The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Twenty-Seven

 In the late 1990s, Republicans, along with some Democrats, pushed for deregulation of the banking industry by removing the "Glass-Steagall Act," a law implemented in the era of the Great Depression, to prevent the mixing of investment banking (also termed "casino banking," as it can be highly risky) from "traditional" banking; that is, savings and checking accounts, car loans, etc. Democrat-turned Republican, Phil Gramm, a senator from Texas, led the charge for the deregulation, which was then signed by President Clinton. This legislation would prove to be one of the causes of the later so called, "Great Recession," as it allowed Wall Street banks to engage in behavior that was more than a little risky.

Anti government sentiment had been on the rise, certainly not discouraged by conservative attacks on government at all levels, and the sentiment came accompanied by hate groups and fascist-like militia extremists. In 1995, a terrorist bomb attack on the Federal Building in Oklahoma City killed more than 160 and injured nearly 700. The main perpetrator, Timothy McVeigh, had ties to militia groups and seemingly hated the government over issues like taxes and gun control. Anti government feelings were a longstanding tradition in the southern states, dating to the very creation of the Confederacy itself.

Clinton's second term included his impeachment over sex scandals, but I will not be covering that, as the overall subject is a bit complicated, and I did an article on it as part of another series. If you're interested, this is the link:   http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/12/its-about-coalitions-not-purity-part.html 

A president's political party often loses seats in Congress in midterm elections, and that's certainly true of the second midterm elections of two-term presidents. President Clinton's sex scandal gave Republicans hope for an even bigger than typical win in the 1998 election. It didn't happen; in fact, Democrats actually gained a handful of seats in the House of Representatives and the overall Senate numbers remained unchanged after each party won seats from one another, canceling out any net gain for either. The Republican pursuit of Bill Clinton's sex life seemed to have taken a nasty turn on the GOP, as voters seemed to want the matters of governing addressed, and not the president's personal life. The Clinton sex scandal would soon help to claim two REPUBLICAN leaders, not Democrats. First, the election results in the former Confederate states in 1998: 

1998 Senate: the only change in the former Confederate states was a North Carolina gain for Democrats.
House of Representatives: Alabama, unchanged at 5 Republicans, 2 Democrats; Arkansas, unchanged at 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats; Florida, unchanged, 15 Republicans, 8 Democrats; Georgia, unchanged, 8 Republicans, 3 Democrats; Louisiana, unchanged, 5 Republicans, 2 Democrats; Mississippi, Democratic gain of one seat, making state delegation, 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans; North Carolina, Republican gain of one seat, making state delegation, 7 Republicans, 5 Democrats; South Carolina, unchanged, 4 Republicans, 2 Democrats; Tennessee, unchanged, 5 Republicans, 4 Democrats; Texas, unchanged, 17 Democrats, 13 Republicans; Virginia, unchanged, 6 Democrats, 5 Republicans.
Governors: Alabama, Democratic gain: Florida, Republican gain (Jeb Bush, a son of former President Bush, began to come to prominence with this win); South Carolina, Democratic gain. One note, in Texas, George W. Bush, also a son of former President Bush, was reelected as governor. He would then run for president.

Next: Two Southerners face off in the election of 2000 ...  

WORD HISTORY:
Goad-This word, related to the "gar" part of "garlic," goes back to Indo European "ghai," which had the notion, "pointed, triangular," with the extended, "ghaizo," which meant, "staff, spear." This gave its Old Germanic offspring, "gaizo," meaning, "spear, pointed/triangular in shape." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "gad" (long "o" sound), and meaning, "spear, arrowhead," but also, "pointed staff to move cattle or other animals." This then became "gode," with the latter meaning having become the main meaning, and then came the modern spelling. The noun produced the verb form by the mid 1500s (maybe a bit earlier?), with the meaning, "to use a "gad/gode" (goad) to move cattle," but also the figurative, "cause to do something," and then also, "to stir up, to incite." Only English has forms of the original Germanic word that developed with this particular meaning.