Blackrook
Diamond Member
- Jun 20, 2014
- 22,008
- 11,931
- 1,255
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/upshot/why-democrats-cant-win.html
Have you ever seen that old episode of Twilight Zone where the little boy has the power to do anything he wants? And the grown-ups are terrified of him.
So there's this little dinner party, and naturally the parents allow the boy to do whatever he wants, including watching his stupid TV shows, and the adults have no choice but to be really nice to him.
But then one man has a little too much to drink, gets angry, and starts complaining that he doesn't like that the boy gets to call all the shots, and always gets to decide what's on TV.
The other adults try to warn him to silence, but he just won't shut up. So the boy gets angry and turns him into a giant jack-in-the-box with a human head. And then the adults get scared, and urge him to wish the gruesome jack-in-the-box into the cornfield, where apparently, he puts all his other gruesome creations he makes when he loses his temper.
So he wishes the jack-in-the-box into the cornfield, and the grown-ups, even more terrified than before, try to make believe it never happened. But the widow cries, though the other women try to hush her so SHE doesn't end up dead and in the corn field.
And that's what Obama and the Democrats have been doing with rural voters for the last eight years, wishing them into the corn field.
Because Obama wanted the young, the hip, the urban, the secular, the non-white voter to support him and his liberal agenda, and so he angled his message at them.
And in doing so, he hurled total contempt at the rural voters who opposed him on everything he did.
He preached against people who clung to "God, guns and religion" -- a direct attack on rural voters.
He preached against the Second Amendment, and in favor of abortion, birth control, and gay rights.
He stopped coal mining, oil exploration, pipelines, foresting, and many other forms of profitable enterprise that keep rural voters employed.
He continued to support free trade agreements which cost rural voters jobs in the ongoing de-industrialization of America.
He allowed the VA to ignore the plight of veterans waiting in long lines for necessary medical treatment.
He forced charities and private businesses to provide birth control coverage, even if they had religious objections.
In every way possible, Obama declared war on rural Americans, offending their values, hampering their economic interests, and preaching that they should be deprived of constitutional rights.
And so, the Republicans got a lock on the House, and Obama's agenda went nowhere.
His strategy of appealing to the narrow interests of his own supporters ensured a hostile Congress that would thwart him.
But now, it's going to affect Democrats in the Presidential race too.
Hillary cannot run away from the unpopular policies of Obama, and it doesn't even look like she's trying.
But she won't be able to count on the solid support of the urban, secular, non-white coalition Obama put together to get elected. Many of these people liked Obama, and only like Obama, and may sit it out when he is no longer on the ticket.
And Trump is beating loud drums to get rural Americans to vote for him, preaching against illegal aliens who take jobs away from rural Americans, free trade which takes jobs away from rural Americans, regulations on energy industry which takes jobs away from rural Americans, and support for the Second Amendment, which is a very important issue for rural Americans.
So the Democrats, who have treated rural Americans with nothing but contempt for so many years, may find themselves in a permanent minority.
Have you ever seen that old episode of Twilight Zone where the little boy has the power to do anything he wants? And the grown-ups are terrified of him.
So there's this little dinner party, and naturally the parents allow the boy to do whatever he wants, including watching his stupid TV shows, and the adults have no choice but to be really nice to him.
But then one man has a little too much to drink, gets angry, and starts complaining that he doesn't like that the boy gets to call all the shots, and always gets to decide what's on TV.
The other adults try to warn him to silence, but he just won't shut up. So the boy gets angry and turns him into a giant jack-in-the-box with a human head. And then the adults get scared, and urge him to wish the gruesome jack-in-the-box into the cornfield, where apparently, he puts all his other gruesome creations he makes when he loses his temper.
So he wishes the jack-in-the-box into the cornfield, and the grown-ups, even more terrified than before, try to make believe it never happened. But the widow cries, though the other women try to hush her so SHE doesn't end up dead and in the corn field.
And that's what Obama and the Democrats have been doing with rural voters for the last eight years, wishing them into the corn field.
Because Obama wanted the young, the hip, the urban, the secular, the non-white voter to support him and his liberal agenda, and so he angled his message at them.
And in doing so, he hurled total contempt at the rural voters who opposed him on everything he did.
He preached against people who clung to "God, guns and religion" -- a direct attack on rural voters.
He preached against the Second Amendment, and in favor of abortion, birth control, and gay rights.
He stopped coal mining, oil exploration, pipelines, foresting, and many other forms of profitable enterprise that keep rural voters employed.
He continued to support free trade agreements which cost rural voters jobs in the ongoing de-industrialization of America.
He allowed the VA to ignore the plight of veterans waiting in long lines for necessary medical treatment.
He forced charities and private businesses to provide birth control coverage, even if they had religious objections.
In every way possible, Obama declared war on rural Americans, offending their values, hampering their economic interests, and preaching that they should be deprived of constitutional rights.
And so, the Republicans got a lock on the House, and Obama's agenda went nowhere.
His strategy of appealing to the narrow interests of his own supporters ensured a hostile Congress that would thwart him.
But now, it's going to affect Democrats in the Presidential race too.
Hillary cannot run away from the unpopular policies of Obama, and it doesn't even look like she's trying.
But she won't be able to count on the solid support of the urban, secular, non-white coalition Obama put together to get elected. Many of these people liked Obama, and only like Obama, and may sit it out when he is no longer on the ticket.
And Trump is beating loud drums to get rural Americans to vote for him, preaching against illegal aliens who take jobs away from rural Americans, free trade which takes jobs away from rural Americans, regulations on energy industry which takes jobs away from rural Americans, and support for the Second Amendment, which is a very important issue for rural Americans.
So the Democrats, who have treated rural Americans with nothing but contempt for so many years, may find themselves in a permanent minority.
