Yaller Dog Democrat

I was just updating my profile to "yaller dog" Democrat from "yellow dog" Democrat now that I understand that it is the more proper use, despite appearances, with there actually being a real type of dog called a "yaller dog" in SC, my home state, and now, in some parts of GA. Now, I've seen "yaller" dogs, mostly in rural areas, and especially in predominately black areas and I've heard of "yaller" dogs all my life, and it's always been pronounced that way. That's an ol' timers extreme pronunciation of "yellow", though, and I was surprised to learn that the dogs had come to be known as an actual type or breed of dog, and have always been called by that name with that pronunciation. They are wild dogs actually native to the woods and swamplands of South Carolina. A U.of GA professor has been studying them and found them to be closely related to the Dingo of Australia. It is thought that they may be one of the "original" dogs and may have migrated in prehistoric times. These days, breeders have (somewhat snobbishly in my opinion) begun to call them "Carolina dogs".

I am diligently trying to track down the actual historical origination of the phrase "yaller dog Democrat". I have found in my research many, many so-called quotes of various sentences purporting to be the original quote. They can't all be right. As of this post, I've tracked it back to 1900 in Kentucky, but that can't be the earliest. Yaller dogs are South Carolinians. I would think the phrase originated where Yaller dogs were known.

I've even found at least two instances where old time Republicans would use the phrase, as in "he'd always said he'd vote for a yaller dog if it was a Republican", but these accounts are recorded present day, or at earliest, in the 1960's. Isn't that just like a Republican? They can't think of anything original. Except to cut taxes in a time of war. That was original. Completely original. Never done before in all of human history. I digress.

I discovered another thing in my research that absolutely delights me to no end. Yaller Dog Democrats bug the hell out of the Freepers and the other various factions of the Republicans. They cannot abide the fact that we are devoted Democrats and rank Republicans as lower than dogs. For we do, you know. We are attacked viciously by them, and they dig deep, like a hundred and fifty years or more, to inject their venom. I love it and think it's hilarious. Over the last two centuries, being a Yaller Dog Democrat has meant many different things, and just like the definition of Democrat or Republican, it has flip flopped in many ways. One thing has remained constant about Yaller Dog Democrats over time. A Yaller Dog is preferable to any Republican candidate on the ticket, because whether its Reconstruction and Republicans are trying to tell you what to think and how you may or may not act and what you should believe, or its 2006 and Republicans are trying to tell you what to think and how you may or may not act and what you should believe, a southern Democrat would rather mind their own dog than mind a Republican. Because the dog is more deserving of respect.

(I don't get the Jr. but) From John at Restonweb.com, posted back on Nov. 2, 2000:

In response to the post about Gorons, I got a response from self-professed "Yaller Dog Democrat" way down yonder in the Great State of Texas. In all fairness, this august board should be privy to its contents. Here it is.

The world of intelligence studies has, in the past, regarded mentally challenged persons as being in two classes: Idiots, who are adults having mental ages below 3 years and are considered extremely incompetent, and Morons, who are adults having mental ages of about 8 years and are considered both stupid and foolish.

Now they have discovered the Burons. Burons have a mental age of 5.5 and make decisions only when their controllers (Rush, Jerry Falwell, Papa Bush, the NRA, etc.) tell them what to do. They can be recognized by how they willy-nilly forward inane email to advance their political agenda. :-)

Here are some of the brilliant words from the Buron's hero:

The REAL Halloween scare:
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."...George W. Bush, Jr.

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a motherand child."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"Welcome to Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"Mars is essentially in the same orbit...Mars is somewhat the samedistance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seenpictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there iswater, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we canbreathe."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 8/11/94

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I meanin this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/15/95

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom anddemocracy - but that could change."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/22/98

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, andthat one word is 'to be prepared'."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 12/6/93

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 11/30/96

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgmentsin the future."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"The future will be better tomorrow."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"We're going to have the best educated American people in theworld."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/21/97

"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positionsand have a tremendous impact on history."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.to Sam Donaldson, 8/17/93

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have afirm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"Public speaking is very easy."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.to reporters in 10/9

"I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls." ...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"When I have been asked who caused the riots and the killing in LA,my answer has been direct & simple:Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame....George W. Bush, Jr.

