Why do Democrats do so poorly with rural voters?

[ruralvoter89]

159. Some of you are right and some of you are wrong.

I'm a farmer in a very rural area in the Appalachian mountains; and I've always leaned towards the Democratic party; yet without fail my county always goes Republican.

My county is dirt poor, like it's been said, most people around here with any intelligence or ambition to move upwards in society leaves for more urban areas. At the same time, there's plenty of folk around here with sharp minds and good ethics that have lived here their whole lives and rarely leave the area except for work or an occasional vacation.

Why does my county usually go Republican? It's not an easy question to answer, there's multiple reasons.

Race plays a large factor, few if any elected officials around here are non-white; and Obama lost in a landslide around here because he was not a white man. We have a moderate population of minorities, mostly Black and Hispanic, with a few Asians; and those races tend to keep to themselves for better or worse. There is little blatant racism and everybody gets along just fine; yet this self-imposed segregation is just the way it is around here. With President Obama in office, the Democratic Party gets viewed as the party of minorities; and the Republican Party is the party of whites.

Then it's morality and ethics... Most people do hold very strict, very religious views; its also party of the ingrained culture. Most young people here are tolerant of LGBT's, and homosexual marriage; yet the older ones that turn out more often to vote are not. Throw in the fact that most people have legitimate uses for firearms, whether its hunting or agricultural use; and they're loathe to give up those tools. They view any gun control measures as edicts handed down from nigh untouchable overlords over whom they have no say or control. Abortion is considered totally immoral for anything other than a necessary medical procedure.

Isolation is another major issue, when I briefly attended community college it was an hour long drive one way. The closest shopping mall and bookstore of any note is an hour and ten minutes away. What you might refer to as the closest 'major city', is two hours away. Most of my county is a good 45 minutes from a super market. Culture, outside of a few bluegrass concerts and religion is non-existent. Around here, you're rarely exposed to any sort of diversity or new ideas or social progress.

Hell I guess I'm just trying to say what the Democratic Party has is a culture clash on its hands; and by extension urban voters are in the same situation with rural voters. Yeah, under our system of government the majority has a greater say and rural America is dying and shrinking; while the cities keep growing. But in my eyes, we're asked to give ever more while we get less and less in return.

The rural 20% feeds the urban 80%; and those odds are just going to keep getting worse. As it stands right now, the EPA wants cattle farmers like me to fence off the streams on our property to cut down on manure in the water; yet my cattle require that water to live. Using corn for the ethanol in gas is making the price of cattle grain go up and up, and it's cutting into the profit I need to live. At the same time, the schools around here are getting less in funding, and the roads are falling into serious disrepair; and unemployment remains high in my area. The inheritance tax threatens to place my ability to hand my farm down to future generations, while the land taxes go up on me right now.

In some ways, I feel that the social contract between me and the government is breaking down. The Republicans on a national level give lip service to the rural areas, and the Democratic Party ignores us. I'm loosing faith in the ability of both parties to address the needs of my neighbors and myself. I willingly pay my taxes, I feed my society, and all I ask for is for the government to provide with certain services and to allow me to pursue life on my own terms with no needless interference.