John Nichols is The Nation’s National-Affairs Correspondent. He is the Author of Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America, forthcoming from Nation Books this Fall, and Co-Author, with Robert W. McChesney, of People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy. This is from his current piece in the Latest, The Nation.
How the Democrats can Take Back Rural America, by Party Leaders taking Direction from actual Rural Democrats and Independent Progressives.
Millions of Americans poured into the streets of Washington, New York, Los Angeles, and other Cities on January 21th, 2017, raising a mighty outcry against the newly Inaugurated Trump and the Policies of the Republican Party. But this National show of Resistance, which has only grown Louder as the President has Confirmed the Worst Fears about his Agenda, isn’t merely an Urban or Blue-State Phenomenon.
“Resist Now!” was the Defiant Message on one of the Handmade Signs carried by dozens of Activists in Rural Walworth County, Wisconsin, on January 19th, as they Marched through the Streets of Elkhorn, the County Seat, to Oppose President Trump. “Health care for all! Education for all! Equal pay for all! Workers’ rights for all!” chanted Ellen Holly, a Veteran Educator who helped Organize the March. “An America that is for all of us!”
The Multiracial, Multi-Ethnic Crowd cheered Speeches in English and Spanish. They Pledged to Defend Immigrants, the LGBTQ Community, and a Woman’s Right to Choose. They promised to Block Trump’s Agenda as well as that of their own Congressman, House Speaker Paul Ryan. They did it all in Elkhorn on the Night before Trump’s Inauguration because, Holly said, “We couldn’t wait to start resisting. We thought about going to Washington, but we knew we needed to be here, to say: ‘We are ready to do this!’”
Holly is not alone. There are Millions like her, and they are the Base of Progressive Politics in Rural America. They want a Bold Opposition to Trump and to Politics as Usual. They’re not looking for Bland Centrism, empty Talking Points, or a Condescending “listening tour” by elite Politicians who never really listen. And if they are called to Action, they will Rally others like them, they will Build a Progressive Base, and they will turn out at Election time.
Unfortunately, Democratic Leaders are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this Critical Mission. Matt Barron, a Veteran Activist from Western Massachusetts, Quit the Party this year, arguing that “Democrats at the DNC, DCCC, DSCC, and in the Congressional Steering and Policy Committees are brain-dead when it comes to supporting and endowing rural electoral infrastructure.”
What Democratic Leaders fail to understand is that the Problem isn’t Based in Rural America; it’s Based in their own Negligence and Ignorance. Otherwise Intelligent Politicians and Pundits keep arguing about whether the Party needs to Remake itself to Win back Older White Working-Class Voters who have been Backing Republicans since the days of Ronald Reagan. But they’re way off base: Democrats don’t need some Grand Plan to sweep the Rural Precincts where the GOP has historically done well. Trump wasn’t the First Republican to Win Rural America, John McCain won the vast Majority of Rural Counties in 2008, though he was Wiped out by Obama Nationally. The Republican Advantage in the Senate has for years been based on the Party’s Strength in Rural States. What Democrats need is something much simpler: an Agenda for Winning Back Regions that once Elected Senators like Tom Harkin and Russ Feingold, and to do well enough in the rest of Rural America so that the combination of Urban, Suburban, and Rural votes tips in their Party’s favor.
Instead of poring over Reams of “Big Data” in D.C., or looking for a Book that Explains why Rural Voters feel Neglected, Democrats need to get out more. They can begin by taking several Steps:
- Democrats must recognize that Rural Voters are a necessary part of any serious strategy for improving the Party’s fortunes. Congressional Progressive Caucus first Vice Chair Mark Pocan is a Wisconsin Democrat whose District includes two Counties that backed both him and Trump. As Pocan explains, because of the Gerrymandering of House Districts and the Senate’s bias toward Small States, “it’s pretty clear that a lot of the districts we need to win are in rural America.” And that goes double for the State Legislative Districts that Democrats must carry in order to have a Voice in the Redistricting process after 2020.
- Trump’s failures with regard to Rural America must be incorporated into the broader Democratic critique of his Administration and the GOP-controlled Congress. Trump, who didn’t even bother to name a Secretary of Agriculture until the day before his Inauguration, has shown shockingly little interest in the concerns of the People who Elected him. His Policies are making Small-Town Voters anxious about the future of Rural Schools, Rural Hospitals, and the Rural Economy. When Trump’s Budget Plan was released in May, Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, declared: “Clearly, this budget fails agriculture and rural America.”
- Democrats must address Rural concerns in their broader Party Initiatives. The Antitrust Agenda that they’ve begun to embrace has particular resonance for Rural America, where big Agribusiness and Big-Box Retail Chains call far too many shots. If Chemical Companies and Corporate Seed Companies start to merge, says National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson, “we’ll have fewer choices. So that means there will be less competition and fewer things to compete over, and that’s not a good thing. It’s not good for any of us in agriculture.”
- Democrats must get beyond the stereotypes about Rural Voters. Yes, there are plenty of Gun-Toting, Socially Conservative Trump enthusiasts. But there are also struggling Single Mothers looking for some help when it comes to Educating their Kids, maintaining Access to Health Care, and addressing the Ravages of the Opioid Epidemic. There are African-American Farmers who want the Agriculture Department to have their back. There are Latinos, many of them Immigrants, who are Revitalizing Small Towns and sustaining Farms across the Midwest. These are the Rural, Small-Town, and Small-City Voters whom Democrats need to focus on, along with Progressive Farmers, Union Members, and all of the other Constituencies that could dramatically boost the Rural Turnout for them. “Any farmer will tell you that trying to harvest a crop without applying any nutrients to the soil is a fool’s errand,” Matt Barron explains. “In politics, failure to extend any care and feeding to the grassroots results in poor harvests of votes.”
- Party Leaders must respond to, and take direction from, actual Rural Democrats and Independent Progressives. Grassroots Activists have been begging for help and calling in warnings for years. They’ve urged the Party to practice an Adversarial style of Populism that takes the side of Small Farmers who work from dawn to dusk; of Workers worried about Layoffs at the Machine Shop; of Teachers who Pay for School Supplies out of their Own Pocket because State Aid has been Cut; of Main Street Business Owners who can’t Cut Costs enough to compete with Walmart and Amazon. They’ve been “listened to” by Party Leaders long enough. Now they need Progressive Policies to Champion, Candidate visits to Organize, Resources to keep the Local Party Headquarters Open. And some Signs.
There has been talk about creating new Political Parties. But I like the concept of the Centrist Project. I have been a Member since 2014. Electing Independent Progressives that would take away the Majority in the Senate and someday the House, so there would have to be Coalitions of Diverse Members to Pass Laws.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
