How do we win the Rural voters?

[Quixote1818]

Do we run Andy Griffith for president? Run commercials with Mom serving Turkey Dinner in a country home in the woods saying Jesus was a flaming liberal and would vote Democrat? Should we put up a candidate who has at least once milked a cow? How about the official Democratic Website has the Walton's on the front page?

No, seriously! Anyone have any ideas? What did Mark Warner do in Virginia?

[joelogan]

1. see my sig n/t

[Erika]

4. Rural Americans need to know

that Bush's selling this country down the drain won't help any of us.
They gave him a free pass on killing our kids for Iraqi oil but I think even they are waking up.

[Erika]

20. Ah so thy won't recognize Victor Hugo or Emile Zola

or Tennessee Williams.

[pa28]

2. We're the party of smaller government.

We're also the party of fiscal responsibility. The record backs up these statements.

I suppose rural voters will have to experience the reality of November 2nd for the next four years. It will give them plenty of time to consider which side looks out for the small guy.

[C.C.D.]

9. I agree here. Many rural voters are voting for the R's of yore (m)

and do not recognize what they have become.

Rural citizens DO want smaller gov't and less spending, but for some reason they hold fast that the R's are the ones to do it.

[newyawker99]

23. Hi MontanaMom!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[juliagoolia]

3. I have some ideas

One, local democratic clubs working in coordination with each other and doing charity work while wearing DEM T-Shirts getting press etc.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x6478
WE are going to adopt a part of a hiway too.


Ok, the other thing I have been doing is working the hate radio campaign. "rural america" has been inundated with Hate Radio. Thats all they have. It needs to get a new name and be reframed, and we also need to get alternative voices to them.

Then you have the progressive christian groups that should put out voter guides that can be put on windshields during church meetings.


You have any ideas?

[Erika]

5. We Need to redefine hatetalk as UnAmerican

which it is.

[juliagoolia]

7. Right now they are wearing the

RW and Conservative badges
That gives them a facade of being acceptable. They are calling us UNAMERICAN.
If you can think of a crisp comment that will differentiate them from what they are calling us then let me hear it.

Hate radio seems to kick most americans ears.
They know who and what you are talking about and Merikans don't like hate.. they pass Hate Crime laws..etc..

[sandnsea]

8. right wing expose fliers

That's what we need to put on the windshields of church goers. Show them who is behind these right wing "Christian" groups and the kind of scum they're connected to.

[Kali]

12. Jim Hightower!

need some country "voices" telling the truth with "country" rural accent. No kidding.

"Ok, the other thing I have been doing is working the hate radio campaign. "rural america" has been inundated with Hate Radio. Thats all they have. It needs to get a new name and be reframed, and we also need to get alternative voices to them."

You said it!

[sandnsea]

6. Hate to say that word values

But the only thing rural people really have are their values. Their traditional way of life. You just remind them that their values are hard work, building community, helping their neighbor. That all families love their gay relatives, care about reproductive care for women, want the best education for their kids. You circumvent religion for family and community values. You don't offer a litany of programs, you offer values.

[Trumanway]

10. It might help to remind them where us "city folk" are from...

thats right, the rural and country areas by and large.

During the several economic cycles the US has gone through and the industrial revolution, massive numbers of Americans have migrated to the cities out of necessity. If we tell them that we hold them and the rural areas dear in our hearts, AND MEAN IT, they will start talking to us more than they do now. If we can show that we won't ride roughshod by vote over their smaller numbers they will not fear us.

[Quixote1818]

13. Good Point! And we run ads saying we will Blow Up Wall Mart if it moves

into their community and shuts down the country grocery store.

[Trumanway]

17. Ah,...let's not be blowing up Walmarts, instead....

let's work with county commissioners on how they can establish a two tier property tax system, one tax for residential one for business, then tax the Walmart just for the services it should render to the community, and it's employees, no more.

Then they will have the services and employment of a Walmart, it will pay it's fair share for employees health ect., and it won't be able to sell so cheap as to drive the small stores out of business. Win Win.

