General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Democrats: Give rural voters a reason to trust and support the party [View all]Sophia4
(3,515 posts)Net neutrality is not going to help rural areas.
Favoring private and charter schools is not going to help children in rural areas.
Reducing government support for higher education, especially agricultural and engineering education, will not help students in rural areas.
Attempting to continue to rely on coal, gas and oil -- fossil fuels -- as these resources dwindle and become more and more expensive and dangerous to produce to say nothing of further degrading the environment will not help people in rural areas.
The platform of Democrats with regard to issue after issue is pro-rural-areas. There is no denying it.
The problem is that Democrats in rural areas have no spokespeople to explain how the Democratic view will serve rural Americans. It's the lack of effective radio and TV communication that thwarts organization in rural America.
Republicans are really the party of the rich enclaves, the suburbs of cities, the annointed of the right-wing media. They don't, at all, and I repeat, don't at all, present views that will further, protect or help rural areas. Not at all.
They just have better media representation in rural areas because they can afford it.
AND, the Republicans have a lot more money to pour into campaigns in rural areas and present themselves as representing certain ostensibly moral and religious views and prejudices that are believed to be common in rural areas.
Fear, fear, fear. Fear of homosexuality, of abortion, of racial differences, of lifestyle differences and many, many more superficial and natural aspects of life everywhere are fodder for the Republican hate machine.
Democrats represent the best interests of rural America, but we don't sell our message as well as Republicans do.