Coastal Elites Thumbing Their Noses At Rube Hicks

5:36 pm EST January 4th, 2008 | News | 15 Comments

No, not us northeastern liberals. Conservatives.

We must ask: who is your driver?

Topic: 2008 Election

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15 Responses to “Coastal Elites Thumbing Their Noses At Rube Hicks”

Bruce Godfrey says:

January 4, 2008 at 5:59 pm

This may be rude, but this liberal Marylander has grown tired of the pandering to the most messed up, least productive, least educated, least developed region of this society. Other countries have the decency to refer to such regions as their “hinterland” or their “wasteland.” Lips to butt-crack, we call ours the “heartland.”

I understand that cornpone River City residents have the desperate need to get kissed-up-to and fooled by the next political Music Man who walks through town. I understand that Ivy League evolutionary biology is the devil’s doctrine to a large fraction of my countrymen. I get that we horrid “urban liberals” drive small-town America nuts by our very existence and our insistance on values of fairness and progress, the enemy of rural, racist “Sundown Town” small town America. I understand that “freedom” has no lexical meaning in much of small town America but is instead a degraded buzzword like “Dude” and “America #1,” to be trotted out for means of breast-beating rather than liberation. I understand that diversity is a communist plot to many of these Heartlanders, rather than the default state of human civilization.

I can accept all of this stupidity, but have grown tired of politicians pretending that it is endearing rather than laughably, pompously, militantly stupid. These theocratic-lite fools gave us George W. Bush and we should never forgive them for it nor perceive a moral need further to kiss their rear-ends.

If this be treason against the moral superiority of the “Heartland,” kiss my bagels and lox.
Enlightened Liberal says:

January 4, 2008 at 6:21 pm

Bruce, ditto except the “heartland” isn’t the problem, it’s the land South of the Potomac and East of the Mississippi. In fact the heartland which is defined as the areas around the Great Lakes has a good record of progressivism. Look at Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.

Unfortunately, we’ve been taught in the Northeast that we aren’t as virtuous and holy as those backwoods regressives that receive the benefits of our largess here in the urban coast. For every dollar we send to DC, we get 60-65c in our districts. The poor, salt of the Earth Southerners who would NEVER take a Federal handout on the other hand get back $1.40-1.60 for their $1. I’m not convinced half of the South would even have electricity had “effete northern liberals” like FDR not formed the TVA.
Southern Quaker says:

January 4, 2008 at 7:23 pm

And some of us get tired of the ignorant blathering of folks who’ve most likely never been south of the Potomac claiming that Southern culture is (a) monolithic and (b) straight out of Deliverance.

Having lived in the Midwest, South, Southwest, Northern Plains and East Coast I can assure you that there are prejudiced, narrow-minded and uneducated morons in every corner of this beloved country of ours. And some of them are liberals.

-SQ
who’s quite happy having moved from Massachusetts back to a rural southern town so that our children would not pick up the habit of saying “fuck you” when someone failed to yield at a crosswalk.
Enlightened Liberal says:

January 4, 2008 at 10:38 pm

Another southerner acting like their culture is so much more worthy. BTW, in my town they don’t act like you claim they do in Mass. Stick your “monolithic culture” up your ass.

By the way, your kids won’t learn rude habits (or at least some of them). But on average their education, earning power, and tolerance will be much below the rest of America. I guess I want more for my kids than to live in a polite culture.
Southern Quaker says:

January 4, 2008 at 11:32 pm

Pot, meet kettle. I don’t believe I’m the one who started the mudslinging around regional culture.

I live in a town that is home to the second interracial college east of the Appalachians (Oberlin was first). My kids, who are not white, are perfectly accepted and happy in this small southern town and our school system is great. Although in real dollars our income has been cut in half since we moved south, the cost of living (particularly housing) is such that my husband can stay home with the kids while I work. In short, I’m not really that worried about my kids’ future.

but thanks for caring
Southern Quaker says:

January 4, 2008 at 11:42 pm

This is what I truly do not understand. You have a majority of Iowans caucusing for Barack Obama. There are midwestern and southern progressives out here working for change–and yes, some of us are even happy not living on the coasts. So what possible good does it do your cause to throw around bigoted stereotypes aimed at alienating an entire group of people, whom you need to win the next election?

or does it just make you feel good about yourselves?
Enlightened Liberal says:

January 4, 2008 at 11:59 pm

I believe the article was about Republicans setting their Southern and Midwest base adrift. If Southerners want to help put Obama in office, the more the merrier, but on OUR terms. It’s time to put an end to running to the right so that Democrats lose by 25 points rather than 30.
Southern Quaker says:

January 5, 2008 at 9:27 am

yes, I read the article. And yet the comments it generated here were about how much disdain the left can heap upon the midwest and south.