[newyawker99]

24. Hi Trumanway!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Trumanway]

29. Thank you for the welcome.

I am an older Democrat that admires Truman, FDR, Stevenson, and Kennedy as great leaders. I believe in one America for all, rather than 2 or 3. I joined after lurking for a while to try to get in the discussion in the hopes of getting around the divisiveness that seems to be growing these days.

[liberalpragmatist]

11. Read THIS - appeal to outdoorsmen, hunters, fishers - they're enviros too

From the Washington Monthly:

Top Billings
How a Montana Democrat bagged the hunting and fishing vote, and won the governor's mansion.

By David Sirota

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0412.sirota.html

[Quixote1818]

15. This is great!

[chaska]

14. You'll laugh, but...

Obviously, it is a major help to be as much like them as possible. Dress and groom like they do as much as possible.

But more importantly, you'd be amazed how well it works to use foul language. I've also exagerated my Southern accent to good effect. I'm a college grad (blah blah), but most of my jobs have been blue collar. I know these people. You've got to gain their trust first. Once they know that you're a friend then you can be more yourself, but first things first. You may not have any luck changing their minds - they ain't bright, a lot of 'em - but without being a friend you don't have much of a chance at all.

Hmm... I can't overstate the importance of not coming off as phony. If you can't pull it off, don't try it.

[Quixote1818]

16. Bill Clinton was the master at this!

[Skwmom]

43. Deleted - duplicate

[Skwmom]

44. They ain't bright a lot of them? Well considering how the Democratic

party is unable to control even ONE branch of government, I really wouldn't be calling anyone else not to bright. Kerry and the other so called bright Democrats have led the Democratic party off a cliff. Everyone goes on and on about how brilliant Rove is. I really don't think it's a matter of how brilliant Rove is but how stupid the Democratic strategists and party leaders are.

[DieboldMustDie]

18. Thomas Frank has some thoughts about this.

See What`s the Matter with Kansas?

[meow2u3]

19. Economic populism

In other words, we should be Multinational Corporations' Worst Nightmare!

[burn the bush]

21. make them realize that they are not republicans

to start with. let em know they can keep their gun. they need to see it in very simple terms that the republicans do not help them. Lay it out for them very simply. I think I am going to make postcards and start mailing them out over the years to the rural areas here. Like a picture of a business man, a farmer, or a factory worker. Describe traits of the business man as big business republicans. Decribe the others as dems or libs and show who these people are. I'm not beign clear but like the business guy would say I'm a doctor, I'm a lawyer, I'm a banker, i buy lots of stocks and bonds, i am financially independent or whatever. Then the other guy would say I'm a factory worker, I save some money but most of my income is spent on just living week to week, I have a small stock profile, blah blah blah but something to make these people understand that those republicans (and I apologize for all the doctors, lawyers and bankers that i just threw into that crowd to express my idea) have differne agendas then what these rural people have. Make them understand that a few issues like gun control or gay rights is not what you put your vote into. That they gotta look at the whole picture.
sorry, I'm probably not making any sense. Make them see what they get for their vote.

[demodonkey]

22. Most Republican Rural Voters are "Old Fashioned" Republicans...

They have NO idea what their party has become. Not a clue. They need to learn.

As a farm person myself, I have often wondered why so many rural people lean Republican, and I have come to believe that that is what is going on. They just don't know their own party as it is today.

I am talking about the regular family farmer types here... They connect with hard work, no free ride, pay as you go, patriotism (the real kind not the Bushco crap), religion (mostly Protestant Christian), small government which keeps out of their hair, low taxes on the little guy, protecting our own markets first as opposed to outsourcing and buying overseas, right to farm in the face of other land use issues, right to pass farms on to next generation, right to bear arms (hunting type, not AK-47) etc etc.

Rural people DO NOT like to be talked down to. They do not like fake pandering stuff like a city boy creating a fake photo-op trying to milk a cow (well they might think that's funny!) unless the city boy genuinely wanted to LEARN something about what milking that cow takes.

