Can we talk about how predictably rural counties vote red and urban counties vote blue?

Btw @lfd0311, your home state ranks 2nd in the nation when it comes to receiving agricultural subsidies and 4/5 farmers receive some form of subsidy so I find your argument about them being harder to convince of their privilege rather ironic considering they are in fact quite privileged in that sense. Sure they're still busting their asses but they're nonetheless receiving government handouts.

Don't bring that up. A "real" corn subsidy hasn't existed in years.
 
Yes. Suburbs usually are where the undecideds are. Cities and rural areas become all about turnout. It's not completely that way though. Hillary did awful in some highly populated areas in the rust belt compared to Obama.
 
Btw @lfd0311, your home state ranks 2nd in the nation when it comes to receiving agricultural subsidies and 4/5 farmers receive some form of subsidy so I find your argument about them being harder to convince of their privilege rather ironic considering they are in fact quite privileged in that sense. Sure they're still busting their asses but they're nonetheless receiving government handouts.

See my earlier link. There are people who don't realize that they get handouts and people who do realize it. No one else, really.
 
Don't bring that up. A "real" corn subsidy hasn't existed in years.
What's that supposed to mean? Enlighten me, you probably know more about it than I. I know that there are different kinds of subsidies that go to the farmers so I'm guessing there was a shift in the kind of subsidy towards one that's less helpful?
See my earlier link. There are people who don't realize that they get handouts and people who do realize it. No one else, really.
I have it opened in a separate tab but my attention span prevents me from reading more than paragraph or two at a time.
 
I live in a rural area. And on my son's 9-10 year old baseball team, this kid announces that he's gonna lead the pregame prayer. The next week, he tells some other kid that he is gonna do the prayer. Anyway, our head coach just tells him to pray before the games after that. That just isn't happening in San Francisco or Portland. They'd sick the ACLU on the kid.
So basically rural area voters want the 1st amendment to get shit on. Good to know. Also ACLU wouldn't be on their ass unless they were a government entity and prayer was being led
 
What's that supposed to mean? Enlighten me, you probably know more about it than I. I know that there are different kinds of subsidies that go to the farmers so I'm guessing there was a shift in the kind of subsidy towards one that's less helpful?

I have it opened in a separate tab but my attention span prevents me from reading more than paragraph or two at a time.

That the corn subsidy isn't what they want it to be so they aren't actually all on Government Welfare, thus the argument that they are on Government Welfare is totally irrelevant. That and I pointed that out once and watched an entire room full of farmers literally lose their minds. "There hasn't been a real corn subsidy in years" was the verbatium answer I got.
 
If being educated is what causes one to be liberal (which feels like is what you're saying) then explain to me how of my acquaintances from high school those that leaned right of center all finished college or university and are working in the fields that they studied while those that leaned left of right all dropped out to pursue... well, I don't know what they do.
Anecdotal evidence, how does it work(it doesn't)?
 
People in cities tend to have a better understanding of the benefits of looking at things in terms of public good instead of merely the individual.

Cities cannot function unless there is an efficient municipal government providing public services, and the people who live in them tend to think in terms of collective solutions to problems: public transportation, public sanitation, public waste removal, public education, public works, etc. They are more likely to think in terms of the group than merely in terms of the individual, or to think of the community in terms that go beyond the people they personally know or are related to.

Rural folk tend not to see the benefits of good governance with the same immediacy as urban dwellers.

There’s also the fact that cities are more diverse. The people who live in them interact with people widely different from them on a daily basis and are able to see them as just human beings and not the parasitical boogeymen the conservatives make them out to be.

That the corn subsidy isn't what they want it to be so they aren't actually all on Government Welfare, thus the argument that they are on Government Welfare is totally irrelevant. That and I pointed that out once and watched an entire room full of farmers literally lose their minds. "There hasn't been a real corn subsidy in years" was the verbatium answer I got.

The fact that the government handout isn't as big as it used to be or as big as they would like it to be, does not mean that they aren't in fact getting government handout.

I do hope that you realize that every farmer in that room you mentioned was at best completely deluded or at worst a raging hypocrite.
 
That the corn subsidy isn't what they want it to be so they aren't actually all on Government Welfare, thus the argument that they are on Government Welfare is totally irrelevant. That and I pointed that out once and watched an entire room full of farmers literally lose their minds. "There hasn't been a real corn subsidy in years" was the verbatium answer I got.
That's doesn't really clear things up for me. What do you mean its not what they want? What do they want and what do they get? And if they're still receiving it then they are nonetheless taking a government handout even if its not their ideal handout.
 
The fact that the government handout isn't as big as it used to be or as big as they would like it to be, does not mean that they aren't in fact getting government handout.

I do hope that you realize that every farmer in that room you mentioned was at best completely deluded or at worst a raging hypocrite.

