Much has been said in political circles since Howard Dean mentioned he would seek the "Bubba Vote" - those guys in the pick-up trucks with the gun racks and a Confederate flag in the window.  People said Dean was insulting the South, that he was reinforcing vile stereotypes, and that he was out of touch with this or that.  And Dean backed off a bit.
I don't agree.  Dean - and all who run against Bush - needs to consider these guys.  I must have come across fifty articles in the last few weeks asserting, in one way or another, that Bush would win the next election because he had the "white male vote" tied up.  They were his, whether they were called NASCAR dads or Bubbas or anything else.  Any opponent of Bush needs to figure out a way to get some of this vote.

Is it possible?

No.  Not at all.

Here's a fellow who disagrees with me.  Then I disagree with him.

See Why Can't Bubba Vote Democrat?
Allen Snyder, OpEdNews, Tuesday, December 30, 2003

First of all the item came with this disclaimer:

Allen Snyder is an instructor of Philosophy and Ethics.  He can be reached at asnyder111@hotmail.com.  This article is copyright by Allen Snyder and originally published by opednews.com but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media so long as this credit is attached.

Fine.  I've done my duty.

First, defining terms:

'Bubba', you may recall, is the generic name for the guy Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean appealed to; the blue-collar white guy with the pick-up, Confederate Flag (if he's a Southerner - the North has its Bubbas, too), gun rack, spit cup, NASCAR ball cap, 'I Pledge to One Nation Under God' bumper sticker, and big chip on his shoulder.

This now being out of the way, here are Snyder's main points:

At least rich Bubbas have an excuse for voting Republican.  They have lotsa money and Republicans love helping rich people get richer, especially if they can get poor Bubbas and their yet-to-be-born children to foot the humungous bill, thank 'em for it, and ask for more.

But what's Poor Bubba's excuse?  He doesn't have a pot to piss in.  He's living paycheck to paycheck and up to his eyeballs in debt.  Meanwhile, GOP hucksters ram through labor, middle, and lower-class unfriendly legislation that screws him over both economically and politically.  Rather than punishing them, poor Bubbas from Savannah to El Paso to Knoxville line up every election to vote for more Republicans.

What's happened here?  It's trivial to say there's one and only one cause for Bubba's changing attitudes, but the reasons aren't as complicated as you'd think.  What attracts Bubba to the GOP is their not-so-closet intolerance, pumping testosterone, and defiant machismo.

You see, Bubba don't like too many people.  He's got a 'problem' with Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Asians, Europeans (especially the French), the camel jockeys, towel-heads, fags, Jews, Catholics, atheists, tree-huggers, liberals, commies, and the ACLU.  But what he really hates is blacks and women, especially those with power.  All Bubbas are dangerously narrow-minded and are either racists, sexists, or homophobes, a combination of these, or in extreme, but not entirely rare instances, a heady mix of all of them (think Senator Santorum - Yikes!).

Bubba tends to like other Confederate flag waving God-fearing Protestants, have a 'nuke 'em all to hell' mentality, trust the government without question (unless it's full of Goddamn bleedin' heart liberal Democrats), hate dissenters, like his womenfolk figuratively barefoot/pregnant and literally submissive, and his blacks in their place.

He lives vicariously through military action, a testosterone-fest if ever there was one, imaginarily killing and maiming his way to world dominance.

Pacifists are pussies, the ends justify the means, if you want something - take it, and the USA is #1!

Bubba idolizes Rush and O'Reilly, and thinks Ann Coulter often 'makes some good points'.  They get it.  They know him, are him, and feel his pain (they say).  They fan his anger and frustration, directing it toward the evil liberals, peaceniks, and Democrats responsible for this national cultural nightmare.  They willingly enable his various 'isms', phobias, and fears.

Bubba's afraid he's lost control, lost power, become a minority in his own country.  He's the victim of an evil liberal plot to de-white the country.

Everybody wants to take him down, make him pay, and the only ones who care are Republicans.  'It's OK to hate women, fags, and blacks', the GOP happily says, 'we don't like 'em, either - and we run the government!'

Well, all perhaps a bit over the top.  But I know some of these guys.  There's enough truth here to consider the implications.  Would that this had been put in a more measured, scholarly fashion.

Of course, as Snyder points out, Democrats, on the other hand, are the party of Civil Rights, blacks, gays, feminism, the environment, international cooperation, and world peace - all things Bubba thinks the world would be better without.  "Bubba wants and needs the security of being in charge, being top dog, and BushCo's GOP-sponsored plan for world domination through oppressive fear, bullying intimidation, and manly war neatly fits the bill."

Yep, a problem.

So, how can the Democratic Party get votes from these guys?

Democrats have to stick to the issues; they can't let themselves get too tangled up in taking sides in the 'cultural war' questions of the day.  They can't get any real mileage out of affirmative action, the pledge of allegiance, and gay marriage, 'cause the right sings Bubba's tune on those issues.

But what Bubba doesn't know is how much he's been lied to about things he actually cares about - war and the economy.  Bubba's dying in Iraq and being sucked dry at home.  The left needs to do more than simply confront Bubba with BushCo's destructive policies and their hideous consequences.  They need to show Bubba how badly BushCo lies about everything and do so unceasingly.

'Cause if there's one thing Bubba hates more than being out of beer on game day, it's being made a fool of.