Democrats court rural voters

[GreenPartyVoter]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three days after unveiling a program to create jobs, House Democrats are turning their attention to rural America as they labor to end 10 years in the minority.

"Rural Americans deserve the same access to education, childcare, housing programs, medicine and health care that other Americans enjoy," says material prepared for a news conference Friday where lawmakers planned to unveil their effort.

The Democratic Rural Working Group intends to emphasize efforts to appeal to veterans and law enforcement officials and bring "the latest information systems" to rural areas.

Earlier this week, Democrats unveiled a $125 billion, 10-year American Jobs Plan, to be paid for by repealing tax breaks that go to businesses moving production offshore. It consists of tax cuts and spending increases designed to help create new employment while helping workers harmed by the global economy.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040618/D8399NU80.html

[Crachet2004]

1. Democrats are not going to win big in rural areas until gun control...

Is taken from the national platform. People in the country are'nt going to fall for a spate of new programs that probably won't materialize, anyhow. A lack of government programs is'nt why we are losing in rural areas...the three G's are.

Gay-hate turns out to be not the burning issue the GOP wanted. People have other things to worry about, and really don't give a damn what they do in San Francisco. Conversly, this does not translate into any kind of great support for gay marriage, either. I think most people figure full equality for gays is on the way, and while they may not approve personally, are resigned to it...therefore, the GOP are going to be substantially deprived of their newest wedge issue. My best friend is really conservative...and has a gay brother. They are both voting for Kerry.

Abortion will not be at the forefront either, thank God. I read somewhere there is a 6 to 3 majority on the Supreme Court for Roe v Wade, which should effectively take it out of the equation.

But guns are where we are weak in rural areas. Our silly-ass support of gun control has cost us way too much, and has the potential to block what COULD be a landslide for us this fall; and defuse a complete paradigm shift in American politics-the end of Reaganism.

If New York City wants control, fine, but they have no right to dictate to WV or Tennessee. We live in different worlds.

Let the issue of Control be handled at the State and Local level, and get it the hell out of our national platform. Do that today, in a very public way, and we will annihilate the GOP this Fall.

[MuseRider]

2. I totally agree.

I think it is possible support from rural areas will be much better this time but it will never turn around until the Democrats stop making decisions for the rural folks from their DC offices. When they start coming out and actually asking folks what they need and what they would like to see then we might see things really begin to change.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Yeah, let's decentralize the gov't. States need more power.

[MuseRider]

4. I'm not sure

what you mean here GPV.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. You suggested our reps come out of D.C.

and find out what we in the rural areas want.

I am suggesting that we go a bit further than that, and let the states make more of their own decisions becuase they better understand their own situation. (Municipalities too for that matter.)

"DECENTRALIZATION

Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens."

[MuseRider]

6. OK I was not certain

I have had some not so nice responses to my attitude about this. I am all for communities making many of the decisions. It has always struck me as absurd that someone who has never set foot on a working farm makes so many decisions for the farmer. Even the consultants are often far removed. The real concerns often fall by the wayside. Anyway, that is why I asked.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Well,

I can see that you might have thought I was being facetious. But I tend to add a /sarcasm to those posts. :^)

[Crachet2004]

8. I agree completely. One size almost never fits all; for example,

What makes them think a lot of new prisons in the countryside are what we want? What do we need those for? All the people in the country they are going to arrest under Patriot?

We have a new prison in my county, and do not need anymore. The jobs there are low-paying, and what if some inmates get loose? Nobody wants to live around a stinking prison.

Democrats always try to be tougher than republicans about crime-and now I suppose, terror-but it sounds like they are spinning their wheels, in the upper echelons. It's an election year, and they need to run on SOMETHING, so here is all this crap.

Hey DNC! What we all want is twenty dollar an hour jobs (minimum), health care, no war, energy independence, and an end to all the animosity our corporations and military have caused around the world through their Butinsky behavior! Rein in the corporations and their military bodyguards, and there will BE no Terrorism.

Further, we want to be number one in education. Why is it that all those nasty old european Welfare States always beat us at that? As a matter of fact, they have ALWAYS beat us by almost ANY measure of Social Welfare...but they are always supposedly just on the verge of collapse. Our leaders have been squawking that refrain since I graduated highschool...30 years ago-and it was a lie all along. All you ever heard was how high unemployment is over there, while our REAL unemployment over here is just as bad, or worse...we just don't count them all.

I just wish they would at least stop lying. Fat chance.

[JayS]

11. True. Most likely they will pick urban people for their little...

...group and will study nothing rural unless it is found in a book. I guess that is better than them coming out to Small Town, America, and saying "take me to your leader" or something similar.

[JayS]

10. "support of gun control has cost us way too much"

We don't have to give up on gun control, just realize that what we have been pushing all these decades is not working. There is more than one "brand" of gun control available and choosing one that actually goes after the criminal as opposed to Joe Citizen will be a best seller.

That being said, Kerry's anti-gun stance is going to be an obstacle this election season and he shows no signs of wanting to change. It will be easy for him to get painted into the corner with a "weak on crime" label.

[JayS]

9. "Democratic strategists"

Is this an oxymoron? :)