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Politico Article: They Still Love Trump

RChildress107 said:
Why is the media still writing these pieces? I don't think I've read one with anything new or original in it since a week after the election.
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There have been a bunch of similar articles on white rural, small-town folk and their unwavering support for Trump over the past year, and they do tell a similar story: the sharp economic decline of many rural areas and small towns and cities in America, brought on by the outsourcing or automation of their manufacturing base, the subsequent collapse of social norms (high rates of drug use and addiction (especially opiods and meth), rising crime, abandoned factories, buildings, and homes, etc.), the rising anger (and envy) of these people at urban areas in their state and nation, which are still prospering and growing, and their resentment at anyone they feel looks down on them, like the professional classes, college students and professors, scientists, etc. I posted this article because it's one of the first I've read in which the reporter actually challenged some of these people regarding comments they made to him the year before, and their responses, I thought, were very revealing and eye-opening as to what these people are really after and what they're really mad about. They want jobs, but they want the jobs they had before, not to be retrained for new ones. They talk about "bootstraps" and minorities getting welfare, yet they expect Trump or someone to help them without doing the "bootstraps" thing, and they're often the largest recipients of welfare programs, like Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. It's clear that bootstraps and rugged individualism and all that is for someone else, not them. Basically, these are folks whose world has changed and/or collapsed, and instead of adjusting to that reality, they just want somebody to put it all back the way it was. And, as this article shows, even they know deep down that's not going to happen. So, they vote for Trump as their instrument of revenge, not because they really think he'll solve their problems. If they're miserable, at least Trump will make their better-off and better-educated (and, in some cases, non-white) enemies miserable too. And, as this article makes clear, they love him for it. How Democrats could win over these people, as some have suggested, is mostly fool's gold at this point. Suburban Republicans are a different breed, and the Democrats have a good shot at winning them (they did in VA and some other places this Tuesday). These rural folks? Not so much, I think. Just my two cents.
 
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Highland Deac said:
There have been a bunch of similar articles on white rural, small-town folk and their unwavering support for Trump over the past year, and they do tell a similar story: the sharp economic decline of many rural areas and small towns and cities in America, brought on by the outsourcing or automation of their manufacturing base, the subsequent collapse of social norms (high rates of drug use and addiction (especially opiods and meth), rising crime, abandoned factories, buildings, and homes, etc.), the rising anger (and envy) of these people at urban areas in their state and nation, which are still prospering and growing, and their resentment at anyone they feel looks down on them, like the professional classes, college students and professors, scientists, etc. I posted this article because it's one of the first I've read in which the reporter actually challenged some of these people regarding comments they made to him the year before, and their responses, I thought, were very revealing and eye-opening as to what these people are really after and what they're really mad about. They want jobs, but they want the jobs they had before, not to be retrained for new ones. They talk about "bootstraps" and minorities getting welfare, yet they expect Trump or someone to help them without doing the "bootstraps" thing, and they're often the largest recipients of welfare programs, like Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. It's clear that bootstraps and rugged individualism and all that is for someone else, not them. Basically, these are folks whose world has changed and/or collapsed, and instead of adjusting to that reality, they just want somebody to put it all back the way it was. And, as this article shows, even they know deep down that's not going to happen. So, they vote for Trump as their instrument of revenge, not because they really think he'll solve their problems. If they're miserable, at least Trump will make their better-off and better-educated (and, in some cases, non-white) enemies miserable too. And, as this article makes clear, they love him for it. How Democrats could win over these people, as some have suggested, is mostly fool's gold at this point. Suburban Republicans are a different breed, and the Democrats have a good shot at winning them (they did in VA and some other places this Tuesday). These rural folks? Not so much, I think. Just my two cents.
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Good post, and hits themes I was thinking but can't post well from my phone...
 
DeacHead said:
Usually this would go into the Facebook thread, but this actual post (not a meme) I saw this morning illustrates the topic of this thread too.

DFp6Wbr.png
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So much core conservative belief is based on lies.
 
The strange thing is that it is liberal snowflakes like me, possessing the capacity to empathize with my fellow human beings, particularly those who are suffering, who actually care about the fate of these folks and would like to see them helped. Yet they vote Trump, the narcissist who cares only for himself, and the Republican Party which is mostly interested in tax cuts for the wealthy. It's almost like they're challenging me to continue sympathizing with them. There's definitely a part that thinks, "let Trump and Congress take away their healthcare, money and services," but I know they've just been snowed by Fox News. Sad.
 
