Mudcat Saunders: Fishing Off the Right Dock

There's nothing better than a bit of Southern expression about politics to stir up some discussion. Dave "Mudcat" Saunders may not try to play the part of Mark Twain as a satirist, but his Will Rogers style speaks to me as though I'm sitting on a dock near Lake Ruralsville, reaching for a can of Diet Coke in the cooler; he's handing me some peanuts he picked up at the fishin' store, and we are playing "Go Fish", a simple card game while we take a break.

Yesterday at the Huffington Post, Mudcat had a good hook to talk about the recent local and state elections in by using a song that the Clintons had for their campaign song, 'Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow' in bringing our Reagan Democrats back to the cabin. He observed:

I think yesterday answered one huge question concerning red state politics. Will the Reagan Democrats who left our party in the eighties continue their return? When a Democratic candidate can get through the red state culture as Steve Beshear did in Kentucky, the answer is a resounding yes. However, if a Democratic Presidential candidate can't get through the culture, or worse, hits the cultural wall head-on, a Democrat can't win. The science is literally everywhere.

You can guess what this is leading to, so I'll post a little more:

I know people say "trust me", and then you think they must be lying. But as a red state Democrat who has been fighting these Republicans for a long time, just trust me this one time when I tell you that John Edwards is the only Democrat who understands and can get through the red state culture and psyche.

I actually know a Central Illinois Dem who would say the same thing about JRE. Mudcat continues to deal the cards here:

That is one of two reasons I am with John. He can head to a red state, connect with the people, and look like he was born on that stump. The absolute truth is with the eminent coming of the Republican onslaught in '08, John is the only electable Democrat. And believe it or not, the Republicans are coming with the fury of Hell. For those who think the Republicans are done for, we must never, never, never forget they are like a cornered animal and will do anything next year. A snake can still bite you until you cut off its head.

But as he picks up another card and discards one, he makes his strongest point about why we should be in John's corner:

Money has now completely taken over our electoral process and government. It's nuts. Somebody has got to do something and now. We need somebody who is mean enough and not afraid to fight the incredible money and power of the huge corporations and special interests. John is perfectly suited for the tough job that lies ahead, and I promise you, there will be a fight to get our government back.

Mudcat concludes with a heartfelt comment as he lays down the winning hand:

John will fight them. Of that, I am sure.

Now I have to have to shuffle the cards again. And we will go invite more to come back to the cabin, and give those rural Dems toothpicks and cards or dominoes as they sit in coffee shops, hoping the government will work for them and not for those rich folk.