I don't usually like joe Manchin but...

[wildeyed]

46. My guess, they are conservative on social issues, not so much on economic.

People ALWAYS vote values over economics, at least to a point. So when the Dems became the party of social change, we lost them. This is exacerbated by Fox News and gerrymandering. The general intolerance/cluelessness of many white urban Dems for groups outside of their culture does not help.

The key to getting them back is to let leaders from the area do the messaging, IMO. People here get so mad at Manchin, but he needs to convince THEM, not us, to vote for him. And we NEED his seat if we want any chance at talking the majority back. Dems are not in a position to throw that away right now.

BTW, *I* proudly vote against my own economic interest pretty much every time I vote for a Democrat. I vote to pay higher taxes even though I make more than the average amount of money. I support immigrants, POC and LGBT rights, even when it is against my own self interest. I live in Charlotte. Ask me about what the HB2 boycott does to my bottom line and if I supported continuing (spoiler: It hurt my income and I did support continuing.) All of this is against my self interest, but everyone here EXPECTS that I would do these things. Because it is part of our shared values as liberals. So why is it hard to grasp that other groups have different values and are ALSO willing to sacrifice income to support them?