Rural America Is Desperate. It Is Also Part of the Democratic Base. Don't Abandon Them.

[McCamy Taylor]

Do not allow ourselves to be divided and conquered. We need to be out there organizing rural America to empower it to change from within. That way, rural America won't buy the bs of people like Trump who promise to trickle down wealth from above.

We all know where the next two years are gonna take rural America. Its water and air will be polluted. Its land will be stolen. It will lose its ACA insurance. The only jobs they will see are service sector jobs at Trump style casino/hotels.

Do not gloat. Do not say "You deserve it!" Trump and company are counting upon urban and suburban America to laugh and stand by and do nothing as they rape and pillage our farmlands and wilderness and parks and other rural places. They won't dare do the same things to cities, because cities have money and are powerful. But they can do whatever the hell they want to rural communities---and, if Democrats treat rural Americans like some kind of pariah who "were asking for it", the carnage will be even worse.

Skinner and DU, Consider a special Rural forum devoted to the needs of rural America---and also devoted to documenting its plight. Michael Moore, documentary time. Same for Bill Moyers. Bill and Hillary Clinton, can you do another whistle stop tour? For too long, rural America has been ignored. No wonder some of them got desperate. They are not bad folks.

Solidarity, my brothers and sisters!

[guillaumeb]

1. And many of these so-called Trump counties also voted for

President Obama. Twice, in fact.

An excellent post, with excellent advice. If some Democrats refuse to talk to those they consider to be "the enemy", how can we build a coalition for 2018 and 2020? This division is a recipe for shrinking the party by driving out the Sanders supporters, driving out people of faith, and driving out the supposedly uneducated and ignorant rural voters.

A recipe for permanent marginalization.

[Blue_Tires]

123. And those same people have also repeatedly helped entrench

GOP strongholds in their respective governor's mansion and state legislature, knowing full well that the economic situation in their state has not appreciably improved... So what am I to think of them??

[guillaumeb]

124. A good question.

In my area, Chicago, the major newspaper is the Chicago Tribune. Readers of the Tribune will notice that the paper focuses obsessively on Democratic control of the State. This Democratic control is blamed for the State's poor financial position.

But the terrible financial condition of Kansas, and Wisconsin, and Michigan all go unremarked. Not coincidentally, the 3 states that I named are under GOP control.

SO the media bears much of the blame for not reporting actual news and concentrating on silliness and celebrity. And, of course, violence.

Think of the Kentucky voters who voter for Trump even though many of those same voters first got healthcare under the ACA.

Think of the Tea Partiers who called for the Federal Government to keep hands off of their Medicare. A federal program.

[elehhhhna]

2. Too late.

And a.m. radio has taken control if thme, anyway.

[msongs]

3. getting those people back is easy - put gays in camps and blacks at the back of the bus legally. nt

[Missn-Hitch]

20. He he he. You beat me to it.

[atreides1]

4. Too late

They already bought into the BS that Trump was spewing, they saw his racism, they saw his bigotry, they saw is contempt for women and woman's rights, they saw as he attacked a disabled man, as he called on his supporters to attack protesters...they saw all of that and still they voted for him!

And now Trump remains silent as his Republican allies who were given control of both houses of Congress, by many of those rural Americans, plot to repeal and not replace the ACA, privatize Social Security and the VA Medical system, reduce Medicare/Medicaid to block grants for states to dole out, and push forward a federal right to work bill!

You know what happens when people are desperate, they do real stupid things and other people get hurt! The desperation of rural America is going to hurt a lot of other people, and those people will be trying to support their own families and survive the coming storm...and you ask for solidarity?

Where was that solidarity on November 8th...when rural Americans threw themselves and the rest of America under a bus for thirty pieces of silver, silver they won't be getting!!!

Let them come to us...and we'll welcome them back

[tecelote]

17. I live in rural America.

I voted for Hillary. So did most of my neighbors but not all. However, we're all still friends.

Urban people. Now there is the problem. I heard there were way more urban people that voted for Trump. What the hell?

Let's just hate everybody. That will bring the party together.

[frankieallen]

75. + 1,000,000

[bettyellen]

84. You heard a lie and believe it and hate cities because of it?

Where have I heard that before?

[tecelote]

89. I don't hate cities. Sarcasm.

I don't hate the way many do. It's hard to understand making these blanket statements.

There are good people in cities and in rural areas. All over the world and in every country.

There are even... people that voted for Trump who are good people.

The hard line divisions that the media loves is, in real life, very blurry.

That's why our party has to open up more and be inclusive of everyone, no matter who they are.

That is what America is about. We are strong because our people represent the world. We're the melting pot.

It's time we celebrated our multi-cultural bounty instead of trying to divide it between red and blue.

[bettyellen]

90. Agree with much. But we ARE the inclusive party, and many dislike that for cultural reasons.

[OnionPatch]

115. It's true that there are plenty of urban Republicans.

I live in a very urban area of Southern California and work in a high tech company. There are plenty of Trump voters there. They're not the majority, but are maybe around 40%.

Many rural areas hold similar ratios but reversed. The liberals in those areas don't deserve to be treated like dirt and ignored because they are not in the majority. I'm tired of listening to people here lumping all rural voters in with racists and idiots because it simply isn't true.

[bettyellen]

119. Is this going to be a "not all rural" - when the context is Trump voters? For ducks sake why is it

That people seek to remove all context when talking about bigots. We're talking about trump voters.

[muriel_volestrangler]

130. Trump won rural areas 62-34; suburbs 50-45, and lost urban 59-35

Overall, Trump won small towns and rural America easily on Nov. 8, claiming 62% of the votes while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton received 34%. By contrast, Trump won a more modest 50% to 45% victory in the suburbs while losing handily to Clinton in urban areas 59% to 35%.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/17/behind-trumps-win-in-rural-white-america-women-joined-men-in-backing-him/

That's the worst Democratic rural result since 1984:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=u112AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138

and 1984 was a big Republican win overall too. So, the rural-urban divide is bigger than ever, with strong rural support for Trump.

[Snackshack]

91. Your 1st paragraph.

Nailed it.

The people that voted for him saw all of that (and more) heard him boast about being able to shoot someone and still not lose votes and still they voted for him.

