Former DailyKos contributing editor Tom Schaller joined Stephen last night to talk about his new book, Whistling Past Dixie, wherein he argues that the Democratic Party, as was illustrated in the 2006 midterms, doesn't need the South to retain control of Congress and win the White House in 2008.

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To our southern friends, this doesn't mean we're writing you off as Kos explains:

[T]his doesn't mean we need to abandon the South, belittle the South, mock the South, piss on the South, or ignore the South. A national party with a real mandate needs to be competitive in every corner of our great nation.

But we have to build our own regional power bases, and we're doing so in the Northeast, Midwest, and Coastal West. We went far in solidifying our hold on those regions. And as we consolidate our power base, we can then push outward. Into the Mountain West, the Plains States, and then, as we mass our forces, we can assault the GOP in its stronghold.

The difference is between need and want. We don't need the South to win congress and the White House. The short-term Democratic path to victory clearly runs outside Dixie.

But we want to win those states because no truly national party can leave anyone behind. And we won't.

ProgressiveSouth at dKos has more.