Living in SW PA is a nightmare...

[Freedomofspeech]

Trump signs everywhere. Camouflage is the dress of choice and Confederate flags on trucks and homes. Westmoreland County used to be blue but now it's red and camo....Pennsyltucky at it's finest.

[liberal N proud]

1. Too close to West Virginia

[Staph]

14. Right next to the most liberal bastion of West Virginia --

Morgantown, the home of West Virginia University.

Don't throw stones!

[liberal N proud]

22. Didn't realize there was a liberal part of West Virginia

Maybe there is hope

[Staph]

24. 30,000 university students

more than half from out of state (or out of country). 24 Rhodes Scholars, 22 Truman Scholars, 42 Goldwater Scholars.

Morgantown, W.Va., was rated “No. 1 Small City in America” by BizJournals.com. Business Insider named Morgantown the ninth best college town in America. Other recent rankings: Kiplinger.com included Morgantown in their 10 great places to live list; one of “Best Sports Cities” by Sporting News; 5th “Best Small Metro” by Forbes; 12th overall “Hottest Small City” by Inc.; one of “50 Smartest Places to Live” by Kiplinger’s; and the second-ranking “Best College Town for Jobs” by Forbes.

Please don't judge my state by the yahoos supporting Trump. West Virginians were among the most loyal Democrats in the country, until the early 2000s. At that point, the Democratic party, under the leadership of Al Gore, became very environmentally aware - something of which I highly approve. But the party did next to nothing for coal miners and their communities. If you tell someone in a small town in West Virginia where most are miners or in mine-related jobs that coal is bad and coal mines should be shut down, you can't just tell them to find another job. You can't say get training to be a programmer or for some other high-tech job that doesn't exist within 200 miles. Get job training and move away? But who's going to buy your home in this dying community when everyone else is leaving? Where your family has lived for generations? Where your parents and grandparents and great-grandparents are buried?

I hope that Hillary has thoughtful programs for coal country. I know that I will vote for her. I have sent the campaign money. I have talked to many others in the area about supporting Hillary. But I understand other West Virginians' disappointment with the Democratic party. West Virginia has been left behind, as we were left behind the rest of the country before Johnson's War on Poverty.

And, yes, I've gotten way off the topic of the original post. But y'all pushed my "somebody's bad-mouthing my state" button, and I went into full-rant mode!

[elleng]

31. Hi again, Staph!

Did I tell you I was in Morgantown Thursday night? On they way from DC suburbs to wedding in Louisville, KY, stopped in Mo'town, where my daughter attended college. Fun being there, if only overnight. And enjoyed time in WVa, til KY and yesterday and today, returning home, more transit through WV.

Thinking more and more about the difficulties the state has endured, and AMAZED at the natural beauty, and the accomplishments of those who established the state.

And passed by the beautiful state capital building!

Don't think I saw any bumper stickers; don't recall lawn signs.



P.S, I am very concerned that no candidate but for Governor O'Malley expressed real plans to address environmental issues, largely by helping convert lost 'dirty' jobs via new technology related endeavors.

[Staph]

32. I actually live in Huntington these days,

but Morgantown was my birthplace and home for a couple of decades. I was just up there a week ago for Homecoming at WVU.

It's been so dry this summer and fall that the leaves are just turning brown. I miss our usual flaming fall colors!

[elleng]

33. Yes, was hoping to see more color than I did.

Been through Huntington 2x in last days!

[femmocrat]

2. I agree with you.

We have lived here for 40 years and it has changed greatly. Did you see trump's rally in Ambridge today? I am ashamed to be from the same state as those morons.
What really galls me is that they closed the schools for that SOB's appearance. Someone in Harrisburg should take notice!

[Freddie]

5. Probably because they didn't want to expose the kids to his crowd

[femmocrat]

6. They said it was because of all the congestion disrupting the buses.

Then why schedule a political rally during school hours? Totally inappropriate, IMO. Especially after his most recent "remarks" -- no way should a school district appear to be supporting such a low life crud.

[kimbutgar]

9. Are you sure the schools were not closed for Columbus Day?

The schools here in SF were closed today for that reason.

[femmocrat]

11. Yes. The schools were open.

They dismissed the students in the morning so they could get the day in, I guess.