I don't see a pathway to get through to people who harbor that kind of hate towards their fellow citizens and find common ground. Short of them being personally affected in a very negative way by what trump and the republicans are saying they are going to do i.e. losing healthcare by a repeal of the ACA or cuts to Medicare. Loss of quality/safety of life from corporate governance regulations being lifted by getting rid of EPA/FDA or cuts to SS. Loss of other forms of federal aid from disaster relief to infrastructure to education...etc etc.

Short of an epiphany or personal hardship I don't see conversations alone getting through.

[CrispyQ]

5. I agree with you.

I've been stunned at the hate directed at all Trump voters. I know two people (family!) who voted for Trump, who I think wanted a white male back in charge more than anything, & yeah, they are shits. But I also know two people who voted for Trump who voted for Obama twice. They have not been able to get back on their feet after '08 & they see Wall St getting a bailout & Main St getting nothing. HRCs six-figure speeches to Wall St. did her more damage than I think anyone gives credit to.

[loyalsister]

26. They were also left out of the Clinton prosperity

So, there are people whose kids were born then who are coming of age and they see no hope that they will do better. Our candidate was the most natural villain they could have found. She was in the closest proximity possible to the reason they felt they got burned in the 90s and part of the next Democratic administration that they felt left them out. Wall street and big banks have been synonymous with the root of all evil hat screwed them over in 2008.

While Obama and Clinton bragged about economic indicators, a lot of people were living and hearing something esle. Low unemployment figures don't mean what they think it means to people working more than 1 job. They felt invisible and along comes a candidate who seems to be listening because he also spews anger at politicians.

Not only was it a mistake to leave those voters out, we nominated exactly the wrong person to carry the message of economic glory to people who republicans screwed over by design, with the knowledge that the president gets the blame.

[Glitterati]

28. Excellent post. Too bad it's likely to get removed.

which is EXACTLY why Democrats keep losing.

Unless you are saying what they want to hear, they don't listen.

[loyalsister]

31. Now is the time for Democratic self criticism

I think we would benefit from starting with the people who didn't vote, and listening to people who have not been heard. If that connects to our candidates, so be it. Let's look at the entire picture.

[Glitterati]

33. I wish that were true.

It's not. Not at DU, anyway.

[loyalsister]

38. Unconditional loyalty doesn't help us

The people who didn't vote need a reason to.

[brush]

73. Clinton won 3M more votes than trump. The repugs cheat, supress votes, use Crosscheck to . . .

get African American and Latino sounding names off the voting roles in multiple states, openly ask for Russians to hack the Dems, Comey goes rogue 11 days before to torpedo Hillary, the EC, a relic from slavery, gives sparsely populated states votes more weight than deserved — that is why Dems lost this election.

Those are the things we have to work at fixing.

The repugs know how to dog whistle and rile up the under-the-surface racism and misogyny out there in so many Americans. They're very good at that and it works on closet racists and misogynists.

IMO it's futile to go after them as they've been brainwashed with 30 years of extreme white wing radio and FOX.

We still outnumber them though and our demographic advantage continues to grow so let's work to stop their cheating and fix the EC. Let them have those who fall back on racism and misogyny instead of blaming the repugs whose policies are the ones allowing their jobs to go overseas and the safety net to be undermined.

[KPN]

87. Who won the White House?

Not to mention the House, Senate, vast majority of governorships and state legislatures the past 6 years?

[brush]

121. I just told you how the repugs cheated to "win" the White House. You are right about the rest

If we put forth determined, sustained effort to stop their cheating, that will also effect the state and House/Senate races as well as the repugs don't limit their dirty tricks to just the presidential race — see North Carolina for instance.

[KPN]

133. We lost by 80,000 votes in 3 States.

That shouldn't have happened even with the "cheating". We keep losing and we blame it on cheating, yet nothing seems to change. Why?

[brush]

134. Because, IMO, we haven't focus on exposing and stopping the cheating

We need to continually use their cheating as talking points — over and over and over again sot the media will have to report it.

And of course suing, going to court, doing whatever needs to be done make it a huge issue in our campaigns.

We know that's how the repugs win so we know what the challenge is.

Even you have to admit they stole the presidential race with cheating on many fronts.

[aidbo]

39. A while back I posted this image and made a snarky remark about takers vs makers.

But it also illustrates very well what you're talking about.


It is the counties that voted for Trump and the counties that voted for Clinton. Each county's size in the image is relative to its share of the national GDP. So bigger box = bigger share of GDP. There were like 4 times as many counties that went to Trump vs Clinton (~2100 to fewer than 500 IIRC). And the ~500 Clinton counties are about 2/3 of the GDP.

So all those Trump voters are in ~2100 counties that share only about 1/3 of the proverbial pie. People in those counties are hurting.

[loyalsister]

41. Thanks for posting

That is very telling.

I read that more Trump voters lived in close proximity to where they grew up. This is part of the same dynamic. If the only thing a family has to pass on is a house, their kids stay. Not only that, people with fewer opportunities really do get stuck where they grew up sometimes. I wonder if it contributes to a feeling of being left behind in the broader economic context?

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/trump-supporters-hometowns/503033/

[bhikkhu]

50. "feeling left behind" is more accurate than "hurting"

I live in "rural america" too. There wasn't much campaign discussion in my area, though that may be because the economy has been good, unemployment is low, and people are generally busy. My county did vote for trump by about the same margin it voted for romney; people don't change their party affiliation easily.

The one thing you can't do is change the economic realities, in any case. Rural is often rural for actual physical reasons. In my area we have a resource-based economy, hay, potatoes, timber. And some recreation, hunting and fishing and so forth. If the nation thrives, we'll always be left behind. If the economy crashes, we still manage well enough.

Opportunities are pretty much always elsewhere, and I think envy does set in. Old people come here to retire, young people leave here to go to college and tend to stay gone, for more interesting lives. Our economic base is about the same as it was in the 20's, determined by our resources.

[DashOneBravo]

42. Excellent post ma'am

[X_Digger]

44. I saw it in '94, '96, and '98.

Democrats in my then rural neck of the woods were touting big urban projects, technology, and trade while the local union shop was suffering from lack of political support, and the local businesses were laying off / moving operations offshore.

