidal frenzy, but it didn't seem to affect Obama's poll standings at all. And though a majority of white folks voted for McCain, that didn't matter, either. Did the recession make all the difference; did it eclipse all other concerns? Maybe. But in addition, it's beginning to look like the self-styled "Real Americans" - the flag-wavers, the "USA! USA!" chanters, the education-resenters, the Moral Majority - are now so far off the mainstream that they are largely being ignored. Is this the first and most visible fruit of the national demographic shift? What-the-heck. Let's assume so. Welcome to the new "Real America".