Obama asks What’s the matter with Pennsylvania?
Posted on April 12, 2008
Filed Under Barak Obama, Culture
You would think a low income worker would be more impacted by the loss of his job than he would by gays in the military. You’d think that the rising cost of gasoline, bread, and milk would have a greater bearing on his life than would creationism being taught in school. You would think that not having health insurance during a medical crisis would be more painful than reinstating the inheritance tax - a tax they are unlikely to ever pay. What then explains the cognitive dissonance of so many on the lower rungs of the economic ladder consistently voting in support of a party that is hostile to their interests? Why do so many states in America’s heartland vote Republican?
Kansas used to be a hotbed of leftist activism, but is today so conservative that the partisan line in that state resides between the hard and moderate right with the left out of the equation altogether. The issue of economy has been extricated from the political debate replaced by a culture war that is so puzzling that it leads one to raise the question what is the matter with Kansas? That was in fact the title of Thomas Frank’s seminal work where this grand mystery of America was explored.
Barack Obama touched on this question at a fundraiser this week in remarks that were nothing but honest if not nuanced. Obama touched off a firestorm with Republicans and Democratic foes branding him as elitist and “out of touch”. Nothing Obama said deviated from reality.
The Republican reaction is not only predictable, but what is needed to keep this culture war rolling in perpetuity. Just look at the attack line, with words of elitism and hints of racism. It plays to our worst fears and tendencies at the expense of an honest and open discussion. But that’s what you do to keep the red states voting red.
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