We left them behind, they didn't leave us.

[KPN]

92. Yup. I've seen the same thing in my County ...

30 years ago and prior, this County voted Democrat consistently. Since then, it's gone R, by a greater percentage each election. We left them behind and are now viewed as out of touch elitists.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

49. You're probably right.

Clinton won Appalachia in 1992 -- e.g., West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Those states are extremely red now, obviously.

The southern part of Ohio is pretty much the same group of people.

[nini]

82. Yes..let's bash Hillary again

[KPN]

93. It's really quite sad that you view it that way.

I'm guessing most of the posters in this thread actually voted for and would have been very satisfied if Hillary had won.

[nini]

94. No it isn't

I caught that last little passive aggressive dig there.

[KPN]

96. Passive aggressive dig?

You are playing the victim Nini. As I said, it is sad -- nothing passive aggressive about that, nor the fact that you are criticizing people who voted for our party's nominee just because they see her negatives.

[nini]

100. No I'm not

"nor the fact that you are criticizing people who voted for our party's nominee "


LOLOLOLOL You obviously do not know me, who I supported or what I was saying. But thanks for playing.

[KPN]

117. So your "Yes. Lets bash Hillary again" comment wasn't sarcastic criticism?

[nini]

120. Sorry I'm not clear here but here you go

My comment regarding Hillary was about this: ...'we nominated exactly the wrong person to carry the message of economic glory"

My interpretation of that, whether others think so or not, was a dig at Hillary and there's plenty of digs at her still on this site - I am OVER insults directed at her.

Does that make more sense? So, yes.. it was sarcasm..

[KPN]

132. Got it. So I stand corrected ...

[KPN]

86. Exactly!

Too many above mean annual income people living in relatively depressed rural areas (i.e., the many rural Trump voters who are not necessarily xenophobes, etc., despite what some here at DU contend) fear their kids will never enjoy the economic well-being they themselves have been able to -- largely because they didn't have the opportunity, ability or desire to pursue careers in the few professions that still reward education (health, technology, engineering, finance).

Many of those people are actually living that fear via financially supporting their children well beyond the norms established over the past 60-70 years. While their income level may be above average, the demands on that income exceed what they envisioned and threaten the economic dreams they have worked so hard for the past 20-40 years.

Like it or not, agree with it or not, but we should all at least try to understand the perspective these people brought with them to the voting booth this fall. In their view, the Democratic Party failed them over the past 30+ years.

[realmirage]

103. Spot on.

[Generator]

46. How far does the forgiveness go?

If Trump uses nuclear weapons say and kills millions are the family members given a pass? If he evokes martial law and takes away our freedoms? If protesters are murdered in the street? If he brings on a great depression? A civil war? What pass do you give them then? IE what did you do in the war Daddy?

I think about that too because I am trying to forgive a quasi family member right now. Not racist didn't like Trump but always votes Republicon. So he voted for Trump. If this bad shit happens-I will not be forgiving of him. I want a I'm sorry. It's just too damn much.

The hate directed at them is because it's personal. Like my friend who was raped-she thinks about Trump saying that that woman wasn't pretty enough to rape any time she has to hear about Trump. She is reliving it over and over. If you had say a swastika on your child's school and that has never happened before-you might think of blaming a Trump voter. I know I do. Because it's happened where I live in supposedly blue Portland, Oregon. Anyway it's personal-that's what hate is. When you feel personally hated it doesn't just get forgiven because you didn't have a FUCKING JOB. Are they starving to death? Well then maybe-if it was the great depression-maybe. But not now. It wasn't BAD ENOUGH to vote for this monster.

Only Trump voters I know are well off so that doesn't help either.

[smirkymonkey]

54. +1000

[nini]

83. Well said

It's personal.

[KPN]

95. A legitimate question. But please try to understand that it WAS bad enough for some people ...

who voted Trump and are not necessarily haters, xenophobes, etc.

I have two adult children in SE Portland, and a son who is gay and was nearly beaten to death a few years ago by some Aryan skinheads elsewhere in Oregon. So it is personal with me. I get that ... I voted for Hillary. But I'm not willing to sit back and say we didn't do anything wrong, that the election was stolen, that we should have won because we won the popular vote. We didn't win the White House. We've lost the House, Senate, a large majority of Governorships and state legislatures over the past 6 years. There are many reasons for that and I 100% believe some are of our own (the D Party's) making.

I will never forgive the haters who support Trump. But it wasn't just haters who elected him and lumping all Trump voters into that category doesn't fix that.

[bettyellen]

6. On average the Trump voter made 70k plus- so sick of this pity party for greedy fucks who just hope

For less taxes and more harassment for women and POC.
Let them learn the hard way as we're all going to suffer.

[PunkinPi]

9. Yep, this. nt

[KPN]

99. Many of them live in rural America as well and while ...

somewhat comfortable with their current financial status are not and have not been comfortable with the economic outlook for their childrens' future and, given that, their own.
Do you live in rural America? Do you really understand the hopes, dreams and fears of people living in rural America?

[bettyellen]

101. Lower to mid income people live in urban areas and are not "somewhat comfortable"

In fact they are currently living on much less in more expensive areas of the country. They are not selling their souls because they are greedy. They do not fall prey to the ignorance that causes them to scape goat others. And there are millions of them denied their rights to vote. too many of our own don't feel we've reached our enough and they are the ones we need to court. Thise bigots need to feel economic stress bwfore they rethink things because literally nothing else matters to them. They voted for Obama because they saw the economy go off a cliff, not out of any goodness in their hearts. As soon as they feel secure they revert to greed and xenophobia.

[LisaM]

7. I agree with you, but it's hard not to be very frustrated here.

Hillary had by far the most positive position on farm subsidies:

https://www.isidewith.com/candidate-guide/elections/2016-presidential/issues/economic/farm-subsidies

She was also, by far, the most religious candidate, even though she doesn't talk about it much. She seemed very comfortable speaking in churches.

It's very, very frustrating that rural people abandoned a candidate who really lined up with them better on issues and her personal ideologies, so I have to think there is more going on, and I think that something is misogyny.

[Iggo]

8. If they voted for Trump, they're not the Democratic base, and yes I'm abandoning them.

[libtodeath]

13. Agree,they voted for a racist who was openly bigoted.

they can piss off.

