Quote:
Originally Posted by mateo45
|
First off, I'm not a native. I'm 2 generations removed re-adopted resident making observations. Short answer to your question: It's a reflection of the nonsense inflicted on them for centuries.
Details...
Appalachian culture is notoriously clannish, to it's survival being caught in crossfire of power struggles, and to it's detriment in it's pernicious isolation. John Raese married into money and inherited power he's never been worthy of exercising and everyone knows it. Sincere grass roots republicans know they can't win without money so he's the only one on the R ticket. He exploits isolation with whisper campaigns through his mini media empire shenanigans. A FOX affiliate. He's never won an election but spends his revenue from media promoting himself at the expense of the best interests of the entire state. He's even got Morgantown nouveau riche throwing rocks at the most destitute counties on the far southern tier and conspiring to have the entire panhandle cede from the state by merging with Virgina proper right here on this forum. CD obliged this endeavor by segregating the WV forum by tribal city regions. Combined, it's taking gerrymandering to a whole other level.
How Raese pulled this one off was the old trope... the nemesis of coal bringing the state economy to a screeching halt, and anyone but Obama. Note the original primary went overwhelmingly in favor of Hillary. Her environmental & energy plan was similar to Obama's, but represented a more gradual tapering off of coal dependent economy. They trusted her commitment to fairness and her sensitivity to honor the integrity of their culture. Obama came across as radical change in nearly every published display. Specifically, he failed to convey an understanding of Appalachian culture and seemingly is indifferent to them on a good day. Best I can describe it, Appalachian culture has more in common with NA culture than any other I've encountered in USA. It's subtle and intangible. Mountain laurels, like European adele weiss, do not transplant or conform to contrived cultivation techniques. The elevation, the clay in their blood, and their meandering life paths mirroring the rivers are a part of who they are. Materialism is a trap they prefer to avoid, but artificial scarcity has always been a tool used against them when they economically participate. Rapid cycling boom and bust periods never allowed for stability the way New England had a chance to layer and diversify. Rural poor are more prone to barter as a result. The past century youth have been primed at an early age to seek their fortunes out of state.
Natives are suspicious and averse to authority because it's been notoriously abused for centuries. Anyone deliberately or incidentally standing in the way of the object of desire- coal or NG- has been reliably mowed down. Losing JFK was a knife in their hearts. The reign of terror era wasn't only inflicted on blacks. It was native Appalachia too. The media convinced itself this is klan country because an acerbic vocal minority got a microphone does little to recognize the majority have been, and continue to be, persecuted by the klan (and black supremacists) as well. They're baited by both sides and most want nothing to do with either. The installed perception of Obama among those in remote hills is that he's a sly version of Alton Maddox. The majority south of the panhandle outright shunned Sarah Palin and Ted Nugent Tea as no shows to their gathering with tumbleweeds running by them both. Kanawha county 20 somethings banded together and confronted Fred Phelps with a protest of their own that never made national news. See what they're rejecting, how they're rejecting, and why?
Back to Judd-- war games are regular as rain in local/ state politics and republicans get by on it because they have nothing to lose in doing so. There are no merit based debates that take place except when hosted by an org like PBS offering a level field for all to stand on merits in a Senate race, but never for all races. Not even for most races most of the time. NPR affiliate WVPubcast operates on a shoe string and little time or resources can be dedicated to in depth journalism about any topic of note by majors, so you can imagine how little they can invest. A self declared democrat running for office is not screened, and republicans run on democrat tickets as a rule, not the exception. Republican moderates are shunned not by the majority r's, or all others, but by the beast controlling the GOP printing their script.
Many election contests are entirely unopposed on the ballot-- I've never seen that anywhere I've lived in USA. The ability for the majority voters to be reached with information about any given candidate is severely strained through the volume of robocalls/ mail ads and the theatric lens of TV/radio presentations. Internet access is not a given throughout the state. I live in the state capitol and I'm hard pressed to know who the vast majority of candidates are without going far out of my way to track it down. Even then, if they're a new name, their origins are obscured like a rock that mysteriously surfaces from the soil in the rain, and obscured also by a lack of campaign funds. Sight unseen, Judd won 41% by default because the volume of information voters had in the hills was 4yrs of 24/7 100% negative Obama and the presumption that Judd was a non- politically connected ordinary citizen guilty of nothing more than refusing to sell out to special interests. There is a prejudice against the well heeled in WV because in their direct experience with those who've acquired wealth did so by legalized theft & nepotism. There is a disharmonious relationship between poor and middle class here as a result, but what few wealthy class do exist in this state only reinforce the perception with hoarding uncharitable behavior.
Notice the populations with internet access did not vote the same. The capitol's county, Kanawha, registered 28% Judd. Among those, how many were actual democrats, and how many had no internet access due to poverty?
FCC's program targets $4.6M toward boosting rural W.Va. broadband access
Quote:
West Virginia has the lowest rural broadband access in the nation with about 571,000 residents — nearly 60 percent of the rural population — lacking access to broadband, the agency said.
While many areas of West Virginia have access to high-speed Internet, the federal agency said that in other places like Hampshire, Hardy, Monroe and Pocahontas counties, more than 95 percent of their populations lack broadband access.
|
Translation: large %'s of the population are at the mercy of local media (almost all affiliated with FOX) and the echo chamber barbershop to let them know what's going on outside these hills.
Here are more of the technical details...
Statehouse Beat: How did Judd get 41% of vote? - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -
If MSM had followed through asking their reaction to the results, they would have reported that the editorial pages were filled with annoyed and embarrassed residents resentful that meddlesome out of state interests (Judd & backers) inflicted themselves on them... AGAIN. Truth is too hard to reach, only reinforcing their mistrust of government and reflexive habit of isolationism. See how this works, and why John Raese is doing what he's doing? He preys on insecurities, maintains ignorance, and divided, they're easily pushed around. Invest in group endeavors in the community, they send someone to take a dump on it and dispirit them out of investing or taking pride in their community.
Considering how many Churches there are in the city of Charleston, there are few if any clergy talking publicly about the monotonous political punishment of virtue going on for centuries.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
These people think romney cares about them? I guess hate is stronger though.
