Today, carpetbagger no longer means a Reconstruction-era Northerner chasing office. It now describes any newcomer seen as importing outside politics into a community they joined. Example: New Yorkers who move to South Carolina, vote Annie Andrews for Senate, while bringing blue-state politics with them. To longtime residents, it feels like settling in and political relocation. The insult is not about suitcases anymore. It is about belonging, loyalty, and local identity. It suggests newcomers have not earned a say, have not absorbed Southern values, and want to remake South Carolina into the place they left behind.
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