[Zorro]

85. If they voted for Trump

They're either a fool, a dumbass, an asshole, or a Nazi. I've had it with the notion of pandering to them; it only makes you seem weak in their eyes.

[mercuryblues]

10. Don't abandon them

Don't abandon them? Oh. My. They threw people I love under the bus. For a fucking $130 tax cut. They weren't thinking of anyone else when they hit trump's name and then every backstabbing piece of shit republican down ballot. The damage trump &CO does, will be for generations with his SC picks. It has clearly been stated that Clinton aligned more with their concerns, yet they voted for trump knowing full well his bigoted stance against everyone but healthy white males. They heard Grab them by the * and said YUP! That's my guy! Not once caring how they diminished sexual assault as being "locker room" talk.

Fuck them. They knowingly and happily have given people a death sentence with the repeal of the ACA and they don't give a shit. I will not coddle their asses. If they love trump because he says it "like it is" Then they are going to love me.

[libtodeath]

14. I wish I could rec this post over and over.

[Missn-Hitch]

22. Well well well! What you said x 1000.

[smirkymonkey]

61. Hear, hear!

[old guy]

66. Yup.

Well said.

[Maven]

70. +1000

[kimbutgar]

97. Spot on

I just can't get back to ever respecting anyone who voted for thump.

I usually go with my husband to Arizona so he can watch the super bowl with his family. His Mother and one of his sisters voted for Hillary but her husband and sons voted for thump his other sister and her adult kids voted for thump. I really don't want to go this year and be around them. I am going to send my husband there alone this time.

[mopinko]

11. there is a forum

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1182
no reason these issues cant be discussed in this sleepy little corner.

but what we need out there is fact based radio. rw radio is the source of the cancer that is spreading in rural america. it has just metastasized.

[frankieallen]

77. We tried that, it failed miserably. AirAmerica.....remember?

[mopinko]

78. i dont think that is a fair assessment.

first of all, it was sabotaged from the start by investors who planned for it to fail.
you could also say it was sabotaged by a party that should have been supporting it was ads, and never spent a dime.

miserably, tho? no. it gave us rachel maddow, sen al franken, and raised the profile of a lot of other people. like ring of fire, which started on aa.
my local affiliate is still a progressive talk station.

a crying need like this deserves to keep being pushed until it works.

[CrispyQ]

118. Yeah, so let's not try it again!

And for sure, let's not examine why the attempt was a failure. Let's just capitulate all that hate-radio-land to the GOP.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512660369

=====
Look at all that red!

[renate]

12. I agree with you in principle, but I'm curious

If they cast their votes out of desperation, why did they not bother to look into which candidate would have actually helped them more?

Your post is really persuasive. To be honest, whichever side of this "coddle them/don't coddle them" debate is being put forward, I find myself nodding in agreement. But here's the thing that I'm wondering about: They had the opportunity to vote for someone who would have done them some good, and the majority of them declined to do so.

I suppose more directed outreach efforts would help a little, but gosh, they seem so entrenched in their beliefs, and spend so much time listening to right-wing radio, I wonder whether it's the most efficient use of resources. Maybe it'd be more effective to energize people who are already on our side but just can't be arsed to vote.

[Squinch]

27. In the end, where each of us stands on "coddle them/don't coddle them" doesn't matter:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028413873

[peggysue2]

37. This!

Hits it squarely on the nose. You can drag the horse to the trough but you can't make him drink.

People who voted for Trump, voted for the performance, the tough guy talk, the soaring nostalgia for a country that never was and . . . the bigotry. Which was on full display at all those rallies.

The vast majority of the Trump support base were convinced that undeserving people were getting something that they weren't. I read an interview before the holiday with a group of T voters who all insisted that the reason the ACA was too expensive was because lazy, shiftless people (easily translated as POC) were getting a free ride while they (real Americans) were paying through the nose. They never considered that any and all improvements to the healthcare program were systemically undermined by the GOP, the members of whom love screaming:REPEAL without any viable replacement. Why? Because they don't give a shit, because the politics might favor the Democratic party and because the money spigot from all those medical lobbyists would be turned off tight.

Unless there's a fast, effective way to teach critical thinking in rural America, the Democratic Party would be better served concentrating on unifying its own base and countering on-going voter suppression and gerrymandering. I can feel empathy for anyone in desperate straits. But if you continue to vote against your own interests out of willful blindness, bigotry and resentment, there's not much the Dems can do. But grow their own support as an effective counter-balance. And hope others will turn off the right-wing propaganda.

Sorry to sound cold-hearted but the decision to vote for Trump and his Big Lie is going to have disastrous consequences. For everyone.

[mercuryblues]

80. Exactly

Clinton aligned with their "concern" about the economy and jobs. She had detailed plans. trump had nothing more than a bumper sticker meme and campaign dripping with racism, sexism and homophobia, so what did they really vote for? A slogan? No. They voted for the later.

Hell, even coal miners whose only chance of getting insurance and treatment for black lung is through the ACA, voted for the man who promised to repeal the ACA. Leaving the in the wind for their own medical care. Ran on a racist platform and promised to take away their healthcare. They would rather die than letting POC get the same healthcare.

[libtodeath]

15. Desperate for Whites Only signs on business doors.

[loyalsister]

35. It's not that simple

Trump brought it out, and the reason he could is something to look at.
He took aim at immigrants when people who have not benefitted from the recovery were looking for anyone to blame. Clinton was also an easy scapegoat because of her association with two administrations who claimed economic victory that not everyone felt.

It don't understand why she didn't try to redirect some of the anger toward automation.

[lunasun]

52. Redirect anger at immigrants to automation???Would these people retrain for jobs of the future in

tech automation or just be angry at the process?

[loyalsister]

106. I'm think of automatic checkouts

Walking into a store and seeing those in the space where a person could and should have a job is one example of how people are disposed of for profit.

[Wounded Bear]

16. Methinks those rural voters abandoned us...

for crap promises to outlaw abortion and kill programs they need to survive. They got sucked into the RW echo chamber, the Dems didn't drive them out with pitchforks and torches. They went willingly to the dark side.

