Mother Jones is thrown. . .
. . .under the bus by a lot of liberals these days who don't like the simple mountain folk she once fought for. Jim Geraghty has collected some tidbits from around the lefty blogosphere that point to a growing resentment toward West Virginia and Kentucky voters who are expected to soundly reject Barack Obama's candidacy in their upcoming primaries.
As a proud Kentuckian, the notion that Democrats look down their noses at folks like me comes as no surprise at all. It's something I've grown to accept and even revel in over the years, in fact. There's nothing quite so reaffirming of one's status as "salt of the earth" as the sneering disapproval of the effete elite.
Strangely enough, Kentucky is a predominantly Democratic state, with Dems enjoying about a 2-to-1 registration advantage over the GOP. You couldn't tell it by looking at our congressional delegation, but it's true. In fact, the county I call home enjoys about a 9-to-1 Democrat advantage in registration due to the high concentration of union households. And, yet, the district is represented by Republicans in both the U.S. Congress and at the State House (for now).
One reason that Republicans have enjoyed electoral success in the Bluegrass despite this wild disparity in party affiliation is the fact that blue collar, working class people in the state feel completely abandoned and disrespected by national-level Democrats. They register with the party out of a sense of loyalty and tradition. I get my share of grief from family members for being a Republican as a result of that fact. I can't count the times I've heard, "If your granddaddy knew you were a Republican, he'd roll over in his grave."
Right now, I'm itching to get to our family's traditional Memorial Day gathering. Something tells me I won't be getting much grief this time around. No one wants to hear my reply. They know full-well that, if my granddaddy knew how his Democratic Party feels about him and his fellow working class Kentuckians, he'd have switched parties a long time ago.
Of course, this won't stop the Netroots from tarring as a racist every voter who refuses to buy into the Obama hype. Part of their plan is to bring about "social change" by browbeating and intimidating Obama's critics into silence by questioning their motivations. And they truly believe that the only reason a person could possibly not vote for him is because they are racist -- if not overtly so.
And so, the racial McCarthyism of "dog whistle racism" charges will grow. It could possibly succeed in silencing a good number of Obama's critics. But, once they get into the voting booth and think about whether or not they want to live under the thumb of their betters for the next four years, they're not going to think kindly of the candidate who allowed his forces to slander them as ignorant bigots.
This is not the way one goes about transcending race, and the Democrats need to think long and hard about the consequences of using such intellectually thuggish tactics.
As a proud Kentuckian, the notion that Democrats look down their noses at folks like me comes as no surprise at all. It's something I've grown to accept and even revel in over the years, in fact. There's nothing quite so reaffirming of one's status as "salt of the earth" as the sneering disapproval of the effete elite.
Strangely enough, Kentucky is a predominantly Democratic state, with Dems enjoying about a 2-to-1 registration advantage over the GOP. You couldn't tell it by looking at our congressional delegation, but it's true. In fact, the county I call home enjoys about a 9-to-1 Democrat advantage in registration due to the high concentration of union households. And, yet, the district is represented by Republicans in both the U.S. Congress and at the State House (for now).
One reason that Republicans have enjoyed electoral success in the Bluegrass despite this wild disparity in party affiliation is the fact that blue collar, working class people in the state feel completely abandoned and disrespected by national-level Democrats. They register with the party out of a sense of loyalty and tradition. I get my share of grief from family members for being a Republican as a result of that fact. I can't count the times I've heard, "If your granddaddy knew you were a Republican, he'd roll over in his grave."
Right now, I'm itching to get to our family's traditional Memorial Day gathering. Something tells me I won't be getting much grief this time around. No one wants to hear my reply. They know full-well that, if my granddaddy knew how his Democratic Party feels about him and his fellow working class Kentuckians, he'd have switched parties a long time ago.
Of course, this won't stop the Netroots from tarring as a racist every voter who refuses to buy into the Obama hype. Part of their plan is to bring about "social change" by browbeating and intimidating Obama's critics into silence by questioning their motivations. And they truly believe that the only reason a person could possibly not vote for him is because they are racist -- if not overtly so.
And so, the racial McCarthyism of "dog whistle racism" charges will grow. It could possibly succeed in silencing a good number of Obama's critics. But, once they get into the voting booth and think about whether or not they want to live under the thumb of their betters for the next four years, they're not going to think kindly of the candidate who allowed his forces to slander them as ignorant bigots.
This is not the way one goes about transcending race, and the Democrats need to think long and hard about the consequences of using such intellectually thuggish tactics.
"You run one time, you got yourself a set of chains. You run twice you got yourself two sets. You ain't gonna need no third set, 'cause you gonna get your mind right. And I mean RIGHT."Strother Martin as "Captain", in Cool Hand Luke
posted by MsFalconersCabanaBoy @ 2:59 PM
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