Posted on 04/28/2005 9:38:04 AM PDT by wvgasman
April 28, 2005 Red state?
West Virginia shift
Several times, we have posed this question for political experts: Why did West Virginia — long a Roosevelt-and-Kennedy Democratic “blue state” — become a Republican “red state” in the past two presidential elections, despite 2-to-1 Democratic registration?
Why did this low-income state vote for the party of the rich — a party openly slashing help for common Americans and giving huge rewards to the wealthy?
We never received an explanation from any of the state’s political professors or other societal analysts. But an answer was offered by one of the world’s premier journals, Le Monde of Paris.
In a long report titled “What’s the matter with West Virginia?” the French newspaper said the Mountain State has been pulled to the right by exaggerated patriotism, love of guns, Bible Belt fundamentalism, resentment of liberal intellectuals, and defense of the coal industry against environmentalism.
The report (the title mimics the brilliant book, What’s the Matter With Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America) actually was written just before last fall’s balloting. The author, international observer Serge Halimi, toured the state, interviewing voters.
“George Bush’s policies in his first term mainly benefited the rich, but surprisingly he is most popular in the poorest states, which were former union and Democratic strongholds,” the report began. It added: “The history of the United States would have been very different if West Virginia had not broken with tradition last time.”
The author found various reasons for West Virginia’s rightward swing. He said he talked with “a brother and sister in the state capital, Charleston, who will vote Republican for ‘religious reasons’ — yet the brother is a schoolteacher and he has no health insurance.”
The analysis said environmentalists are disliked by mountain folk because they’re “suspected of endangering the few remaining jobs in industry that relocations and pit closures have spared. And the issue of gun control plays into the hands of the most reactionary candidates.” The writer noted that West Virginia schools close for deer season, and “several thousand animals are slaughtered in just a few hours.”
Le Monde said President Bush’s invasion of Iraq didn’t “dent his popularity” in West Virginia, because “most Americans support the idea of a blow for a blow.” They wanted to strike Iraq in retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attack, even though Iraq had no connection to that tragedy. Instead of worrying about the war, it said, West Virginians focus on “local concerns: faith, patriotism, mining and guns.”
The Parisian paper said Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry seemed snobbish and unsure, while Republican Bush was simplistic and direct. It said Bush’s “anti-intellectual stance and his feel for ordinary people connect with the expectations and resentments of his least-fortunate supporters” — even though “he is well-known for his tongue-twisted Bushisms and at times can seem almost simple-minded.”
“The Republicans’ phony populism and constant insistence on issues of cultural identity — religion, hunting and tradition — take advantage of the fact that people have little time for social history.”
Le Monde said the GOP, Fox News and other right-wing voices stirred working-class resentment against superior-acting left-wingers — “the liberal elite, a horde of quibbling lawyers, haughty academics, depraved journalists and know-it-all actors.” It added: “This con trick is possible only because the smugness of those in the know is even more insufferable than the insolence of the rich.”
Does this explain why West Virginia became a red state in the past two elections? We aren’t sure — but we haven’t heard any different explanations.
The real question, of course, is whether the conservative shift is permanent. Has West Virginia become part of the Republican “Solid South,” or will the Democratic majority regain its footing? Since the Democratic Party represents working families, and the Mountain State consists mainly of them, we hope the pendulum swings back, and the state’s electoral votes cease going to the party of the rich
>>superior-acting left-wingers — “the liberal elite,<<
Only liberals describe themselves as such.
Thank God they're learning nothing. Carry on DUmmies!
It's funny. Without knowing it, this article shows EXACTLY why WV has swung R. It's not really the reasons they talked about, it's because they so clearly don't understand the people there or what is important to them.
Showing on the History Channel currently....pretty interesting stuff. Get the times for the show at http://www.HistoryChannel.com
Isn't it funny that the list of the richest Dems is the same as the list of the dumbest?
West Virginia is the classic example of the failures of Democrat programs. It has vast resources and is beautiful. Rather than use these vehicles for economic development the residents have surrendered their power to government and unions. The oil fields in Texas (a right to work state) are producing far better paying jobs than the coal mines (unionized) ever have.
LOL, a West VA newspaper editorial is relying on a Parisian paper for an explanation of their state politics?
Uh, who is out of touch, again?
You know what?
I read that sentence too and I thought "Gee, the reporter obviously has no political bias showing here".
Why not ask why rich lefties vote for RATs and higher taxes?
The Gazette is a joke; fortunately the Daily Mail, the other Charleston paper, is more conservative, though unfortunately the Sunday Gazette-Mail keeps the Gazette's lefty bias, so I've got to choose between cornpone leftism or the elite leftism of the times when I drink my Sunday coffee.
:-(
Unlike several posters, I think that WV will stay red. Despite the high proportion of RAT office holders, you have to keep in mind that for many years this was a one party state, and there are many RATs who would be GOP in nearly any other state, like Gov. Manchin, for example. Because it's been a one party state, the GOP hasn't had much of a farm system to bring up candidates, though that seems to be changing for the better.
The Kleagle is a disgrace to the state and to the country, but a lot of people hold their noses and vote for him since he sure brings back the swag, which is not inconsequential in a state as economically depressed as WV.
Whoever wrote this dirt piece doesn't even realize his own contradiction. Those smug "in the know" types ARE the rich. What many ordinary people can't stand is those snooty self-important rich liberals pretending they AREN'T rich while condescending to the inferior "little" people to show how much they "care." Furthermore, they outnumber rich Republicans--who don't, BTW, go around with an attitude of superiority, and who think anyone has a chance to get rich, if they work hard at the right things.
This editorial sounds like a study that the DNC conducted about faith based voters. The Far Left wonders "How can people vote against their economic interests". It shows how clueless and arrogant they are. Faith based voters will reject the Dems every time they push abortion and gay marriage.
There aren't really any new union jobs in the state. They are lucky to keep the ones they have. Coal mining is a shadow of its former self. Strip mining is popular, because it is often small. No unions. Also, a lot the state's children left for right to work states (like me).
"West Virginians focus on local concerns: faith, patriotism, mining and guns.";
Good outlook on life in my judgement.
Your likely right. I know I have experience some prejudice in searching for jobs (I am white). It was because I was from WV. I know a lot of people from wv were their job search averaged nearly a year.
Most people until recently had no idea about Byrd's past. The WV media is horrible.
That is the only part of the state that has really grown. It has really pushed home prices up. Look at the home prices in some parts of the state. The High Life parlors made me sick. What moron considers table gaming economic development.
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