Ok, let's talk about conservative Democrats

[wildeyed]

125. It would help to understand that there are radical differences between these red areas.

Conservatives in WV are not the same as deep South are not the same as Nebraska. The history of the areas are radically different. They are a coalition of very different groups who are unified around religion, guns and conservative social beliefs.

Deep South was slave states. Huge economic inequality. Much of their 'conservatism' revolves around a racial caste system but they are more populists on economic issues. WV is miners, always poor, slavery was never a pivotal part of their economy, strong history of Democratic support until recently, also populist economics. Nebraska was a hotbed of socialist activism. Kansas was full of anti-slavery religious radicals.

The only thing that unites these groups now is guns, religion and the feeling that liberals look down on them. We can win some on economic policy, but only if we accept their social conservatism and stop talking about them like they are children.

We ALREADY have a large swath of Democrats who personally oppose abortion but do not press the issue at the national level. Black protestants are a mainstay of our coalition. There are many Catholic Democrats who think economic justice is the most important issue. These people are already part of the coalition, so not sure what the fuss is, all of a sudden. Is it just a bias against rural Americans?

It's a democracy. Barely a majority of Americans support abortion rights and most of us are gerrymandered into urban districts. I don't see how we win consistently on a national level if we don't keep a lane open for representatives who personally oppose abortion. We ALREADY do this and yet the party defends abortion rights. We could do this in places like Nebraska and WV and actually hold power. It is what it is.