[Freedomofspeech]

12. We are in Maine right now.

There are more Trump signs in West. Co., than we saw the whole trip up here. Lots of Hillary signs in Southern Maine.

[Va Lefty]

3. I feel your pain

Born and raised in red Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) same here. So many tea bagger license plates on vehicles here. Thank God for Northern Virginia!!

[Leontius]

34. Evidently you've not spent much time in No. Va.

[kaiden]

7. Same here in Upstate New York.

[Loki Liesmith]

10. Pretty though

[doc03]

15. I feal your pain I live in eastern Ohio. I saw my first Hillary sign today nt

[Buckeye_Democrat]

16. I had the feeling it was pretty conservative when I went there...

... a couple decades ago for genealogical research. It sounds worse now!

One of my ancestors was John Proctor. His Revolutionary War flag was displayed above the government buildings there.


The irony is that he lost his farm in Westmoreland County as an old man because he apparently never filed a deed for it! Someone else came along and snatched it, and he moved in with one of his sons in Kentucky thereafter.

[Freedomofspeech]

19. Nice...

Richard Mellon Scaife bought up all our local papers about twenty years ago and turned our area red. He used his children's trust funds to keep the papers going and since he died they are suing the paper. He was a real scumbag.

[wisteria]

30. You are so right, I hope that hatefilled man is not resting in peace.

[Wednesdays]

18. You're going to have a bunch of very grumpy neighbors

in about a month.

[Freedomofspeech]

20. I cannot wait!

We were advised to not put Hillary signs in our yard. Too many gun nuts around.

[Pakid]

21. Same thing in NW Pa

the nuts are all coming out from under their rocks. It won't be pretty when Don the Con becomes a LOSER!!!!!!

[Freedomofspeech]

25. Taught for one year in Elk County...

It was bad back then.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

23. Even my little pocket of SE PA is slimy with Trump signs and

Stars and Bars, but nothing like what you're seeing. Condolences.

[apcalc]

26. I'm from SW PA. It has changed from blue to red.

Really sad to see it happen...all the decline of steel, coal, unions....

The rural parts were always backward....

[ebbie15644]

27. I'm from westmoreland also

Outside Harrison City! I also can't stand all the Trump signs but we are known to be a very racist area. It's so sad

[Freedomofspeech]

36. Scottdale...

At our Fall Festival it was full of Trumphumpers and people passing out Bibles. Seriously awful.

[ebbie15644]

40. Did you ask them if they read that bible?

[Freedomofspeech]

42. Wouldn't waste my breath...

People were furious that they were shoving those Bibles at them. We gotta get out of this place!

[mrmpa]

28. I'm in Allegheny County............

and about 20 minutes from Washington County. Though my township is Blue, my freaking representative is Tim Murphy. The gerrymandering the repugs did put my pocket of Blue into a sea of Red, and I am drowning.

[Freedomofspeech]

37. Ah, Tim Murphy...

No one is even running against him! During the invasion of Iraq, several of my fiends and I would go to protests...we sat in his office one day and the chicken hawk refused to talk to us.

[mrmpa]

38. I get mad at the PA......

Democratic Committee for not putting someone up against him. I always say that I want my 25 year old nephew to run against him. My nephew is a good progressive, he has a BA in Political Science, he is over 6'6" tall, good looking and this may sound an odd thing to say, but seniors love him. Senior men love him when they hear he played College football and women really like his kindness.

[Freedomofspeech]

41. It's ridiculous...

Please talk your nephew in to it! We need lots of good young Democrats our way!

[ebbie15644]

39. Yeah can't stand him and many don't seem to have challengers

[wisteria]

29. I hear you, I have to live this nightmare too.

But, what do these people have here? They keep reelection Republicans who promise to not raise their taxes, but promise nothing else. It is a dead steel town, but the people here refuse to believe it.

[Number9Dream]

35. The Lehigh Valley is also quite red

Charlie Dent (R) is running unopposed again. Before him was Toomey. I've lived outside Nazareth for over 25 years. My current state rep. is Marcia Hahn (R) and senator Mario Scavello (R). The Allentown Morning Call and WFMZ TV are pro Republican. The NRA has tremendous sway in the Lehigh Valley. Obama was a fluke. I'm seeing many Trump signs and bumper stickers and a couple for Clinton.