That was the entire point I was making by bringing up the Corn Subsidy in the first place
 
That's doesn't really clear things up for me. What do you mean its not what they want? What do they want and what do they get? And if they're still receiving it then they are nonetheless taking a government handout even if its not their ideal handout.

I don't know exactly what they get. They aren't losing their behinds. No President, whether it be a Republican or a Democrat, is going to allow the Midwest to fail. These guys seem to forget that.
 
Cities are more depend on big government than rural counties.
 
It all comes down to work ethic.

Most rural people believe you reap what you sow.

Many inner city people believe the government should help more. They depend on more services daily.

Conservatives tend to push self reliance

Liberals want more government control.
 
Right, but you went for the opportunity correct? That is what the city has in abundance over rural areas. I don't mean just the actual # of good paying jobs themselves, but the opportunity to be around a high # of people who are successful and driven, and have the ability to get big projects or potential business ventures off the ground. Like that old saying that you are the amalgamation of the handful of people you spend the most time around. Just being in the mix and having the exposure is an advantage.

I agree mostly about intelligence and ability, because i am originally from a pretty rural area far away from any metropolitan areas and made my own way, I'm not impressed with just degrees. I review resumes from people that went to Ivy League schools all of the time, and I care far less about where they went and moreso about what they did with the opportunity, ie did they take up smart internships or fellowships, work anywhere or accomplish anything while they went to school or after?

Because you lived a lot of your life in cities, would you think it is important for your son to eventually have the exposure to that fast paced culture and opportunity also?





I went to the city because I had a preconceived notion that I would be happier there, mainly due to the higher amount of "modern" people. I also assumed that there was a greater opportunity for financial success. Despite a making a very good salary, I came to realize that there may be more financial opportunity back in my home town. There are many, many people here making over $100,000/year. That might not sound like a lot but you can also buy a nice house for $250,000.

Another thing which surprised me after moving back was the amount of interest people had taken up in politics, both locally and globally. I have also found just as much, if not more, diversity in opinion here than I ever did in a city. I used to think of everyone (rural) as a bunch of country bumpkins but they really aren't. The one thing I really liked about the city was all the women, all the flavors as well, I had a good time.

As far as my son, he visits cities all the time- in different countries too. He enjoys the subways, museums, architecture and the variety of restaurants. He is 9 years old so we try to expose him to as much as he can take in and soaks a lot in and loves it. However, usually after a few days, he is ready to leave. He prefers to go fishing or ride his bike or go hiking and camping- things he can't do in the city. Here, he can ride his bike around unsupervised and not worry about locking it up.

We'll keep taking him with us when we visit and I am sure he'll move to one when he goes to University, bu I don't feel like he is missing out on much.
 
I don't know exactly what they get. They aren't losing their behinds. No President, whether it be a Republican or a Democrat, is going to allow the Midwest to fail. These guys seem to forget that.
No offense to them but it doesn't sounds all that different from an urban person complaining that SNAPs aren't real food stamps because they don't cover enough food items or that Medicaid isn't a real social program because it doesn't offer enough coverage.

I'm not even saying those guys are wrong because it could very well be that they're right and that the subsidies they're asking for would be good for them and the country at large, just that it isn't fair to say they're not taking help from the government just because it isn't enough.
 
No offense to them but it doesn't sounds all that different from an urban person complaining that SNAPs aren't real food stamps because they don't cover enough food items or that Medicaid isn't a real social program because it doesn't offer enough coverage.

I'm not even saying those guys are wrong because it could very well be that they're right and that the subsidies they're asking for would be good for them and the country at large, just that it isn't fair to say they're not taking help from the government just because it isn't enough.

The gist of what I was able to pick up was that the corn subsidy does not allow them to gain a profit from corn that isn't sold.
 
Unfortunately, the War Room does not allow me to upload images from my phone. But if you look at a county map of the US voting results in 2016, you'll see that virtually all the big cities vote blue and all the rural areas of the country vote red.

Though this is not news, I don't see many people talking about this divide.

People that have jobs requiring hard physical labor, farming, drilling oil, working in the countryside, etc. almost always vote republican.

People sitting in cubicles, staring at a computer screen in a corporate building consistently vote democratic.

Why do you think that is?

This is the second post today that suggested that rural people are farmers. Has anyone actually been to rural areas?

We tend to live in the country or small towns and travel to work - usually 20-40 minutes.
 
Check out the concentration of educated citizens and citizens who have interacted with demographics outside of their own.

However, the dudes I know who dropped out of high school and overcame their heroin addiction to become mechanics and live down the street from my parents.....they are pretty brilliant.


I'd think that a larger percentage of people with college degrees are going to move to cities to maximize their job opportunities and earning potential
 
Cities are more depend on big government than rural counties.

The concept is empty, but cities are far more economically productive per person than non-cities. That's a very well-established fact.
 
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