Much griping has been going on here about the Red States, unstandably given the emotions running high. There has been way too much pundit talk of Blue Staters not understand the "Moral Values" voters, and how Blue Staters mock and devalue Red Staters in general. Some of this is reality based, most is not. There is a real resentment out here in the Blue for how we've been had our values and integrity repeatedly trash (see Bush's snide remarks about Massachusetts, for example), and the resulting backlash has hit our Blue friends living out there in the Red.
For those who are feelin' Blue but living in the Red, I wish to extend a plea for help.
Your country needs you now more than ever to be a voice for Progressive values, a candle in the darkness, and I hope you won't let fatigue and resentment stop you.
In many ways, you have power that we Blue-Staters don't. Those in power may return your calls. I live in Boston, any Republican Congressman wouldn't return my calls if I was telling him he just won the lottery. You can ask questions, (as in the recent rule change to allow Delay to keep his post under indictement), we can't (except for those living in Red districts-their congresscritters are no doubt a little worried and highly responsive.)
You can also field candidates, even in tough races. Don't let them sit still for a minute. Run yourself if you have to, just don't let any Republican run unopposed, or they can devote more resources elsewhere. Not only that, but every time you run, you get a platform to show people what values Progressives represent; I think there's a lot of folks in Red States who would identify with these values if presented in the right way.
I'm going to keep hammering a point I've made in other diaries: build the farm team. You can do it, and do it in a unique way. In the Blue states, we can build the team that can preach to the choir, in the Red states you can build the team that can get converts. The numbers from this last election say pretty clearly that we need converts. Finding folks like Schweitzer in Montana, working for them, and getting them elected will be key to any future successes on a national level.
You also can be truth-tellers outside the echo chamber. I can rail to friends and collegues about the recent tax moves, but most of choir will already know about it, care about it, and agree with me. Every issue that comes up, you can plant the seeds of doubt in minds that are currently made up. Those minds won't change yet, but over time they will have plenty of reasons to.
So, to my friends who are dots of Blue, I know you have your work cut out for you. We'll work hard here, too, but they say all politics are local, and you are in the location to make change. Best of luck, we've got your back.