[Freethinker65]

55. +1

[gratuitous]

18. So what do we do?

We offered rural folks universal health care, but had to settle for keeping insurance companies in the mix. Instead of tweaking the program, Republicans tried to kill it over and over again, in Congress and the courts, even going so far as to ask that the entire ACA be invalidated because of one ambiguous passage. Our rural friends watched quietly as their Republican governors refused to take the Medicare expansion money, and then blamed the Democrats when that ACA didn't work in their states.

We tried to raise the minimum wage so they could have more money. But they were convinced that they didn't want more money if it meant that other people might get more money. Or that the price of a Big Mac might go up a nickel. What did we get for our efforts? A lot of yammering about mythical small businesses that would all have to shutter their shops if they had to pay their employees a decent wage, and who couldn't possibly make their business model work without uncompensated labor.

Republicans swept into power in 2010 on grandiose promises of jobs. More than six years later, America is still waiting on the first jobs bill out of the Republican-controlled Congress. When will our rural brothers and sisters hold Republicans accountable for their broken promises and corruption? Are they too fucking stupid to figure it out for themselves without someone holding their hand and intoning, "There, there"?

Are they upset? Yeah, probably. Join the club. Are they upset with the people wielding the whip on them? No. Do they have an inkling who's behind their plight, and that it didn't happen by accident, but by design? Not that I can tell. Folks in Oklahoma are enjoying an average annual tax break of $56, but their state budget is more than $800 million short. For that extra $1.04 a week in tax breaks, someone in Oklahoma is doing fabulously well. Are the crumbling schools, decaying roads, and other missing amenities worth it? If they can't figure this out, and they resent being told, what are we supposed to do? These people are incredibly stubborn about staying stupid. Why aren't they trying to convince us about how swell their politics are?

[mercuryblues]

29. +1000

[smirkymonkey]

67. Thank YOU!

[old guy]

72. Bookmarking this post to read again and again.

Living in a red rural area it speaks truth.

[tandem5]

19. I'm not sure about grouping a swath of people under the heading of "rural", but

I am sure there is a limit to the number of times one can extend a hand and have it slapped away. It's not cynical to recognize after years of earnest attempts at unification, that there are fundamentally two types of people: those that act based on empathy and compassion and those that don't. Both types can be found in all walks of life, the former group is the only one that can be actively appealed to. The latter must be met with our resistance.

[Binkie The Clown]

21. But, but, it's so much more fun to ridicule them and call them names.

At least that seems to be the prevailing attitude here on DU.

Scapegoating the Trump voters and calling them morons does nothing to solve the problem. In fact, it only makes it worse by making us look even more elitist than we are already perceived as being.

[Squinch]

23. Asking others to fix it isn't going to work. What are you going to do? Why not go to

ATA and ask Skinner there for a rural forum and volunteer to be the forum host? I believe that is how new fora come about.

[Jim Beard]

24. I think I have one of the solutions.......

I didn't think of this before but I think this will help. It is Social Security and Medical insurance. Would Jesus allow the elderly to suffer if he had the medicine. They are lonely except for some visitors. It depends on their age as to activity. The old one definitely vote, especially by mail. You and me can not do this individually, must need government help or what we saved.

Also some hospitals in small areas were given a form of Medicaid for hospital expansions like places for therapy. I see some of that going to small towns. This will get the oldest vote but we have to fight against local newspapers.

I really don't do much on Facebook and I know the old folks don't but the younger women who care for them do.

What does it cost to get a business Facebook page like The Dallas Tribune and/of The Dallas Chronicle or the The Pig Turd Texas Globe News.

Just some suggestions.

[cwydro]

25. Good post.

But you're going to piss off the haters here.

They're so enjoying their superiority and hatred of those "less" than them.

[Afromania]

43. Sigh

Yea, see, being utterly pissed at these people for voting for a guy that is clearly insane can't be defined as "hating". There are two types of folks out in the rural areas. Those that are said "hey I think this guy stands for what I stand for" and voted for Trump, and those that didn't. I don't really care if they are against Hillary, for Bernie, or anything else. They enable a madman to become president. I'm a Bernie guy but once he was out of it I wasn't about to concede the country to a madman because I wasn't cool with Hillary's ties to the corporations. I have zero, ZERO, empathy for anybody that thought Trump was the "good" choice here because he made it perfectly clear he was not.

The other type of person out in the rural areas are the ones I consider brothers and sisters in arms. While facing the EXACT same conditions as the idiots that voted for Trump they did something quite amazing. Can you guess what it was????? THEY DIDN'T VOTE FOR TRUMP. I feel empathy beyond belief for them, and only them. Having to live with the fucking morons that sold us all down the river for a half full bag of lies. I feel for them that they are now defending dimwitted friends and family that said fuck you to all of us to vote for Trump, or not vote, or whatever.

I do not consider myself superior to these people but they sure as hell feels like they consider themselves superior to the people living in the nations urban centers. They have no problem propagating the idea that their small town living is the superior, morally correct American culture and everything else is wrong. Well I'm gonna borrow and rework a line from It's a Wonderful Life and say this; we do most of the working and paying and living and dying on the coasts. Is it too much to have them acknowledge that our struggles in doing so are as noble as theirs?

[Jim Beard]

76. I live in a rural area and was just trying to think of a solution.

We need legislation and make sure they know who got it for them. I want this to help congressional districts.

[geomon666]

30. We never abandoned them.

They abandoned us.

[roamer65]

32. Just let Dump and Dense fuck up Medicaid and Medicare.

They will be back in droves when it hits them in the pocketbook. I think we will elect the most leftist POTUS in American history in 2020.

[Glitterati]

34. The price for "letting" them do that is good people DIE

Way too high.

[Squinch]

59. Yes. Good people will die because of the actions of those we are being told to

embrace here.

When the time came for action, every one of us acted in a way that would ensure the safety of the rural voter. We voted for Hillary and her platform, which DID offer aid and solutions to the rural voter.

We acted in their interests. We worked as hard as we could for their benefit. They slapped us away.

We know that price is way too high. That's why we worked and voted to avoid that price. They took their heads out of the lion's jaws only long enough to slap us away and tell us how ridiculous we are.

There's not a lot we can do now to avoid that price despite our best efforts.

