Letters to the Editor
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What Dems Are Up Against
Please forgive me if this has already been posted, I just found it interesting on many levels:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q4MDQ0cDI
I think the line "I do think it is a smear tactic, I also think we have a right to know" is kind of telling. I also find the whole "I just don't know what [Obama] stands for" reasoning to be more than a little disingenuous, considering that BHO hasn't exactly been shy about what he does stand for.
Do I think the people shown are representative of the entire region? No. Nor do I want to suggest that these folks are best left ignored.
This would not negate the need for BHO, and the urbans to reach out to the rural vote, as little blue dot suggests; at the same time, let's not kid ourselves into thinking that simply visiting, meeting and talking with the people in the area will automatically change everything for the positive. As the clip shows, there are some deeply imbedded obstacles already in the way.
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@tbrandel
Thanks for the thoughtful post. I have an anecdote that ends in a prescription. Sorry it's long, but I hope you'll stick with it.
At one point in my tech career, I suddenly had to be responsible for selling the services of my team. The thought of doing 'sales' personally disgusted me. I was sent to a very high end and intensive sales training program, which completely changed my view and which turned out to have much broader applicability.
The program --- Solution Selling, if you're interested, taught by Mike Bosworth who has since retired, but his book by the same name is available on Amazon --- arose from scientific work done at Xerox PARC to study how people bought things; everything from toothpaste and tires to multimillion dollar enterprise software. The techniques were derived from the different phases in the 'buying cycle', and oriented to aligning oneself with the buyer's point in that cycle to move it to the next.
As I got out of tech work and into the non-profit sector, I found that this model worked even in other (non-western) countries, so long as you were very clear on what it was you were 'selling', what was the actual problem or 'pain' experienced by your targeted beneficiary, and honest in assessing their price sensitivity, risk aversion, and the value they placed on solving the problem ... and that you had established a real, albeit temporary, rapport with them.
I wish more Democrats could have gone through this program a generation ago; I don't feel like anything was ever properly done to 'sell' anyone on the principles and preferred policy frameworks of the party. I doubt anyone can do that, even just in Appalachia or rural America, in one election cycle. But there's an opportunity now, simply because of the war and the economy and the general insecurity, for someone like Obama to gain the rapport and start down the path, and keep the 'loose' groups ... not only Southerners, but others ... in our camp. Then, stick with it, and attack those problems ... making some progress, however small, on the ones that seem insoluble ... and watch the party bloom.
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@painintheagnostic
Well, I guess Palestinians can't take credit for Jesus, since Jesus was Jewish. But you know, last time I looked, Charlottesville was in the Appalachian mountains. Sub-group - the Blue Ridge.
Very convenient. The stereotype is established -- poor, ignorant, racist, incestuous. Then when the examples of folks who are not like this are trotted out, well. They don't fit. So they must not be Appalachian. Stereotype maintained.
Very convenient.
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Tossing out Appalachia
Anyone who seriously suggests that we should leave Appalachia behind is not playing for the Democratic party. and those people who are going in front of cameras and saying that Obama supporters want to leave Appalachia behind are working for their own best interests, and not the best interests of those folks in Appalachia (who we seem to remember once ever four years then conveniently forget about for the other three).
I made a point here that both sides need to reach across the divide, and I think the grown-ups in politics are trying to do that. Unfortunately, there are a great many voices in this race who aren't acting as adult as they possibly could or should and as such, a lot of people are hearing that one candidate or another is going to "abandon" them to the wilds if they should get the nomination.
As much as I want rural America and Appalachia to come halfway and meet us in the middle on values and ideals, I also understand that it takes a steady application of attention to overcome political inertia. We need to convince rural America that Democrats have better ideas for their families than Republicans. It shouldn't be hard, considering what a cluster-job the Bush Administration's done to average Americans. But of course, within our own party, there are people claiming that one candidate or another isn't going to listen to the common guy. and when you have that in your own party, why should anyone believe it when you tell them otherwise? It's a pretty damn fool strategy that's being waged in that regard, and it's gonna cost us.
The folks screaming "Look at what the other side is doing to cause this huge divide!" are more likely than not trying to cause a divide themselves, in order to either further their candidates chances, or to sell ad space on Pundit shows or papers. Or both.
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The Elitist view is stupid
Is this the way Europe tries to take back the colonies?We obtained our freedom for reasons.We chose that the rights and freedom of choice of the individual were better than having some group of "do as I say,not as I do"elitists control us.We found these rights to be self evident.What has been torn down is the teaching in our schools of responsibilities of the individual,to be accountable,to pull your own weight,that you should expect a hand up but not a hand out.The only thing we strive to garantee is life ,liberty and the pursuit of happiness.Opportunity is here yet many refuse to recognize it.That is what makes us great as a people that any man can become successful if he strives.Any man can be heard.Appalachia, as educationally challenged as they may be,are not stupid.The Appalachians see through this elitist BS.We are a capitolist democracy,hard for wannabe socialist elitists to understand,the market will dictate if we can drive SUV's or what we set out thermoststs at.Don't do business with bad people,better people will show up to do business with.Celebrate the diversity amoung us,let us be free to choose our own lives and how we live them.Appalachians and the rest of us don't need Obama and the rest of the elitist cronies to look down thier noses at us because the view from our window is differint.