Ranchers who supported Tea Party shutdown stunned at lack of federal aid.

[greatlaurel]

136. My sister and brother-in-law farm

It is unbelievably difficult. They pride themselves on the care of their land and animals. The farm economy throughout the US has been in a state of depression since the Reagan administration. My brother-in-law told me last year during the election that the Obama administration had turned the farm economy around. He would laugh about the farming community being so anti Obama while benefiting tremendously from his farm policies.

Rural communities have really been heavily targeted by the far right wing. They are a core group that continue to vote against their best interests. In my state, the GOP has actively targeted rural areas by failure to fund decent public education since the 1960's, which further depresses the rural economy and then turns into a vicious cycle of economic degradation. A lot of this was driven by business interests wanting to drive down wages in rural communities. The use of social issues and race have been key to maintaining the GOP control. It is really depressing.