[Glitterati]

63. Perhaps it would be beneficial to remember how badly BILL Clinton hurt these same voters

And, it was Hillary's FATAL mistake not to make it abundantly clear that her term in office was NOT intended to be Bill's 3rd term.

These people voted against BILL Clinton's actions, dooming Hillary.

[Squinch]

65. These people voted FOR Donald Trump, dooming themselves.

Spare me the "Hillary so bad because Bill" nonsense. There was a clear choice in 2016. These people chose their own destruction.

We did our best. Our best was not good enough to convince them not to shoot themselves in the head. There is very little we can do now about the issues the OP is bemoaning.

[Glitterati]

98. Those who refuse to remember history are doomed to failure

And you can get as angry and act as foolish as you wish, but THAT is what determined this election.

You're failure to see that just means the Democratic party will continue to make the same mistakes over and over and over.

[Squinch]

105. I am not angry, and I am not acting foolish. I am simply pointing out an undisputable fact.

We all did our best to help these people who we are now being begged to help. We worked for their benefit, we voted for a platform that would truly have helped with economic development in both rural and urban areas.

They did not do the same. That is simply a fact. They enthusiastically embraced a con man, and they were successful in getting him elected. Then they enthusiastically pulled all the R levers below the one for the con man, and thereby guaranteed that they would be ruined. They did this against our best efforts. And because they were so successful in supporting the ones who will destroy them, we are now mostly powerless to do anything to protect them from what they voted for and what is about to come down on their heads.

Believe me. I am not angry. But the fact that the rural Trump voter joyfully and enthusiastically dug their own grave is not deniable. It is also not my fault nor the fault of anyone who voted for Hillary. If this particular history repeats itself, it won't be because of my actions. It will be because of theirs. This is simply a fact. And neither is it deniable that they took away any power we might have wielded in their defenser.

I'm not refusing to remember anything. I doubt any of us will ever again be in a position to forget what these people did. But they did this. It is done. In spite of all our best efforts, it is done. And it can't be undone.

[TonyPDX]

60. Perhaps 2028, or 2032. The GOP is digging in and they'll be in charge until then.

[tenderfoot]

36. Sadly, rural America would rather hold onto their beliefs and don't want to change.

Because people they detest (city slickers, women, people of color, gays, other religions outside of Christianity) will get equal footing and they won't have it.

[Hortensis]

40. Just pointing out, extremely few rural Americans are desperate.

It's an inappropriate word. Resentful would be more appropriate for that subset who are unhappy, resentful from struggling on low local incomes in some cases, resentful at having to do without things urban workers take for granted. Resentful at the idea that they move to improve their conditions.

But that's not desperation. Rural populations in general are aging, and Social Security, Medicare and low living costs mean most haven't and don't expect to ever feel desperation. In fact, most of us (yes, I live in a rural area) are so spoiled by living secure from desperation for decades that most can't imagine life without a security that being an American means--or that it could be destroyed.

Good article except for that very distorted characterization, though.

[X_Digger]

45. No, rural voters aren't resentful at not having a starbucks on every (other) corner.

They really don't give a shit about a good chinese takeout or a jewish deli.

I know a hell of a lot of rural folks who are desperate- working two part time jobs, or one full time (but seriously underpaid) job and maybe trying to take night classes to get a better job. Ex-factory workers, welders, heavy machine operators, HVAC techs, mechanics- all trying to stay afloat doing work they're vastly overqualified for at a fraction of their previous pay.

Businesses are leaving because their infrastructure is crumbling because their tax base is eroding because their kids can't find jobs locally because their local businesses are closing because their infrastructure is crumbling.. (lather, rinse, repeat.) Rural populations are aging not because they're getting past child-bearing years, but because kids get the hell out as soon as they can for economic reasons.

If they have kids, child care is catch as catch can- maybe your neighbor and you can work something out, maybe you have an older parent who's still spry enough to keep an eye on the kid(s). Maybe someone from church babysits for you when she can.

That's part of the reason that these folks can't up and move whenever they feel like it. There's a whole social web of connections and help that keeps their noses above water. Maybe your wife's high school gal pal cuts hair and you get a discount. Or your husband's football buddy is a mechanic and he gets you tires at his cost.

Moving to a place where that web doesn't exist? Hugely expensive, and largely invisible to someone not well entrenched in the social fabric of a community. With property prices being so lopsided between rural and urban, you can forget about selling your home and moving to the city.

Blithe dismissal of the inability to pick up and move wherever and whenever you feel like it demonstrates ignorance of many rural people and their situations.

But go ahead and discount them as simply 'resentful'. Let's see how that works out for you-- oh wait. Been there, done that.

[Hortensis]

47. But if thought corrupts language, language can also

Last edited Sat Dec 31, 2016, 08:05 AM - Edit history (1)

corrupt thought.” George Orwell, "1984."

We're in an era where we may actually destroy the really good thing we have by allowing ourselves to be corrupted by manipulations of language.

Desperate is a real word with real meaning. It does not mean worrying and scraping along unhappily. Nor does it mean scraping along happily enough because they're among family and friends--as most rural poor do.

I have an advantage. I was extremely poor and often homeless as a child. Like most rural poor, I know just how little people who are fairly mentally and physically healthy really need to live lives worth living. Food, water, shelter, companionship.

[JI7]

48. they don't want solidarity with non white people

they feel more solidarity with white east coat wealthy privileged businessmen who attacks minorities and women.

[RBInMaine]

57. Many voted for Obama. It think that fact damages your assertion.

[JI7]

109. no "many" did not vote for him

[stopbush]

51. Hillary had solid, well-designed policies. The Ds had the most-progressive platform

in recent history. All of it was designed to help those who needed help, especially people living in rural America.

Trump had a bunch of empty slogans, a goofy hat and the power of bigotry. Trump won. Hillary lost.

In essence, the rural voters who spent the election whining that no one was paying attention to them couldn't be bothered to spend an hour of their time to learn which candidate had their best interests at heart. No, they went en masse for the bigot, and for most, it was an easy decision to go for the bigot.

[Squinch]

56. If by "abandoning them" you mean presenting and voting for a platform that paid special

attention to their plight and offered practical, workable, ingenious solutions to the problems of the rural voter, then it's too late. We already did that. Horrible us.

