Statement from right-winger in Topix forum
"Since 1984, A republican candidate has won Iowa once (2004). Why? State is like 98 % White. Why isn't Iowa conservative like Kansas and Nebraska? Or the Dakotas.Eastern IA is mostly farmers. Aren't farmers less dependent upon the GIVERment? How could anyone support gay marriage and abortion?"
Link to Topix Forum on Why Iowa is So Liberal?
My response:
"Maybe many Iowans do NOT hold negative stereotypes of large segments of the population, do NOT vote out of hate for people who are different than they are, do NOT believe that everyone who isn't like themself is in a state of dependency, and DO believe that people should have some privacy and personal choice of how they run their personal affairs even if they wouldn't make some of the same choices. Maybe Iowans are fairminded and simply vote for what they believe is best for public policy and society, as opposed to running around putting down people and engaging in the politics of resentment?"
Personally, I think Democrats underperform in rural areas across the country. There are many people voting against their own interests because right-wingers stir up social issues (e.g., anti-gay, anti-minority, anti-feminist) to stigmatize people and keep potential progressive populist political coalitions from forming. This isn't just recent history or from the 1960s - even back in the 1890s, a populist movement in the South and West was splintered by using race as a wedge issue.
http://dig.lib.niu.edu/...
Would the Democrats not be a clear majority party if not for appeals to politics of division put forward by the right-wing that seem to disproportionately affect the progressive or Democratic vote in rural areas?