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Some other politicians have developed a visceral antagonism to him, though they cannot exactly spell it out. Says Kentucky Senator Wendell Ford, a former Governor: "I don't know of any Governors or former Governors whom Carter has contacted for support. That might indicate how much support he has among his former colleagues." Adds a onetime Northern Governor: "It was obvious he was a hustler. His style was just a little different: soft voice, soft sell. But there was a political road map all over his face. Jimmy would take advantage of any single opportunity to further himself. He is absolutely driven. But unlike a lot of politicians, he knows who he is and where he wants to go."
The liberal-to-left wing of the Democratic Party is especially dubious, fearing that his independence may be a camouflage for a closet conservative. He is also not part of the old-boy liberal network. When he won in New Hampshire, liberals held some anguished meetings about what to do. Says Joseph Duffey, director of the American Association of University Professors: "The anti-Carter sentiment is the cultural provincialism of a group that finds it hard to relate to someone who is neither a knee-jerk liberal nor an ideologue." Mark Shields, a Washington-based Democratic campaign consultant, believes the "problem is that no one in Washington feels that they own a piece of Jimmy Carter. But they're just playing into his hands."
At a time when voters' distrust of Washington, runs deep, Carter considers his status a campaign advantage. "I have been accused of being an outsider," he says. "I plead guilty. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans are also outsiders. We are not going to get changes by simply shifting around the same groups of insiders, the same tired old rhetoric, the same unkept promises and the same divisive appeals to one party, one faction, one section of the country, one race or religion or one interest group. The insiders have had their chances and they have not delivered. Their time has run out."
One of the motives for the attacks on Carter is left unstated—at least publicly. He is a proud Southerner, and that region is still suspect among the Northern liberals in the Democratic Party. Carter even boasts of being a redneck—a son of the red-baked Georgia soil without, of course, the racist connotations. Beyond that, he is an earnest Baptist who says that religion is the most important thing in his life. His Southern-style evangelism, showing up in so many of his speeches, irritates the less devout. They are uneasy about a man who uses the word God so easily, so often. He often prays for guidance before making a major decision.
In response to a strident attack on Carter in Manhattan's Village Voice, Georgia Congressman Andrew Young, a black, wrote an angry reply: "Carter is one of the finest products of the most misunderstood region of our nation. You are probably right in questioning Jimmy's doctrinaire liberalism, but progressive politics in 1976 must be based on a tough mind and a tender heart and a loving sensitive spirit."