Despite the best efforts of the Democrats, the rural Republican voter holds the reins and is using them to bring on its own destruction. There is little we can do about it now.

[bettyellen]

102. If there is some approach that avoids hurting their ego I'm

For campaigns to use it- especially locally.
But to pretend it's anything but what it is and push this "it's about the TPP" and "PC is about the oligarchy" crap right now is unconscionable bullshit. Self serving partisan bullshit.

[Squinch]

107. I agree. I also think that none of this matters in how we go forward. There are

those who think we need to be nice to rural Trump voters though how, in a practical sense, we are supposed to do that is not clear to me. We don't have any power any more to do anything for the rural Trump voter. Or the urban Hillary voter. Or anyone else.

But so they think we need to do that, and I think we need to go after the voter who stayed home. But the actions that we would both do to reach our goals are the same actions, so I don't really even understand why this "pity the poor rural voter" conversation needs to take place.

The conversation should be, "All Democrats, get together and together start harrying your Congress so that they dread the idea of crossing you on one more issue. Pick an issue and start!"

[bettyellen]

110. Totally agree! What I dislike is this whitewash in the media about the bigotry we've seen all

Year and I'm a bit disgusted to see people here trying to go along with it. But it's all about pushing their agenda. I guess the fact that Americans elected an actual
Oligarch must be too much of a slap
in the face but it's also one for the rest of us. While economics are always important to people the stuff about corporate greed did not resonate. We voted in a man whose name represents corporate greed and shirty business practices. Unfortunately the crap about every one is corrupt/ the same/ did resonate.

[Squinch]

114. I hadn't thought of it that way in this context:

"Americans elected an actual oligarch."

If it weren't so sad, I'd laugh pretty hard at that...

But what do you think? My only hope is that this administration will show people how terrible the Rs are and who their actual friends are.

Do you think that will happen, or do you think the egos of these people will not allow them to admit mistake and they will double down on their self-destruction?

[hunter]

58. It's the more affluent white voters who fucked us over.

The sort who didn't cringe whenever they saw Trump getting free advertising from the "mainstream" media.

[still_one]

62. Russ Feingold and every Democrat running for Senate in a swing state lost against the establishment,

republican, incumbent.

In Wisconsin, there was no ambiguity where the republicans stood on right to work, and anti-union, anti-labor proposals. Similar things in Michigan, North Carolina, and other swing states.

This isn't so much about the Presidency, but the theme of the Thomas Frank book, "What's the matter with Kansas"

There isn't a simple answer, but there has been a shift in this country for whatever reason from social and economic equality, to cultural issues such as guns, god, and gays, and it is those issues that have been directed against progressives, even if it means voting against what is in one's best interests

[lunasun]

64. I would like to see a forum to group these issues at DU instead of general discussion also

The current rural du group is mor farm orientated, and shouldn't be used for this subject IMO

You state you think in the near future trump is going to abuse them but never mention all the other groups trump in the near past he has already stirred up hate for and promised his voters he will abuse and also think urban areas where they live will not be affected??

[yallerdawg]

68. Something changed?

[OnionPatch]

127. Isn't it funny how over the years since this song was written

Charlie Daniels himself has become part of the "Old Green Teeth" contingent?

[bigtree]

69. I don't live in rural America

...there are far many more Americans living where I reside.

Just ONCE, I'd like to hear 'rural America' express support for the vast majority of Americans who live outside of their communities. Namely, I'd like to hear THEM give the same unequivocal support people are demanding we give rural white males, to urban minorities (mostly black and Latino) who have fared MUCH worse, as a group, financially and otherwise.

The opposite, of course, is the case, with those groups of individuals identifying blacks and (non-white) immigrants as the primary source of their financial woe.

I'm not a politician and I'll be damned if I'll posture like I don't have an overriding interest in promoting my own community. Besides, from where I sit, this plea to give respect to rural whites is a staple of EVERY post-election pontification. Every election, the people who invest the most in our party are pushed aside in favor of this handwringing over people who don't give a damn what our party offers them; looking for any way they can oppose our party, even when it's against their own interests.

And, why are these rural regions of the nation in such strife? Perhaps it has something to do with their state leadership who have resisted measures like Obamacare and Medicare reimbursements out of pure spite toward the black president.

It's going to take a lot more from them than a self-interested vote for Trump for me to place my own interests aside and focus on theirs.

[heaven05]

71. oh poor rural ameriKKKa

who" voted for Obama twice". Not buying it. Like a poster upthread, they saw the new fuhrers bigotry and racism. They bought it. They HEARD his sexist mindset, firsthand, they bought, lock ,stock and barrel as they loaded their magazines with 9 and 10 mm rounds designed to kill in one shot. I am gloating. I am desiring to see them end up experiencing what a lot of' urban' folks have been experiencing for generations, pain and desperation at no jobs or hope because of the type of greed and avarice practiced by their new fuhrer and his base who at the bottom are racist. For a generation now, for the painfully poor 'urban' dweller, there was NO hue and cry as I am hearing from the "oh poor trumpfuhrer voter" crowd. Man I am so sick of the hypocrisy and soft core racism that permeates this culture which is hard to defeat if one who practices it can't admit it in themselves. Hardcore racism, can be dealt with, they are in the open now shouting "build the wall" among other insults directed toward minorities all the way up to the First Family, so they are marked . Yeah they may have voted for Obama twice, but many of them are now telling Michelle to go back to Africa and join her APE brethren. Yeah a quote. While many won't openly go that far, many now will and the others are full of hate and thinking it.

Go ahead feel sorry for your brethren. It's to be expected and tell these people it was republicans and profit hungry CEO's/corporations seeking to destroy unions and get rid of high medical costs, which is another story of american greed, that started the job exodus from this country aided by democrats who had no other choice but to sign the bills of the republiKKKans. I have watched the 'urban' decay for a generation or two now and the desperation and pain of those living in dire poverty, through no real fault of their own, that has decimated a lot of 'urban' communities. Now all the sudden I am supposed to feel some empathy for those "poor rural communities" when none came from them EVER Not buying it. Naw, I'm through with this "please feel sorry " for racist, sexists who voted for a fuhrer and his party. Tell them to keep voting for fascists, they will get what they want, later rather than sooner, if ever, while the 'urban' communities will continue on a business as usual basis, forgotten as as has been for generations and willfully overlooked. Have a goodnewyear.

