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Hoppin' Mad

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ednbarby:

--- Quote from: starboardlight on July 03, 2006, 12:15:50 pm ---yeah, it confounds me too. it makes no sense, since the Republican party is very much for the rich not the poor. From the "Tax Rebates" to estate taxes, it's all changes that will only benefit the rich. At the same time, Republicans are cutting funds that would benefit middle and lower income Americans, from education to social services. And I don't mean welfare. Currently the Republican run government is cutting funds from organizations that look out for consumer protection rights, taking power away from the FDA or other organizations that would oversee corporations to make sure that average Americans have as much information about their purchases as possible. It makes so little sense to me.
--- End quote ---

My take on this, as much as it pains me to sound so elitist, is that lower- and middle-class folks are generally less educated than the upper class.  They are also less traveled.  They grow up in a relatively small town or city and stay there, working blue-collar jobs.  As such, bigotry becomes entrenched and stays there, too.  I grew up in Western New York, and I think Phillip can vouch for this - it's a decidedly red area of a decidedly blue state.  Why?  Well, many of the dairy farms New York state is believe it or not famous for (more dairy farms per capita than any other state, even Wisconsin, at least when I was growing up there) are in Western New York.  The most rural parts of the state, understandably, are there, too.  I was born into a family of dyed-in-the-wool Republicans.  Neither of my brothers went to college.  One still works blue collar jobs in Ohio.  The other one took some night courses and works in IT for a Fortune 500 company.  Both are smart and caring people.  And both are insufferable bigots.  They just haven't been around, I think.  I keep trying to tell my one brother who barely makes ends meet with his shipping and receiving job and who can't afford the down payment for a house at 46 that his party is bleeding him and all his friends dry (not in so many words - honest!), but he won't listen.

Fear is a very powerful motivator.  And without the benefit of going to college and getting to meet and know a diversity of people there and afterwards, it's no wonder they let their fear (of anyone who's different or of anyone who seems to be "too smart" (Kerry, anyone?)) rule their lives.

What the Democratic party needs is someone who can cut through all the bullshit and tell it like it is without being abrasive and antagonistic like Dean and who can make a real connection with the middle class.  What worries me is that that person is nowhere in sight, and Obama Barak has zero interest in stepping up to the plate like we so desperately need him to.  The trouble is that any person who's truly intelligent enough to run this country properly is too smart to want the job.

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