BigRedBuster Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Sure....but, it is Rural America that has put the Republicans in office. Don't just look at the Presidential race. Look at Congress. The Senate has two representatives from each state. Every state is also represented in the House. Even when you get to blue states, there are counties that are very rural. If those go Republican, that increases the chance that a Republican from that state will end up in the House. Also, I believe 31 states have Republican governors. Link to comment
knapplc Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Weird thing about that is, only about 15% of the population resides in rural areas according to 2014 data. So it isn't just rural America that is fueling the Democrats' failures. Gerrymandering plays a huge role in legislative districts, and the Republicans have masterfully changed district lines to benefit themselves. 3 Link to comment
Fru Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Closing nearly a thousand polling places since 2012 probably had a part in it too. 1 Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Weird thing about that is, only about 15% of the population resides in rural areas according to 2014 data. So it isn't just rural America that is fueling the Democrats' failures. Gerrymandering plays a huge role in legislative districts, and the Republicans have masterfully changed district lines to benefit themselves. I'm all for fixing the gerrymandering problem. But, point holds even more firm with that issue. Republicans control more states and therefore control the legislative districts. I stand by my point that if the Dems want to gain power, they have to stop talking down their noses at flyover states and talking with us about issues. Here's an example of their issue. I don't have any hard facts to show this but, my feeling is that a higher percentage of people in rural areas own their own business compared to urban areas. You have farmers who own farms or small businesses in small towns. Urban areas have more large corporations that employ huge numbers of people. Well....small business owners tend to view Democrats as people who want to tax them more, put more regulations on them and many times talk as though THEY are the problem as evil business owners taking advantage of employees. Sorry, that attitude business owners get from the Democrats is a problem. Link to comment
TGHusker Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I think someone like Cory Booker should be the new face of the Dem party and not Elizabeth Warren. While Liz is respected on the Dem side she can easily be painted as a leftist crackpot - fair or not. Cory has the youth and the Dems need the next generation to take over. I thought the Repubs would have gone wt the youth movement this year but Trump another old guy was the nominee. If Trump gets reelected, in 8 years, the Republican bench will still have plenty of relatively young guys - Paul, Ryan, Cruz, Rubio will all still be under 55 plus there are many others earning their wings. When you have a pipeline - as Knapp mentioned aided by gerrymandering - you can develop a deep bench. Trump's election has also opened the door to places that have been difficult for repubs - Michigan and Penn and a few other states where he came close. So, if he doesn't screw it up, he could be opening up more doors in those states to elect repub congressmen in the future. However, if he does screw it up, we'll get the Dem bounce back in 2018 and then anything is possible in 2020. Link to comment
knapplc Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Here's an example of their issue. I don't have any hard facts to show this but, my feeling is that a higher percentage of people in rural areas own their own business compared to urban areas. You have farmers who own farms or small businesses in small towns. Urban areas have more large corporations that employ huge numbers of people. Well....small business owners tend to view Democrats as people who want to tax them more, put more regulations on them and many times talk as though THEY are the problem as evil business owners taking advantage of employees. Sorry, that attitude business owners get from the Democrats is a problem. That's a perception I've heard as well. I don't think it's true, though. I don't think there are more small-business owners in rural areas than in urban areas. I also don't think the idea that Democrats are against small businesses is a reality. I think that myth is pushed by large corporations through the politicians they own to influence the minds of voters so they can get major legislation repealed or revamped. The EPA is a great example of this - it has long been a target for large businesses who care nothing for the environment and very much about their bottom line and returns for their investors. Republicans traditionally have been more open to these lobbyists, and the people who fund right-wing news sources - which are largely consumed by rural people - want those regulations removed. The result is we now have an administration interested in neutering those regulatory agencies. You don't even have to be a Fox News consumer to be influenced. If everyone in your town watches Fox all day, everyone you interact with will have that influence and in turn influence you. I see it every day in my town. Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Here's an example of their issue. I don't have any hard facts to show this but, my feeling is that a higher percentage of people in rural areas own their own business compared to urban areas. You have farmers who own farms or small businesses in small towns. Urban areas have more large corporations that employ huge numbers of people. Well....small business owners tend to view Democrats as people who want to tax them more, put more regulations on them and many times talk as though THEY are the problem as evil business owners taking advantage of employees. Sorry, that attitude business owners get from the Democrats is a problem. That's a perception I've heard as well. I don't think it's true, though. I don't think there are more small-business owners in rural areas than in urban areas. I also don't think the idea that Democrats are against small businesses is a reality. I think that myth is pushed by large corporations through the politicians they own to influence the minds of voters so they can get major legislation repealed or revamped. The EPA is a great example of this - it has long been a target for large businesses who care nothing for the environment and very much about their bottom line and returns for their investors. Republicans traditionally have been more open to these lobbyists, and the people who fund right-wing news sources - which are largely consumed by rural people - want those regulations removed. The result is we now have an administration interested in neutering those regulatory agencies. You don't even have to be a Fox News consumer to be influenced. If everyone in your town watches Fox all day, everyone you interact with will have that influence and in turn influence you. I see it every day in my town. The ACA was a HUGE issue with business owners. I believe that one issue with business owners pushed many of them to vote for Trump. And...since I don't know any statistic that would show it....we will just have to agree to disagree that there is a higher percentage of business owners in rural areas than in urban areas. Link to comment
Landlord Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I would disagree with the small business assertion as well. You drive the streets of most major cities (sans official/corporate downtown area) and it's completely full of small businesses. My street has like 4 different local mom n' pap vietnamese places, a chinese bakery, two independent grocery stores and two small pizza shops within like 3 blocks. But, interestingly enough, anecdotally, you don't see hardly any chain restaurants in the cities. Fast food, sure, but only the heavy hitters, and no sign of Applebees, TGIF, Outback, etc. anywhere. I'd say it's probably equally proportional. Link to comment
TGHusker Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Millions of people still voted Democrat at the top of the ticket than Republican this year. This is true, but the alternative was Donald Trump. My vote for Hillary was the single most distasteful vote I've ever cast. If the Republicans had proffered nearly any other candidate I think Hillary would have been buried. Why the GOP didn't get together and throw their collective support behind Kasich early on is something I'll never understand. I think a Kasich/Rubio ticket or visa versa would have been outstanding. I think we had the young conservatives (Cruz, Paul, Rubio,) beating up on each other in the primary, the moderates doing the same (Jeb, Kasich, Cristy) - all leaving room for the 'disenfranchised' grumbling voter to pull for Trump. While the the others were beating up on each other - Trump picks up the spoils and enough cross over voters in the open primaries to pull it off. Link to comment
TGHusker Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Maybe the ratio of small business owners to overall population in rural communities is higher than in the more populated states. Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Maybe the ratio of small business owners to overall population in rural communities is higher than in the more populated states. That's what I'm saying....when you lump in farmers....etc. But....if people want to disagree....don't really care. Link to comment
Moiraine Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 My mom has around 10 employees. She loves the ACA because 3 of her employees were uninsurable before it and she's happy for them. As for the argument about small business percentages, it seems hard to find the data. So just going with my feeling... When it comes to retail I assume big cities have a much higher % of small businesses. When a business like Walmart opens in a small town it devastates most/all small businesses. Cities are able to withstand it better and in some cases they even ban those companies. On the other hand, I would guess most factories/corporations are located in cities. Maybe the whole thing is balanced due to that. Link to comment
Fru Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 "I don't have any hard facts for the following assertion, but I'm gonna plow ahead anyway" k. Link to comment
Moiraine Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 "I don't have any hard facts for the following assertion, but I'm gonna plow ahead anyway" k. You talking to me? It's what everyone's doing on the topic. Would you prefer if we pretend we have data to back it up? I actually tried to look for it. Link to comment
Fru Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 "I don't have any hard facts for the following assertion, but I'm gonna plow ahead anyway" k. You talking to me? It's what everyone's doing on the topic. Would you prefer if we pretend we have data to back it up? I actually tried to look for it. No I was referring to a part in BRB's post that literally said "I don't have any hard facts to show this but, my feeling is..." Apologies for the confusion. I should've quoted the post. Link to comment
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