“Our terms?” wtf does that mean? Never mind, I know what it means. Do you understand how overwhelmingly arrogant you sound? Do you really think people are going to listen to you when you hold them in such contempt? Some of the rhetoric I’ve heard get thrown around
on left-leaning blogs about the “hinterland” as Bruce so charmingly called it is worthy of Michelle Malkin’s cronies at their best.

If you want to fix a problem you need to understand it. And no, you do not understand the south or the midwest for that matter. Intergenerational poverty and lack of educational opportunities are not just endemic in the inner cities. Why is it that (some) progressives want to intervene and help fix these problems in urban areas, but adopt a “blame the victim” mentality when it comes to rural poverty, education and development? Oh, and by the way, there are blacks living down here under these conditions as well, you know.

I happen to agree with you about the democrats running to the right in order to win. But the answer to winning over the so-called red states is not to present them with an ultimatum: “My way or the highway, hicks.” Rather, it is to demonstrate to them how our progressive values resonate with their own lives.
Enlightened Liberal says:

January 5, 2008 at 10:46 am

Don’t really care if it sounds arrogant. Southern leaders have told Republicans and Democrats alike, adapt to our mores or don’t win elections. Well, you know what? My home state of New York has more people than Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi combined, and I am sick of our tax dollars being shipped elsewhere to support abstinence-only education and other projects at the behest of conservative states.

I don’t claim to understand the south or midwest, so I don’t really know what you’re talking about. However, maybe the south and other areas of the “heartland” should try understanding the rest of the country and start updating their outlooks to the 21st century.

“But the answer to winning over the so-called red states is not to present them with an ultimatum: “My way or the highway, hicks.” Rather, it is to demonstrate to them how our progressive values resonate with their own lives.”

LBJ and the liberals in Congress in the 1960′s tried that. And in doing so, delivered the South to Republican conservatives for 40 years. If you want us to pay attention to your needs, start electing some progressive legislators.
Southern Quaker says:

January 5, 2008 at 11:25 am

“enlightened” maybe not so much
duros62 says:

January 5, 2008 at 1:06 pm

Kids, kids, please. Don’t make me stop this car.

We are Americans first, regional assholes second, can we agree on that? Can we also agree that we embrace many of the same ideas, idealogically speaking, and that it’s time to break the chain of Red State v. Blue State?
Maybe your kids will learn to say Fuck You at the crosswalk in MA, but I bet they could learn it in FL just as easily.

Not all southerners are mouth-breathing trailer trash. Not all city folk are rich blue-bloods. There has been a major shift from the cities to the south in the last few years (I’m thinking of moving to NC myself), so these st00pid-ass stereotypes have less and less holding power.

Now you two play nice, or no ice cream.
Jay says:

January 5, 2008 at 3:22 pm

I don’t claim to understand the south or midwest, so I don’t really know what you’re talking about.

Oh but you do know that people in the south are less educated, earn less and less tolerant than those who live north of the Mason Dixon line?

You’re such a stupid ass it’s not even funny and you’re little diatribe here shows why. Coming from New York/Jersey and having lived there for nearly 30 years, it’s not that hard to find many areas of the lovely blue states where people are dumb as stumps, getting GED’s or going to “vo-tech” schools to graduate high school and send the guys who murdered James Byrd ‘Thank you’ cards every year.

Perhaps a trip down south after you’ve removed your head from your ass would be a good idea so you could see how full of shit you are.

Idiot.
Enlightened Liberal says:

January 5, 2008 at 3:29 pm

You’re evidence of everything you say I said, Jay.
Dr. Squid says:

January 5, 2008 at 8:01 pm

Yes, Jay. Please keep ignoring the fact that the conservatives running this country are snobs like yourself whose main ideology is that who you are is more important than what you do.

To me, that’s treason. As is any holder of conservative ideology.

Worthless traitors, the lot of you.
C.S.Strowbridge says:

January 7, 2008 at 1:24 am

“I don’t claim to understand the south or midwest, so I don’t really know what you’re talking about.

Jay: “Oh but you do know that people in the south are less educated, earn less and less tolerant than those who live north of the Mason Dixon line?”

Ummm… yes.

http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm

11 southern states, the only one in the top ten is Virginia, which is the most liberal southern state.

The only other one to reach the top half is North Carolina. (And Missouri, if you want to count 12 southern states, but Missouri is another very liberal southern state.)

On the other end, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia are all in the bottom 10.

You will find the states for income are similar.

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/state13.prn

Tolerance is harder to quantify, so there’s no point it quoting stats here. I could try with hate crimes, but in a lot of places hate crimes are not reported as such.

However, stats back up the other two.