Rural Arkansans do not trust the Democrats, or Hillary

[question everything]

Never mind the whole story in the WSJ, what caught my attention is this:

DEVALLS BLUFF, Ark.—White, working-class voters in eastern Arkansas for years backed Democratic candidates, among them Bill Clinton and outgoing Gov. Mike Beebe, but have moved sharply toward Republicans in recent elections.

(snip)

But even here, where Mrs. Clinton was the state’s first lady, many voters say they view her with the same leeriness they do Mr. Obama and other national Democrats. That points to a significant question should Mrs. Clinton run: whether enough such voters can separate her from the national party many have grown to dislike.

“I’m mad at the Democratic Party, and I don’t see Hillary changing that,” said Eddie Ciganek, a 61-year-old farmer who serves on Prairie County’s governing board and who has voted Democrat at times. “Her thinking isn’t going to be very far off from President Obama’s thinking, and I don’t think they’re moving the country in the right direction.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-faces-uphill-fight-for-white-rural-vote-1419812605

====

And I would like to ask this yahoo: what, what is "not moving the country in the right direction?'

Have you looked at the number of unemployed recently? The number of people whose houses are "under water?" Have you looked at the number of manufacturing jobs recently? How about the auto industry? How about oil prices?

And the Stock Market? You may not be an investor, but your bank, your insurance company, your local government and, no doubt, many of your suppliers and customers are.

Oh, forgot, this is "cyclical." Assuming you understand this expression.

Do you really think that we would have been able to see the same achievements with - the horror - President McCain or President Romney?

Possibly. Some. And then you would praise their business savvy, right?

Go f**k yourself. Obama won without you so you can wallow in your ignorance.

Oh, since AK is a "taker" state, how much are you getting from the government these days? And do you think that these programs will remain the same under a Republican Congress and a Republican president?

[djean111]

1. Nothing like excoriation to get out the vote!

Figuring out what to do (not say, DO) to make these people vote for a Democrat is a big waste of time, evidently.
Maybe we should tell those people who have their food stamps cut this year to just suck it up, too. And let them bask in the warmth of those who can afford to have investments, 'cause that'll trickle down.....

[sakabatou]

2. I keep wondering why the hell people vote against their own interests.

[karynnj]

3. They may defend "their interests" as something broader then personal economic consequenses

This was the problem with Obama's "guns and religion" comment.

You may be able to see the reason better when you consider there are upper class and upper middle class people who vote for liberal Democrats or progressives. There the reason is that these people want a more economically just country - even though it will raise their taxes.

Here, they are voting for no guns regulations, more abortion regulations, fewer business regulations, They are also distressed by the sea change in social values, especially on gay rights, that we celebrate.

That and they rely on Fox News and Talk radio for the news.

[appalachiablue]

6. Dems. can't or won't remind them that they're all that stands in the way of the wolf at the door or

the gutter regarding what's left of govt. assistance, b/c Dems. get accused of being foodstamp Presidents, supporting welfare queens and being librul red commies. It's political suicide apparently to openly support programs for struggling poor and workers- since that means the guvment will be coming for your money through taxes and that's socialism! The hate, racism and rise in anti-govt. groups in the US has increased tremendously in 25 years, especially the last ten.

The corp. right has to fund a LOT of Media, fake news propaganda lies and spin about guns, gays, God and the Guvment, so many workers will continue to be uninformed and foolishly vote to benefit wealthy conservatives, instead of themselves. Since Reagan, the right has been highly successful with this messaging. Just look at the result, immense decline of working families and income inequality in 30 years.

Dismissal or ridicule by the Left of RW media is very dangerous. Because free, accessible Fox, and Hate Radio (and RW Internet) are everywhere for 20+ years, in cars, trucks, businesses, offices, stores, motels, schools and on military bases. It's the only news available in some communities as hard as that is to believe. The Left has no Media to counter except pay cable MSNBC and minimal online radio. Pitiful.

The frequent 'voting against their own interests' theme and harange to hound people in a state, region or group to STOP! other people from voting or acting against their own interest makes me think of middle class, R voting gays I worked with or met in the 80s and 90s, and some business types more recently. Baffling, esp. during the Reagan-Bush era when Aids treatment funding and research were delayed. Maybe I should have screamed at these R voters.

I have a very educated, liberal but overworked educator relative who is clueless about toxins in food, water and air, through no fault of her own. She doesn't have time or $ to read online left websites at night after work or on busy weekends. She thinks Whole Foods is for elites. I've tried to educate her, yelled at her and thought of bringing in loads of fresher foods. I think she doesn't want to believe it or change b/c it would cost more to shop there, and it would take a lot of effort to change behavior.