[Different Drummer]

74. They abandoned reason and logic by voting for Pennywise.

They knew what he was like when they voted for him and did so, anyway. I can fully understand people not wanting to be in solidarity with them.

[stonecutter357]

79. If you voted for racists trump you are a deplorable POS just like him...

now go grab some pussy , trump voters.

[nini]

81. NO ONE IS ABANDONING THEM

STOP. Ever time I see these posts my head explodes because we are doing the republicans' job of saying we aren't the party of the working man. This falls right in line with the 'elitist' democrats crap the right spews to convince them we don't care. We do but they're not paying attention enough to know what side is really trying to do something.

We are the side that has been advocating and actually doing something for them all along and will continue to do so. The problem with many of them is they have fallen into the fox news trap. That is the problem - they need to be de-programmed.

Damned right I am fed up with those people who sit in front of the TV all day and listen to fox news lie to them - but that is not the same thing as abandoning all of them.

[Joe Turner]

88. For this to Work

The Democratic party has to get back to its roots as the labor party that represents the interests of everyday Americans, not just the professional class. It means for the party to come out decisively against corporate boondoggle free trade agreements like NAFTA, GAAT, WTO, and the worst of them all the TPP.

It means breaking up corporate monopolies like we have in the financial and media industries...for starters. Bringing back the Glass Stegal act to prevent another banking collapse. Reduce the lobbying influence of corporations in our government. Institute a very high tax for the insane bonuses and salaries corporate thieves pay themselves.

There is a lot of common ground with these issues and IMO it will help the party win back voters of the working class, no matter what the color.

[Runningdawg]

104. I am willing to listen to rural folk

and work with them. But not if their first demand is a trip back to 1950. Lots of rural folks live that way for a reason, they have no place (or want one) in a modern society. Fine by me, I will support you living in the last century as long as you don't prevent me from living happily in the this one. I was born and raised a country girl but prefer the city. I know a lot of rural folk, liberals and conservatives. Most from either party are reasonable, some are neanderthals.

[ileus]

108. Nope they can go to hell, we don't need their deplorable asses.

[USALiberal]

111. Nice post!

[etherealtruth]

112. "Rural America" as a whole is NOT part of the Democratic base

this is probably one of the best assessments of the rural American voting block (of course it does not describe every rural American as individuals but it does describe the voting block).

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/rural-america-understanding-isnt-problem

“Rural white America needs to be better understood,” is not one of the dots. “Rural white America needs to be better understood,” is a dodge, meant to avoid the real problems because talking about the real problems is viewed as too upsetting, too mean, too arrogant, too elite, too snobbish. Pointing out that Aunt Bea’s views of Mexicans, blacks and gays is bigoted isn’t the thing one does in polite society. Too bad more people don’t think the same about Aunt Bea's views. It’s the classic, “You’re a racist for calling me a racist,” ploy.

[Adrahil]

113. Can they stop hating brown and gay people long enough.....

... to see the truth about the Mango Monster?

I have my doubts.

[baldguy]

116. Who abandoned who? When they started voting for Republicans they abandoned America.

November was the culmination of decades work by the fascists.

[hollowdweller]

122. Endangered species

[Blue_Tires]

125. We must know two different rural Americas

I only see the one waving rebel flags, screaming about kicking out the Mexicans/Muslims/Feminists/GLBT/etc., calling Obama a Kenyan for the last eight years, cheerleading George Zimmerman and #BlueLivesMatter, and saying in no uncertain terms that I as a black American am not a "real" American....

Even if I wanted to reach out to a demographic that only sees me as an enemy (and the feeling is mostly mutual), how would I even start?

[BigDemVoter]

126. Sorry I'm done with them.

I'm too tired to even go into the sorry details yet again, but in my book, those who abandoned the Democratic Party because of race or any other bias deserve what they receive.

And I have been thinking long and really hard about this. I don't buy the hypothesis that these people are/were worried about their finances. No. They are resentful and angry, and their anger has been whipped up by these Goebbels-like "media" such as Fox, etc. They were ALREADY deplorable people and only proved it on election day.

We can win elections WITHOUT them. We just proved it in 2016, although it was taken from us. I'm not the slightest bit concerned about what's good or bad for them. Fuck them. I'm serious.

[Historic NY]

128. States that mostly are takers instead of givers.....

with Republican Governors. Sorry they knew the game.

[pansypoo53219]

129. EDUCATE THEM. INFORM THEM. logically. don't liberalsplain.

[farmbo]

131. It isn't a failure of Democratic policy, but of media and messaging.

I spend many of my days traversing rural counties for my work. The one common denominator in each of the areas where Trump dominated is the toxicity of the airwaves and commercial media messaging in those areas.

Limbaugh, Hannity, Weiner and Levine dominate those rural AM (and increasingly FM) radio signals, and it's common for many businesses to play those stations throughout the business day. For those local auto dealers, tire shops, and restaurants with TVs, they're invariably tuned to FOX news.

And as if this wasn't a sufficient drumbeat, don't overlook the right wing religious stations. Their tax-exempt status entitles them to echo the right wing talking points (with a healthy dose of fear and damnation thrown in) at 30% lower operating overhead costs.

This is the background music that saturates rural America.

And make no mistake, it is classic, conspiracy- driven propaganda, designed to stoke a sense of faux victim hood in their (heroic!) listeners while breeding resentment against the vile "others".

It's an impressive- and effective--media infrastructure. But it's replicable. Republicans and their allies in the media (CearChannel, Sinclair, News Corps, etc) have to subsidize these signals and twist the arms of local GOP businessmen to buy ads on Limbaugh and their other increasingly unpopular shows, but they do what they have to do to keep them on the air, particularly during election cycles.

And this is where the Coastal bias of the DNC messaging gurus comes into play. They have declined to replicate it, or to even sanction a serious effort to push back against it. Because (doncha know) all future elections will be determined by eager Millennial voters who get their information from the internet then come out to vote in droves for progressive candidates.

No need to develop a strategy to reach older white Dudes in F150 pickups with AM radios.