I didn’t know Trae was working on a documentary. I’ll be on the lookout for that.

I'm pretty sure polls have consistently shown that rural America is indeed more conservative on all major issues compared to the rest of the country. Of course we still need to pursue their votes, but I don't see us winning majorities in rural areas unless we abandon many of our principles. I can be wrong, of course.

emphasize democratic principles and polices using "freedom" as a foundation.

For instance, NEVER ARGUE about abortion being legal, argue the freedom for people to have their lives controlled by themselves and not govt. GOP has done a great job using this logic, we seem to fail at.

and yet democratic continue to fail at getting this

Shave five or six points off the enemy's edge in rural areas, and the urban centers could swing just about any state in the Union.


"I am a man with principles, and chief among them is flexibility."

One is the namesake, the other is a Nebraska state party chair. Both have been sounding the alarm to compete everywhere, known as the Dean 50-state strategy.

For all of the other issues, the late Ed Schultz encapsulated rural and working class voters regularly. That, for the most part, went away when he died, and hasn't been picked up since in a meaningful way.

again, for several years now yet nothing is happening.

I followed Ed S. and appreciated his perspectives on labor issues when he was on MSNBC and even RT for a while, good guy who's missed. We need these kind of voices, not knownothing conservatives like Silicon JD Vance.

Jesus and abortion and they line up to vote for them.

Sorry but this old gal has roots in East Tennessee. I've family in Greene, Hamblen, Jefferson, & Knox counties & own property in Blount county. Their history is not the same as the history of Appalachian West Virginia.
In Appalachian East Tennessee, religion controls viewpoints on most everything.

I read an East Tenn friend's FB page where she mentioned voting democratic and inevitably, the angry screams begin about socialism**. Nevermind that tRump is pals with Putin. Walk in to any eatery with a tv & you'll find Fake blaring.

Not long ago a sweet high school friend found my email and we recently began a multi email communication, until it happened: the standard assumption that I'm religious. Because, if I'm not, I'm going to hell. Shamefully I've kept the poor girl hanging for 2 wks now because I don't know how I handle this & stay true & authentic to myself. Suggestions, anyone? It's not the same as my telling my sweet, often religious DU friends that I'm an atheist. These East Tennesseans feel as if I just told them "I'm from Mars and I came to kill babies."

😪

I love Trae and think he's funny but he, imho, is making too light of their hardcore religious beliefs. But this is not to say that the area is densely hardcore red. It's not but it's just that too much of it is.


**Oh, what does socialism have to do with Christianity? This:
2 Thessalonians 3:10 King James Version (KJV): 10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." Oh, the "Good Book" is full of contradictions, is it not? And these folks use these contradictions to justify their greed and bigotry. Cue LBJ's famous quote about southern folks. TRump is still using it. Sigh.

in his wiki if accurate.

- (Wiki, Trae Crowder) Another major influence on his progressive social beliefs, he claimed, was his close relationship with his gay uncle. Crowder is an atheist, as he explained that he had personally never "been particularly down with Jesus" because of the conservative social views on homosexuality held by most Christian denominations, especially in the area where he was raised.