Maybe I should I harass my Jewish friends about why they don't change Israeli policy toward Palestine, because it and old hatreds are driving violence. Think I'll scream at NYC friends about changing Wall Street and NY cops. And Redmond, WA and CA friends about computers cos. abusing imported Asian workers they bring in and pay $1.21 an hour. Maybe I should hassle Catholic friends to do something about the church's detestable, scandalous cover up of sexual abuse of children. Really, how to change people's behavior is indeed the issue. And it's a very serious and frustrating one. Nothing personal with this long rant please know-

[WhiteTara]

4. Arkansas is VERY racist and sexist so it follows that

they hate Hillary as much as our president. And add in lots of guns and it's good ole boy heaven around here.

[LiberalElite]

5. What does Mr. Ciganek mean by

"their thinking"???

[craigmatic]

7. No need to get upset we win where we can and everywhere else- fuck them- we work around them.

[Thor_MN]

8. " Eddie Ciganek, a 61-year-old farmer...who has voted Democrat at times."

A very clear indicator of the author's view of things. "Voted Democrat" is right wing, conservative speech. No one says "voted Republic". But conservatives can not bring themselves to saying voted Democratic.

[JayhawkSD]

11. Yes, I picked up on that too.

"Voted Democrat" is actually an insult. George W. Bush started the trend of insulting the party by calling it the "Democrat Party."

[Hestia]

10. First off, AK = Alaska, AR = Arkansas. Now then, there are two groups in Eastern Ark.

the white farmers who have the money but low body count, and the black workers who make up large numbers and Obama swept the the Delta region - the counties bordering the Miss. River - everyone voted for Obama; though large numbers of people have migrated from the area due to no jobs.

[question everything]

13. Sorry about it. I know that

but my fingers jumped ahead of my brain...

[chervilant]

12. I live in NW Arkansas,

and I am made aware--daily--that I am in the minority, socio-politically speaking. I was wrongfully terminated the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and I believe this was because I addressed my boss's virulent, relentless racism. The owner of the company is also racist, and the "culture" of his business tends towards racism. I was accused of being a Democrat, as though that's a bad thing, and a "n*****r-lover," as though that is an unforgivable sin.

Most of the people in this predominantly caucasian area hate President Obama. It's an inchoate, racially motivated hate. Almost none of them can discuss knowledgeably any of Obama's appointments, nor any of his policies with which they take exception. They hate "Obamacare," but have been detrimentally underserved by a pitiful few medical professionals, whose services are too expensive and likely to be the underpinning of medical bankruptcy for the poorest among us.

Jobs are scarce here. Pay scales are offensively low. You might ask why do I live here... Well...

I am about a mile north of the Buffalo River, a most wondrous ecosystem. I routinely see goldfinches, tufted titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, purple finches, cardinals, doves, white-throated sparrows and juncos at my bird feeders. There is a mink den just below my house. We also see river otters in Mill Creek. Mill Creek runs right behind my house, so I get to see herons, kingfishers and other water fowl almost every day. There are elk in the river valley near my house, and deer are plentiful here.

There are some fantastic hiking trails along the river. I can canoe or kayak the river, too. This area is riddled with caves. Spelunkers can visit "undeveloped" caves, one of which boasts a forty foot high waterfall (it's stunning--I've been there).

I have a bio-intensive garden. My strawberry patch is awesome. This spring, thanks to my wrongful termination, I'll have plenty of time to plant the standard garden fare that I love. I plan to container plant several of my herbs, so that I can keep the perennials year-round.

I am lucky to have met a number of amazing artists, some of whom are teaching me woodcarving and blacksmithing. These artists are NOT racist and they are NOT Republicans, so I tend to hang with like-minded folk.

Living in Arkansas is not for the faint of heart, but it has its rewards. Please bear in mind that some of us Arkansans (and that's AR, not AK) are liberal and vote for Democrats.

[blkmusclmachine]

14. Racism, thy name is Dixiecrat.

[davidpdx]

15. Gee I thought I saw someone on DU saying that Hillary would easily win Arkansas

I can't remember who it was off the top of my head. This person was spouting about how many red states Hillary Clinton would win. Bullshit! She isn't going to have any better luck flipping red states than Obama did (although it is worth noting he did win Indiana and North Carolina in 2008, but turned around and lost them in 2012).

My point (not toward the OP, but DU in general) is we are going to have to win the base blue states about 256 EVs with whomever the nominee is. Of that base there are 6 states (Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Iowa that had a margin of between 5-7%) with another 55 EVs. Beyond that we have to try to hold on to Ohio, Florida, and Virginia (which is another 60 EVs).

[LiberalFighter]

16. Rural folks tend to vote Republican.