After the Civil War this term was given to anyone from the North who moved into the South for financial advantage. It was especially attached to those people who had recently moved to the South and were running for political office. After the Civil War a carpet covered bag was the popular luggage of the day.
Today the term specifically applied to those people running for office in a location that is not their historical home. Local laws do allow politicians to run for office with relatively short residency requirements or none at all.
The most recent and possibly the most flagrant example of carpet bagging was Elizabeth Dole’s North Carolina’s Senate seat. She is the wife of the former Senator from Kansas, Robert Dole. Robert Dole is also a former Republican candidate for President. She ran and won the seat from North Carolina on the contention that she really is a North Carolinian because she lived there as a child and graduated from North Carolina’s Duke University. Using her mother’s address as her home address she met the state’s qualifications for residency.
California State Senator Tom McClintock(R) is being forced out of office by term limits. His district is in Ventura County just north of Los Angeles. He has always portrayed himself up as a high minded individual unlike those scummy Democrats. However he does like being a politician. So Mr. McClintock decided to run for congressional office from a district that the Republican Party views as winnable because there is no incumbent because the man leaving office is a Republican (facing corruption charges). California legislators must live in the district they represent, but there is no such requirement for House members. So the fact that he lives in Thousand Oaks (just outside of Los Angeles County) is no problem. Mr. McClintock has won by 644 votes. According to the Santa Barbara Independent he has actually been housekeeping up in northern California.
Is it any wonder that many Americans are opposed to professional politicians?
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