"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/20/96

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/22/97

"For NASA, space is still a high priority."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/5/93

"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children." ...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/18/95

"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes thatGeorge Bush may or may not make."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on the mistakes we may or may not have made."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system."...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

Need we say more? Should he?

A freeper over at Free Republic wants to kill me and all my kith and kin and fellow southern "yaller dog" Democrats to keep gays from having any rights, to keep judges from legalizing bestiality (!?), to keep women from having abortions, and keep us from breathing, in general. He seems to think we are in hiding down here and wants to burn us up like Sherman did, hunt us down, kill us and use our hides for leather. And he thinks we are all bigots because he was exposed to one on a job once and apparently suffered in high school for being the "class Republican", yet the only Democrat was supposedly KKK. Wonder what all the rest were? I don't get the Left Wing Poor Person bit. Maybe he's just so stupid he doesn't know his left from his right. Really disgusting:

Why we are going to wind up with homosexual marriage (and everything else) Warning: This is a RANT!Self 6/2/'05 Zionist Conspirator
Posted on 06/02/2005 7:56:03 AM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
Fellow FReepers:
Being a Left Wing Poor Person, I today stood in line to pick up what are called "commodities." These are government food packets that go back in time at least to the Great Depression and are received by large numbers of people of all kinds. And unlike the ideologically pure fantasy worlds in which some people on both sides of the spectrum have their heads, in the Real World these "left wing" programs are administered by people with crosses on their desk and are dispensed in national guard armories.
At any rate, while standing in line I was subjected to the griping of an older gentleman behind me in the line. And what was this person griping about? Was it abortion? Was it judicial dictatorship? Was it "gay rights?" No. He was griping about foreigners. Foreigners coming over here and taking away our jobs. Foreigners trying to impose their alien laws on us. Foreigners cutting in on our government benefits.
And this is where it got interesting!
Do you know whose fault all this is? It's Bush's fault! He's exporting jobs and importing foreigners and putting them on our insurance roles and increasing the burdens on real Americans. And why is he doing this?
BECAUSE HE'S A REPUBLICAN!!!
Yes, that's right folks, it's just part of the never-ending war the Republican party has waged against the "poor man" since the day it was founded! They should have known better than to elect George W. Bush! After all, didn't they see what his daddy did? Yes sir, we needed Dukakis and Gore and Kerry, the poor man's gallant defenders against the Mexicans!
This elderly gentleman was joined by a younger lady who was also a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. I tell you, "gay rights" isn't even on the radar screen, folks! These people remember Herbert Hoover, and for that reason they're going to vote like Pavlovian dogs for whoever has that d@mned "D" by his name to protect their benefits from being given to the Mexicans, and those "defenders of the poor" are then going to appoint radical judges who will wind up legalizing bestiality!
Folks, this is the world of the old-time white Southern "yellow dog Democrat"--a world that is never acknowledged by the major parties or the major ideologies in their public utterances, yet they are the Democrats' secret weapons. They are absolutely maddening! Our world is falling to pieces and all they can think about are their "benefits" and what Herbert Hoover did to them! This is still the 1930's!!!
Right now I'd like to repeat what General Sherman and General Butler did to them--in spades!
But it got even more interesting than this! When another gentleman in line mentioned supporting Bush in Iraq this old geezer said that as for what happened on 9/11, it wasn't foreigners who did that. Anyone could see who benefited from that. But when pressed for further information he said he knew better than to give it.
Ah yes, the wonderful Democratic party and its concern for the safety of Jews amidst all these ravening Republican wolves and their crematoria!
I have absolutely had it with these @$$holes! I've had it with people who are so stuck in the past of seventy years ago that they are blind and deaf to what is going on right before their faces! And I have had it with these people being covered up and hidden by the conventional partisan/ideological debate!
I have a long personal history of having to deal with these types of people. As a senior in high school I was the "clas Republican" and the "class Democrat" was an avowed Ku-Klux Klan member. On an early job I was exposed to an absolutely loathsome person who spent all his time attacking Blacks, Greeks, and Jews and supported the Democrats as the answer to all the evil in the world. Thanks to Robert Byrd these type of people are vulnerable to being caught by the spotlight and I say we should focus it on them in all their putridness!
Put a hunting season on 'em! Kill 'em all! Use their hides for leather!!!
::pant:: ::pant::
Okay. Rant over . . . for now!