Most of them are pretty much live and let live. You can be yourself with Rural people IF you start with respect for their values/beliefs, are honest, and explain where you are coming from. They will usually give you a good listen, again if you are not talking down to them and truly seem sincere. For example not long ago I convinced a rural voter to change their mind on gay marriage by telling a true personal story of a gay friend who died, what his partner went through (and what I went through helping him), and how at least a legal Civil Union would have helped their situation.

One thing that I think would work enormously in rural areas is for Christian Dems to start speaking out and reclaiming the word "values"!! If they say we are "in favor of abortion", bring up the problems of unwanted children being abused, or better yet how many children being killed in Iraq due to Bush's policies. The Ten Commandments says "Thou Shalt Not Kill" not "Thou Shalt Not Kill Fetuses".

Another big area is guns. The GOP has defined the Dems as wanting to take away guns, and a gun on a farm is pretty much a necessity (to cover a rabid animal, suffering livestock if no vet nearby for euthanasia, etc.) We need to strongly promote "responsible gun ownership" rather than "gun control". And let them know we don't want to take away their hunting rifles -- they really need to know that.

[ChipperbackDemocrat]

25. Good ol' midwestern common sense in that post

"Rural people DO NOT like to be talked down to."

That hits the nail on the head. The problem is some of the bicoastal arrogance of our party does just that when they even want to talk to rural, or even an urban voter in the great plains and the south.

[kodi]

33. yours is one of the finest posts ever on this site about the problem

born and raised in the big city, but located in the rural south now for nearly 3 decades, i can say that you are spot on.

it is hard for city folk to understand the ebb and flow of rural society where the pace is slower, and what drives people is a sense of community and what is important to them might bore city folk, but which are established parts of their lives and deeply held traditions.

maybe the lack of constant change in rural communities makes traditions more deeply held than in a big city with new things and ideas happening all the time.

most of my friends and neighbors tell me that i am not like any big city yankee they have met, i take it as a compliment and do not talk down to them and i admit my ignorance about things they take as knowing naturally.

went back north to my 30th high school reunion last year and was told by childhood friends i was speaking with a southern accent. and i recognized the put down from them immediately as a sign of a lack of education....oddly, i have more degrees than a thermometer.

give me the rural life any day. right now i am gazing out the window at the horses in the neighbors pastures on both sides of my house, the air is clean and sweet and the pace of living is relaxed.

[XNASA]

26. Don't worry. They'll be losing their religion.......

When the subsidy and welfare checks stop rolling in.

[eataTREE]

27. No clue. None at all.

In the past 20-25 years, Rural America has taken it really hard up the ass. (Maybe that's why they're so homophobic.) Their farms have been bought up by big Agribusiness. Their manufacturing jobs have disappeared. Their small businesses have been put out of business by Wal-Mart. (Thought your kids were going to inherit the hardware store? Think again, they'll stock Wal-Mart's shelves for $6.50 an hour.) And the worse it gets, the more enthusiastic they get in their support of the Republican party, whose policies are largely responsible for their plight.

Maybe Rural America has a hidden streak of masochism. Maybe we need to run on a policy of horsewhipping rural Americans at random... given how eager they were to get behind other policies that fucked them over, maybe they'd go for that.

[newportdadde]

28. Growing up on a farm myself, my take.

Well I grew up in rural Missouri, south of KC. To give you an idea of how rural, I'm only 28 but we had a 'party' phone line up till I was 20 :eyes:. I'm sure many don't even know what that means :). My family probably was atypical though, we didn't do church etc and both my parents are Democratic supporters.

Here are my thoughts on how to reach those voters. The first is media, there is very very poor choice of media in rural America. You basically have your local paper, maybe a 'big city' paper like the Kansas City Star for us, then you have radio and regular broadcast news.. no cable.

