This will come as a shock to some of you, especially judging from some of the sterling comments I've seen in the past here on DKos, but not all rural people are dumbshits. I know, it's a radical idea, but hear me out.
In several past diaries, but especially this one by VirginiaBell, certain comments have made it clear to me that there is a basic misunderstanding as to who and what those living in rural areas are. Some of this manifests in the form of condescending comments from city dwellers who are convinced that rural people are stupid for living where they do.
I should point out at this point that most rural counties are "red" and most cities are "blue".
Now then... this particular diary stems from the great "shut up and listen" diary by VetGrl. It made the excellent and sorely needed point that if people did more listening and less talking AT other people, more could be learned on both sides. Someone within that diary further said something to the effect of "there is a difference between listening and waiting to speak."
The reason I'm writing this diary is to both clear up some misconceptions and to help Dems understand how to talk WITH rural people so that we can begin to turn these areas from "red" to "blue" to use the common terms.
I live in the middle of nowhere (30 miles west of Yosemite) in a red district in California. My nearest town is 12 miles away and has about 1500 people in it. All around me is Stanislaus National Forest and large tracts of livestock ranchland, dotted with smaller parcels such as our 20 acres. We are homesteaders and choose to live out here where we grow our own food and make our own way as self-sufficiently as we can.
I searched for over 6 months to find any local Dem party activity or presence in the two counties nearest to me (I'm right on the county line). It's extremely easy, OTOH, to find all the Republican groups and right-wing radio stations that I could ever need. This is the first problem to be discussed - how Democrats congregate in the cities and ignore everyone else.
For some reason, Dems seem to think that as long as you have a large base in a city so that you can meet for rallies (or, when there's no rally, for coffee), you don't need anything else. You expect everyone to migrate to the cities, either for the day or permanently, so that you can gather together and strategize. For me, the nearest city (red Modesto) is a 1.5 hours drive away. The blue cities (Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, Sacramento, etc.) are 3 hours from me. But this doesn't seem to bother the city Dems, who sip their lattes and drive their hybrid cars to the meeting that is conveniently close to their homes. It's a HUGE deal for me to take the entire day to go to one of your meetings, but when I question the wisdom of this, I'm told to form my own group (i.e. I get blown off). Not terribly helpful or supportive.
Right here on DKos we rural Dems have been looked down on as poor country bumpkins, too stupid to realize how wonderful it is to live in the city where the REAL Dems live - cities have light rail, and coffee houses, and art museums! It's where the civilized people hang out, after all. Farming and homesteading is so... dirty and icky.
Which brings me to my next point. Ignoring the obvious subjective value judgment on how cities are "better" than the country, and ignoring the fact of who grows the very food the city Dems buy at the organic co-op... the reason many rural folks don't like Dems is that they feel looked down on... talked down to. Like Kerry and Edwards and Hillary Clinton think they're better than us, and that rubs us the wrong way. Some people seem to think the "elitist liberal" idea is nothing more than a right-wing-contrived meme with no basis in truth. But the problem is, it's not. Sometimes it IS true.
When city Dems talk about the environment, it's in vague terms and concepts. They make wide-ranging statements about "alternative energy" and "global warming" without making any connections to real people, and especially not rural people. This may interest city Dems, but those of us with the dirt under our fingernails see very different things related to the environment. We care about the health of our farm soils. We care when the Forest Service sprays Roundup and 2,4D all around us to kill everything but their crop of pine trees. We care about the decline of indicator species like amphibians that show how pesticides are being spread. We care about being allowed to keep farm animals without the threat of the National Animal ID System which would require them to be microchipped and tracked with spy satellites.
When city Dems talk about "alternative energy", it's always involving things of direct impact to rural people, like wind farms and biofuels. Nobody seems to question where these wind farms will go as long as they're not near the cities to ruin the view, and nobody seems to question who will grow all these biofuel crops when all the family farms are gone and the crops are all bioengineered (who cares if the genetic material spreads to wild plants or other farms?).
See, the thing is that there's actually a LOT of overlap with many Dem ideals and what rural dwellers want and need. The problem is that these Dem leaders and candidates tend to TELL us what we want and need, and not LISTEN to what we want and need. They truly don't understand the mind of a rural person, and it seems they're not very interested in hearing about it since the sparsely-populated rural areas don't have the quantity of votes they're after in one convenient location - one-stop-shopping.
Sure, some folks out here are church-going types who are only concerned about God, Guns and Gays, but I know them and they're simply not that one-dimensional as a whole. Some of us are bright blue and are hungry for open-minded leadership. Some of us are purple moderates hungry for help solving problems and an end to corruption. Some of us are bright red and get pissed off when city liberals tell us we can't have a gun to defend ourselves or go hunting for our dinner.
I host a monthly sewing circle and I'm the only Democrat who attends. As long as we don't talk about politics, religion or Fox news we get along fine. Because they're good hearted people who (usually) know BS when they see it. Up here, there's a level of trust between folks, where a handshake seals a deal and reputations travel as quickly as the next potluck.
We want a good future for our children and grandchildren. We want a fair shake for everyone. We want a healthy environment or we wouldn't be living in a place of such incredible natural beauty. We care intensely about privacy and treasure it. We want to help feed other people. We're proud and self-sufficient but not so proud that we can't ask for help when we need it. We give to others with generosity and as a community. We love America.
Rather than making assumptions about "those stupid red staters" and talking AT us about how dumb we are, I think it would be more productive to first LISTEN to us. What do we need? What upsets us? What are our concerns? WHY are we predominately voting red?
The next step might be to help organize some local activities in rural areas as a show of good faith. Help run a food or clothing giveaway. Support free medical screenings. Drive someone who can't to the store or to the polls. Provide a service of some kind to the community. Don't beat us over the head with propaganda, just be kind and giving. We'll remember who you are later. Remember, we know BS when we see it. Many Texas ranchers, all on their own, have sniffed out that Bush is "all hat and no cattle".
Now that you've honestly listened to peoples' concerns and helped the local community, you can begin making inroads more easily. You'll be more trusted, a friendly familiar face. NOW you can gently begin talking about how to make things better. Rather than going off on how awful Bush/Fox/Limbaugh are, take the high road and make people aware of upcoming Senate votes that could affect them directly. Let them know about NAIS, or how Monsanto holds joint patents with the USDA. Become interested in the things that concern us so that you can inform us without being condescending.
Talking with us as real people, as opposed to TV stereotypes, will "win hearts and minds." Helping residents of "red" areas understand how their interests overlap and/or mesh with your interests is the key to getting more Dems into office in 2006 and 2008. Calling us "stupid" over and over is obviously not a good way to make friends and influence people. Making friends and taking the gentle path is a horse of a different color. Or maybe even a blue donkey if you can swing it.
Good luck, y'all!