What about amebas? bacteria, viruses, and republicans?
Some of those are asexual. The elitists among them are immaculate preconceptions.

Here is a plethora of political slang here and words of election and voting.
A couple of examples:
"Velcroid applies to a person who seeks to advance by associating with a more important person. A clothespin vote is one that is cast unenthusiastically for a choice regarded as least objectionable. "

If you're a historian like me, you'll find an engrossing, fascinating account of a southern family from the time the first ancestor came to Jamestown, VA until the time of the author, on his birthday, May 9, 1923. His great-grandfather had died at the battle of Guilford Courthouse in the Revolutionary War. The author had been a Confederate soldier. It greatly reminds me of conversations I had with my grandmother of those times, my own family originating from the earliest settlers and being involved in the early frontier of the colonies of North and South Carolina, Revolutionary times, and the Confederacy.

I am a Democrat from inheritance, from prejudice and principle, if the principle suits me. But I have passed the yaller dog degree.
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Preachers were held in high esteem by their respective followers. I recall only old Methodists and Baptists. It was understood that they were called form on high to this holy work. I now see and believe some of them preached for the good of others, some for notoriety and a good time, and others, as now, for the want of sense. I remember well the first infidel I ever saw or heard of. He was a prominent pioneer, noted for his wealth and outspoken opposition to the orthodox views of his neighborhood. I heard him criticized by men who often met at a gunsmith shop on Father’s land near our home. I was afraid of him. I had been led to believe that an infidel was a strange and dangerous sort of beast. My view changed when, at that shop, he gave me some chestnuts and in so doing, spoke to me most kindly. It was told that he said to the Methodist preacher, when about to start to the annual conference a the end of his year’s work, “I understand that you have not received much pay. I have no faith in what you preach, but I now give you fifty dollars and may pay you more if you are sent here net year. You have kept some of these crooks scared, so they don’t steal my cattle. I want you to come back and preach hell to them."
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The Old Baptists were noted for their honesty and tenacity to which they held their views on all lines of good citizenship. As a rule they glorified in their religious teachings and in their quant, peculiar make up. The experience of one of the elect amounted to about this: “I got religion when I did not want or expect it; if I had wanted it, I would not have gotten it. When I got it, I did not know it; if I had known it, I did not have it. When I got it, I could not lose it; if I could lose it, I never had it.” Such teachings now can only be heard in backwoods regions from the ignorant and superstitious. A dissemination of knowledge is fatal to superstition.
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Before closing, be impressed with an additional thought that I would have you consider and contemplate in connection with the past and present. Think of the mutations of time, of the immutability of earthly conditions and human affairs. I hope you may take the time and have inclination to deliberate on the trend of the inevitable. The thoughtful see the unrest and changes that are taking place here and elsewhere in the nationalities of the world. The fighting influences of ignorance and superstitions are slowly but surely giving way. Modern discoveries, inventions and improvements are blessing the world in presenting essential factors that promote Christian civilization. Ways and means are being more seriously considered for the elimination of war, with its desolation, ruins, miseries and poverty, than every before. The best in all nations realize that the observance of the God-given Golden Rule and not the blind following of the autocratic, selfish, unscrupulous partisan leaders bears the best fruit. The potency of passion, prejudice and ignorance in political and sectarian organizations is giving place to independent thought and action.Many are beginning to see that the cohesive force in social, political and religious partyism is based on passion, prejudice and ignorance.