Radio is the kicker here. For instance we had 4 tractors, all of which just had AM radio. My options growing up was Dr Laura, Rush or a Rush clone, sports radio.. and the farm report. We need to get AAR out there in more cities broadcasting. Here in KC for instance we have nothing but right wing hate radio on the AM dial for talk options.

We need a grass roots campaign were rural folks actually meetup. The first is church, the second would be any kind of farm auction cattle sale etc.. of course the problem here is this is private property so I'm not sure how a political message would go over.

Another thing I want to define rural here. I'm talking about people who actually farm with my above comments. Anyone else, the 'city folks' are couples who make 100k + together and now move out into the country and buy 40 acres and build a 250k house.

Farmers don't like these people either because they destroy land prices for those who actually want to farm but there are more and more of these people around, especially over the last 10 years they have just exploded during the 90s. They killed my home town. These people are all about $ and taxes thats why they are going Red and I'm not sure what we can do about those people.

[greenohio]

30. Move to the center where Clinton had us...

and we will win every time. If you can't stand it, vote green.

[ventvon]

37. You can't just move to the center

You have to field a candidate that "exudes" centrist, like Clinton did.

Kerry moving to the "center" wouldn't have fooled anyone, and neither would Pelosi moving to the center, or most California dems or Northeast dems.

Maybe Joe "I'm tough as nails" Biden could be centrist, but Delaware isn't really all that "Northeast."

Clinton didn't just "move" to the center. He was the center. It was a result of his upbringing, his geography, his education and it's location, etc.

Field a candidate that comes across that way, and you don't really have to change the policies too much.

[greenohio]

39. I agree %100, we need a DLC from midwest or south

Like Evan Bayh from Indiana.

[Padraig18]

31. Get away from gun-control, and quit talking down to them, for starters.

I live in rural, rural America--- the flat prairies of Illinois corn-and-soybean country. Rural voters here tend to lean Republican, although of the paleo-con variety, and most don't understand that their party has been hijacked by the RW fundies and PNAC-ers. That said...

One thing most rural voters DESPISE is being condescended to/talked down to. Contrary to most people's impression, and extremely high percentage of the rural/farm voters is college-educated, and i don't mean an Associate's degree in chicken husbandry, either. They are intelligent, most take at least one newspaper, etc., so quit talking to them as though they were semi-literate bufoons!

Rural voters tend to be economically conservative. They don't oppose ALL taxes, but if you propose to raise their taxes, you had damned well better be prepared to tell them EXACTLY how much money they're going to have to fork out, how it will be spent, how the expenditure will benefit them or their community AND how those spending it will be held accountable. IOW, these are pay-as-you-go voters.

Another thing we need to do is get away from gun control. Not tinker with it, or refine it, or nuance it, but KILL IT DEAD! Shoot that puppy in the head and hold up the bloody corpse for the voters to see. This issue (gun control) is a GUARANTEED LOSER among rural voters, and I'm surprised that all the highly-intelligent people in our party leadership have taken this long to figure that out.

I have other suggestions, but these few will do for now.

[Mike L]

42. Correct-- KILL the gun control issue.

Tell Feinstein and Schumer to STFU.

[murielm99]

48. I live in rural Illinois, too.

The farmers who live around me are concerned with taxes. I think taxes are the biggest issue for farmers everywhere.

And don't think that there are no more family farms. Many of them have just incorporated to save their farms, and to do business in a modern way.

They believe that taxes take a bigger bite out of their incomes than anyone else's. This is a state issue in many ways, but most farmers do not see it that way.

We need a candidate who will propose a way to lower their property taxes and increase all income taxes. Farmers consider that a fair way to share the tax burden.

How does someone like Grassley keep getting elected in Iowa? He gives back to the farmers and supports farm programs.

Farmers also go to church. They support their churches financially. If the repukes can work through the church, we should do it, too. The farmers I know belong to mainstream, somewhat liberal denominations. I don't have any suggestions about how to work through rural churches, but maybe someone else does.

