Thanks for posting this, Sal. That's exactly how I feel about Obama's alleged "condescension." He's right on. And a refreshing change to hear him tell the truth like that. a
--- Sal Sunshine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >  > > Published on Sunday, April 13, 2008 by > CommonDreams.org > Finding Voters âBitter and Frustrated,â Obama is > Sounding Like Nader > by Dave Lindorff > > I havenât lived in rural Pennsylvania or in rural > Indiana, but I > have lived in rural upstate New York, in towns where > there are so few > Democrats that on some local election ballots, not a > single position, > from town council to justice of the peace, has a > contest. As in > China, your option is to vote for the Republican > candidate, or to > leave that line blank. > > And many of the people in these towns, uniformly > white, when they > talk politics, spend a lot of their time complaining > about black > people, immigrants (neither of whom can even be > found in the > vicinity) and the threat to their guns. > > Barack Obama is exactly right. > > In Hancock, NY and Spencer, NY, there are no factory > jobs. There used > to be in Hancock, but the companies where hundreds > of people used to > work have long since folded or moved south of the > border, courtesy of > the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) > aggressively promoted and > pushed through Congress by Bill and Hillary Clinton > during the 1990s. > In Spencer, there are no jobs because in the > free-for-all bidding by > companies for tax giveaways between communities, > Spencer had nothing > much to offer. The town is so dirt poor that when > the library board, > of which I was briefly president, got a measure on > the ballot to have > one extra dollar per taxpayer of school district > taxes allocated to > support the local little library, which was at that > time totally > supported by donations, the measure went down to > resounding defeat (I > was labeled a communist by some for promoting the > idea!). > > In 1992, neighbors in Spencer told me they were > voting for George H. > W. Bush-a patrician blue blood if ever there was > one-because Bill > Clinton, if elected âwould take away our guns.â > > Of course, he didnât, and had no intention of > doing so, but that > didnât matter. > > Donât get me wrong-the people in Hancock and > Spencer are good folks. > Iâm pretty sure many of them probably give a > higher proportion of > their meager incomes to charity than do millionaires > John McCain and > Hillary Clinton. But Obama is right that in their > angst and > frustration at seeing the good economic times pass > them by, at seeing > themselves abandoned by the federal government in > hard times, and at > seeing candidates promise them everything during > campaigns, only to > ignore them after winning, they are bitter and > frustrated. > > And they have a right to be, and they should be. > > One response to that bitterness and frustration is > that they are open > to the charlatans in both parties, and especially > the Republican > Party, who have played on their basest fears. Itâs > Republicans who > have whispered the poison in their ears that their > high taxes are > because âthe Blacksâ are getting all that > welfare money and are > getting all the jobs through âquotas.â Itâs > the Republicans who > have warned them about âhoardsâ of Mexicans > coming across the > border to steal their jobs. Itâs the Republicans > who have been > warning them that Democrats are going to take their > hunting rifles > and shotguns away. Itâs the Republicans and their > Christian > fundamentalist front men who have been saying that > the Democrats have > been causing the nationâs decline by supporting > licentiousness and > a âgayâ agenda. And itâs Republicans and > Democrats who have been > hyping the bogus issue of national defense to keep > people from > focusing on the deliberate dismantling of the US > economy that is > underway. (Over years of Republican and Democratic > administrations, > the tax contribution of US corporations to the > national budget has > fallen from 50% in 1940 to just 14% today. Between > 1996 and 2000, 61% > of all corporations and 39% or large corporations > paid no taxes at > all, and that situation has only gotten worse in the > Bush years.) > > Anything but the real issue, which is how to provide > funds so that > the children in places like Spencer and Hancock can > get a decent > education without bankrupting the local taxpayers, > how those > communities can get jobs again, so that their > children wonât have to > move out, how to ensure that everyone in town can > have health > insurance and access to medical care. > > Barack Obama is right. Iâve seen it in person. The > people in rural > America are bitter and frustrated, and after years > of being played by > politicians, they fall victim to the charlatans who > tell them itâs > all because of âthe Blacks,â or the immigrants, > or who tell them > that their guns are in danger. Or they turn to > religions that preach > division or apocalypse-a concept that offers the > chance of a final, > delicious revenge against the rich and the powerful > oppressors on > Wall Street and in Washington. > > Now I donât know what Obama has in mind to try and > turn things > around for these good people, but itâs a start > that heâs at least > talking to them, not down, but honestly. > > His talk (http://pa.barackobama.com/page/s/paletter) > in response to > attacks on his statement about rural residents being > âbitter and > frustratedâ is as good as anything Ralph Nader has > said about the > power and mendacity of the ruling political elite in > America. > > As he put it, to wild applause at a rally in Terra > Haute, Indiana, > explaining the difficulty of appealing to the rural > working class > voters in Pennsylvania: > > âFor the last 25 years theyâve seen jobs shift > overseas, theyâve > seen their economies collapse, they have lost their > jobs, theyâve > lost their pensions, theyâve lost their health > care. And for 25-30 > years, Democrats and Republicans have come before > then and said > weâre gonna make your community better. Weâre > gonna make it right. > > âAnd nothing ever happens. And of course theyâre > bitter, and of > course theyâre frustrated. You would be too, in > fact many of you > are. Because the same thing has happened here in > Indiana. The same > thing has happened across the border in Decatur. > (Wild applause) The > same thing has happened across the country. > Nobodyâs looking out for > you. Nobody is thinking about you. > > âAnd so people end up, they donât vote on > economic issues, because > === message truncated === Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
