Culture war economy

One common observation about the 2012 result nationally is that the old Republican "Southern Strategy" of relying on white fundagelical resentments based on race, gender, and various iterations of cultural libertine-ism is broken.  At least, in national elections with a high turnout and a Presidential race on the ballot, this is probably true.  The people who show up to vote in those elections aren't going to go for that stuff anymore.

But this probably isn't true regarding off year congressional elections which are typically characterized by a smaller more activist turnout reacting against the incumbent President to some degree. More importantly, because Republicans controlled an overwhelming number of state legislatures during the post 2010 census redistricting process, reactionary conservatism will continue to enjoy a structural advantage in House races for at least the next decade. So, while we can say that Tea Party style social issue politics isn't going to elect a President it isn't going to become suddenly irrelevant either.

But it may be reasonable to speculate that an increasing sense of isolation and paranoia on the part of the more unstable elements of the reaction faction could lead them to seek safety somewhere they can, perhaps, arm themselves in preparation for the new Red Dawn.

In that case, the lonely sovereign citizen looking for a country in the post-Obamalyptic landscape may cast his (always his) eyes upon Louisiana.

That brings us to Tuesday's ballot. Voters will be asked to remove the constitutional language that says Louisiana can pass laws to prohibit concealed weapons. Voters are also asked to rig it so that any law proposed to limit gun rights is just about guaranteed to fail. In order for such a law to survive, it would have to survive the courts' "strict scrutiny," a standard of review that precious few laws survive.

Removing the language that says concealed weapons laws are OK wouldn't take away the Louisiana Legislature's ability to pass restrictions. But it might doom such restrictions to failure. It seems anti-democratic to declare that future lawmakers -- elected by the people -- can't pass laws they deem necessary to keep people safe.

The above is taken from a Jarvis DeBerry column where he worries about the problems this amendment could cause for local law enforcement in dealing with the city's murder problem.  And he's right to do that but isn't it also possible that this law combined with the political circumstances could make Louisiana a new Militia Mecca?

Okay maybe Mecca is a bad word to use here but I'm sure the marketing army at  the Office of Tourism or the CVB or somewhere can come up with something that appeals to the target group more elegantly. Maybe the well-worn "Sportsman's Paradise" already fits the mold.  Anyway, looks to me like we're sitting on a trend-bucking cultural economy opportunity here. All we need to do now is carve out a designated "Hospitality Zone" to turn over to a  militia marketing board to govern as it pleases.  I suggest somewhere near  Bayou Corne. It looks available.