by James Glaser
October 3, 2005

Well I have my truck packed to the gills with everything I think I will need to live in the Southland. Actually, half of the space is taken up with sculptures and furniture I have made, and then there is paper work. Everyone needs paper work I guess. A few days ago I was looking in a file cabinet in the basement and the newest piece of paper there was from 1983, so I have been burning paper for several days now. It takes the morning chill off.

The weather man is talking about snow on Wednesday, so I guess I am getting out of here on time after all.

I will be spending a few days in the cities with my mother. She says she is sad to see me move so far away, but is happy for me, and glad that I have enough ambition to start something new. She has seen too many people sit around, in front of a television, and pretty much stop their life.

The three weeks I spent down in Tallahassee in September taught me that it is right smack dab in the middle of Bush country. Be that George or Jeb, either one is OK with most people I have met, but there are signs of change.

People in the South are both Religious and Conservative. Many now wonder if George is either, and questions about Jeb are talked about too. The people I met down there will totally agree with me about how bad Washington spending has gotten, and they don't like the expansion of government. They have no idea of what happened with the social agenda that George Bush was talking about when they voted for him.

So, I think there are some big changes coming to Washington, but I don't think they involve the Democrats. The Democratic Party is now the "yeah, me too" Party. They want more war, they want more spending, (maybe different spending) and they have no candidate who can appeal to the anti-war left, and the rest of their party.

It looks like the people of the South will have to wake up and stop voting for someone just because he claims to be pro-life, a conservative, or a Republican. Under a Clinton White House, the bipartisan Congress stopped spending, and actually made token interest payment on the debt. Not much, but a step in the right direction.

So I am heading down South and plan to write about what I find in the rank and file down there. It should be interesting.

I will be on the road for several days and will start a new column by next weekend.