The following is an exerpt from Exit Laughing by Irvin S. Cobb, published in 1941, but an accounting of the saga of the Kentucky Governor William Goebel, who killed a man, exploited the split Democratic Party in Kentucky, and was himself assassinated in 1900, barely living long enough to take the oath of office. The man had enemies. So far, its the earliest use of the term "yaller dog" I've found.

It was at the outset of the campaign which immediately preceded the contest, and the killing and the trials and all the rest of it, that I heard what I still think, after four intervening decades, was, everything considered — scene, moment, setting and all — the most devastating retort I ever did hear. It was delivered by Theodore Hallam, a battered-looking, hard-hitting, hard-drinking, little Irish lawyer, and an ex-member of Morgan's Rangers — and that for nearly half a century qualified a man for social and political distinction anywhere in the border South and particularly in Kentucky. Despite a high, strident voice, Hallam was perhaps the greatest natural orator in a state of natural orators and had a tongue pointed with a darting, instantaneous wit.
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Hallam lived in Covington, where Goebel likewise lived, and as a comrade in war and an ally in peace of Colonel Sanford, the Conservative whom Goebel pistoled to death, he hated Goebel mightily. Having bolted when Goebel seized the gubernatorial nomination by craft and device — and at the last moment, by open violence — Hallam promptly took the stump against him and went about over the troubled commonwealth joyously sowing dragons' teeth and poison ivy.
The seceding wing of the party picked on Hallam to open its fight, and chose the town of Bowling Green as a fitting place for the firing of the first gun, Bowling Green being a town where the rebellion inside the ranks was widespread and vehement. But Goebel had his adherents there, too.
I could fairly smell trouble cooking on that simmering-hot August afternoon when Hallam rose up in the jammed courthouse to begin his speech. Hardly had he started when a local bravo, himself a most handy person in a rough-and-tumble argument, stood upon the seat of his chair, towering high above the heads of those about him.
"I allow I want to ask you a question!" he demanded in a tone like the roar of one of Bashan's bulls.
One-third of the crowd yelled: "Go ahead, Black jack!" The other two-thirds yelled: "Throw him out!" and a few enthusiastic spirits suggested the advisability of destroying the gentleman utterly, and started reaching for the armpit or the hip pocket, as the case might be. Despite the heat all hands were wearing their alpaca or their seersucker coats which, if you knew our sturdy yeomanry in those parlous days, was a bad sign.
With a wave of his hand Hallam stilled the tumult.
"Let it be understood now and hereafter, that this is to be no joint debate," he said in that high-pitched shrill voice of his. "My friends have arranged for the use of this building and I intend to be the only speaker. But it is a tenet of our faith that in a Democratic gathering no man who calls himself a Democrat shall be denied the right to be heard. If the gentleman will be content to ask his question, whatever it is, and abide by my answer to it, I am willing that he should speak."
"That suits me," clarioned the interrupter. "My question is this: Didn't you say at the Louisville convention not four weeks ago that if the Democrats of Kentucky, in convention assembled, nominated a yaller dog for governor ydu would vote for him?"
"I did," said Hallam calmly.
"Well, then," whooped the heckler, eager now to press his seeming advantage, "in the face of that statement, why do you now repudiate the nominee of that convention, the Honorable William Goebel?"
For his part Hallam waited for perfect quiet and at length got it.
"I admit," he stated blandly, "that I said then what I now repeat, namely, that when the Democratic party of Kentucky, in convention assembled, sees fit in its wisdom to nominate a yaller dog for the governorship of this great state, I will support him — but lower than that ye shall not drag me!"

Slave Narratives: A History of Slavery in the United States by Public Works Administration
"I always thought Master Bob Young buried his money during the War. Children wasn't allowed to watch and ask questions. I was standing inthe chimney corner and seen him bury a box of something in the flowergarden. I was in Miss Nippy's room. I never did know if it was money orwhat. He had a old yaller dog followed him all the time. Truman was aspeckled dog set about on the front porch to bark."

This post is getting hinky because it is so large. So, I'll end it here and continue my research and postings in additional entries.