Surviving as a Southern Democrat

Now’s not a very good time to be a Democratic congressmen in the south. To stay in office that dying breed may have to turn independent or at least vote like one, The Hill reports.

Southern voters "see the Democratic Party as a liberal institution that wants to spend their money recklessly, that doesn’t honor their social values and that has a very different view of the world," Democratic Alabama Rep. Artur Davis tells the news service. “It's hard for local Democratic candidates to break clear of that. Some [of those candidates] who are thinking about competing in the South may have to look at running as Independents."

But it won’t be easy. While bolting the party would protect candidates against Republican attacks on the Democratic leadership in Washington, it would also mean the loss of important campaign infrastructure.