[Padraig18]

49. Excellent observations.

:thumbsup:

[Reality Not Tin Foil]

32. Well...Your list should tell you how to NOT win them.

Sigh...

Some people will never learn. And yeah...I'm from "HICK REDNECK HILLBILLY Rural America".

[ventvon]

34. If you'd have nominated John Edwards you would have won rural areas

People vote for the top of the ticket, not the bottom of it.

[Padraig18]

36. I just don't know...

Some days I agree, some days I'm not sure...

:shrug:

[Mike L]

35. I'm from the most conservative part of the most conservative state in the

Confederacy. If we want to win here, we'll have to run candidates who are pro-life. No one will vote for a candidate who is "for abortion". It's that simple. We either get half a loaf (Democratic economic issues), or none. The voters around here will vote for a Dem who is pro-American worker AND pro-life. Otherwise, their views on abortion win out over their economic concerns.

I believe Repugs now hold all the Senate seats in the South.

[ventvon]

40. I disagree.

They vote for Democrats in state offices who are "pro-choice," but understand that it's not just about having a choice. It's also about personal responsibility and wise choices.

If I choose to kill someone, I made a choice, but was it a good choice?

Well, same thing. When you have people choosing to terminate a pregnacy, i.e., killing what would become a person, you make a choice, but most people think it's a bad choice, if you do it, "just because you have the right to make that choice."

So, southern Democrats like Mike Easely, or even John Edwards for that matter, who start out any discussion of abortion with the statement, "I would rather that there be as few abortions as possible, but" as John Edwards did in a Town Hall meeting in Portsmouth, NH on July 7, 2003, showing that they understand the other's point of view and somewhat share it, they will never lose an election over the abortion debate because they are not seen as relentlessly "pro-abortion." They know how to come off as pro-choice/responsibility, and they are, and that's what works.

[The Zug]

38. Screw the rural voters

Asking how do win we win the rural voters is like Republican asking how they can take Manhattan.

Forget the rural voters. They are Republican.

We have the cities.

The battle is over the suburbs.

Here's one strategy that I think might be successful:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1357175

[ventvon]

41. Mike Easely ran an ad with Andy Griffin

He endorsed Mike Easely for Governor and hoped you'd do the same.

[northernsoul]

45. drop the knee-jerk hatred of firearms

go trap-shooting once in a while, it's fun and it establishes goodwill and a common interest with people

[w4rma]

46. The shift to the "left" (which, imho, is actually "right") on gun control

within the Democratic Party is a loser. The Democratic Party MUST lose the label of gun control. Gun control just ticks off rural folks to the point where they do not hear any other issue. Lose the issue. It's lost anyway and the Democratic Party should have never been fighting for removing gun rights. These folks have to be willing to listen to Democrats to vote for Democrats. Removing more gun control from the Democratic Party agenda will help Dems in rural areas talk to other folks openly about Democrats.

God is an issue that NATIONAL Democrats need to learn how to talk about. Wear God on your sleeve as President Carter did and how Bush does. The Democratic base in the Northeast and West needs to allow national Democrats to talk about God and Christianity. The Democratic base needs to let this happen so that rural Christians who are only rarely exposed to other religions and are taught to be intolerant of them by their peers will LISTEN to national Democrats again as they did with FDR.

Abortion is basically gone. Girls will have to die by the coathanger, in America, before rural folks start to rethink that issue again. That, their intolerance of gays and their indignity about sex are pretty much all that Repugs have to point at on morals. The Repug leadership is immoral, according to their own definitions, in every way if you remove those 3 issues.

You can't give in to the big corporates because they are the folks behind the Republican Party pushing them and covering for them. They are the true base of the Republican Party. They are the folks who need to be pushed out of power even more than the the Repukes do. If they fall, then the Repukes fall (but not neccessarily vice versa).

You can't give in on fighting against voter fraud because without a fair vote, issues do not matter. You can't give in on tactical issues, ever. Anything and everything that degrades our democracy must be fought at because we will never get back into power under a dictatorship without a civil war.

[Name removed]

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