I'm with you, Say Hey.

This section bares repeating:

But even this optimistic stance highlights some of the deep-seated troubles here. “Right now, if I could find 150 people, I’d put them to work,” Polacek said. He needs machinists. He needs welders. “But it’s hard to find people,” he said—people with the requisite skills, people who can pass a drug test.
“We just don’t have the workforce,” said Liston, the city manager. “If they are employable, and have a skill set, basically they already moved out of the area.”
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I hear this sentiment from community college tech programs all the time. Local businesses come to colleges looking for graduates to hire and the colleges have trouble finding enough people to enroll and complete certificate and degree programs.

I was at a conference with people these programs recently. During the opening plenary, I asked a question something like "How do we get people who want to bring back 20th century jobs to go to school to get trained for 21st century jobs?" and it got huge applause. The funny thing is a lot of the people running these programs who applauded the question are rural conservatives, but they're frustrated with that rural conservative mindset that prevents them and their communities from moving forward.
 
Highland Deac said:
There have been a bunch of similar articles on white rural, small-town folk and their unwavering support for Trump over the past year, and they do tell a similar story: the sharp economic decline of many rural areas and small towns and cities in America, brought on by the outsourcing or automation of their manufacturing base, the subsequent collapse of social norms (high rates of drug use and addiction (especially opiods and meth), rising crime, abandoned factories, buildings, and homes, etc.), the rising anger (and envy) of these people at urban areas in their state and nation, which are still prospering and growing, and their resentment at anyone they feel looks down on them, like the professional classes, college students and professors, scientists, etc. I posted this article because it's one of the first I've read in which the reporter actually challenged some of these people regarding comments they made to him the year before, and their responses, I thought, were very revealing and eye-opening as to what these people are really after and what they're really mad about. They want jobs, but they want the jobs they had before, not to be retrained for new ones. They talk about "bootstraps" and minorities getting welfare, yet they expect Trump or someone to help them without doing the "bootstraps" thing, and they're often the largest recipients of welfare programs, like Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. It's clear that bootstraps and rugged individualism and all that is for someone else, not them. Basically, these are folks whose world has changed and/or collapsed, and instead of adjusting to that reality, they just want somebody to put it all back the way it was. And, as this article shows, even they know deep down that's not going to happen. So, they vote for Trump as their instrument of revenge, not because they really think he'll solve their problems. If they're miserable, at least Trump will make their better-off and better-educated (and, in some cases, non-white) enemies miserable too. And, as this article makes clear, they love him for it. How Democrats could win over these people, as some have suggested, is mostly fool's gold at this point. Suburban Republicans are a different breed, and the Democrats have a good shot at winning them (they did in VA and some other places this Tuesday). These rural folks? Not so much, I think. Just my two cents.
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Yes, and those same folks in the Shenandoah Valley, in SW VA and in the southern rural counties stayed with the Pubs on Tuesday. Virginia made it clear as to where Dems need to spend their efforts and money - in somewhat conservative but well educated white suburbia. With a decent candidate in 2020, I think PA, MI & WI are back in the blue column, and NC is winnable.
 
PhDeac said:
I'm with you, Say Hey.

This section bares repeating:



I hear this sentiment from community college tech programs all the time. Local businesses come to colleges looking for graduates to hire and the colleges have trouble finding enough people to enroll and complete certificate and degree programs.

I was at a conference with people these programs recently. During the opening plenary, I asked a question something like "How do we get people who want to bring back 20th century jobs to go to school to get trained for 21st century jobs?" and it got huge applause. The funny thing is a lot of the people running these programs who applauded the question are rural conservatives, but they're frustrated with that rural conservative mindset that prevents them and their communities from moving forward.
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*bears
 
*beets
 
I️ learned a lesson. There’s a large part of this country, predominantly conservative minded folks, who are total fucking idiots.
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
I️ learned a lesson. There’s a large part of this country, predominantly conservative minded folks, who are total fucking idiots.
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Yep, I used to think conservatives just saw the world in a different way. Now I think they are just , well....fucking idiots to borrow a phrase.
 
Gotta appease the ignorant cracker rubes, guys. Learn your lessons!
 
palmab03 said:
W&B should be banned. There are rules.
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He quoted what Republicans said in the article. But yet you condone their comment and censure his...interestingly hypocritical.
 
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