Most rural areas In Washington state have become the homeground of Republican office-holders only over the last 20 years. It's a remarkable feat considering that it only took one generation for folks to forget the role of the Democratic Party in delivering rural electrification, rural telephony, public irrigation systems, Social Security, and many more social goods. Some of the reasons for this change were based on an essentially cynical capture by Republican Party operatives of certain 'social issues'. Another part was a racist reaction to Democratic Party inclusiveness.
However, part of the erosion of support was justified: the wars in Korea and Viet Nam (greater impact on rural youth population); subsidies that favor the agricultural, energy, and financial giants; and sudden curtailment of natural resource utilization via political/legal processes inspired by urban intellectuals. Underlying these factors is the tendency of urban political elites to overlook rural populations and their perspectives. Both major parties do it, but the Republicans pay enough lip-service to their social-conservative memes – and lie about their own 'big government', big corporation biases – to maintain their electoral advantage.
We can recapture the rural electorate with Roosevelt-type programs – and a lot of patient groundwork. The essential programs are the manufacture and deployment of renewable-energy devices and systems; local and quasi-organic food production; basic, decent, affordable housing projects; and sustainable natural-resource management. Beyond those particularly rural issues are the common national issues of healthcare costs and quality, immigration reform, Fair Trade, 'defense' spending and foreign military aid, financial 'industry' regulation, etc. - our usual progressive litany.
The revenue imperative is tax reform to pay for government support of the social 'safety net' and of investment/subsidy (stimulus): remove the income cap on Social Security tax, Capital Gains as 'ordinary income', higher marginal tax rates for the higher income brackets, and elimination of tax 'loopholes'.
Most of these policy positions are popular enough, when we are able to get beyond the resistance that is generated by the current political status of most rural residents – that of second-class citizens. The 'social issues' are not predominant in my experience, but they supply a voter base for the Republican candidates. Our target is the segment of the population who understand class conflict, but feel that Democratic Party elected officials have picked social winners, and most rural residents are not included in this category. Our task is to field candidates who support a progressive program, inclusive of the needs of rural populations.
Here in south-central and southwestern Washington state, we have such a group of candidates: Mary Baechler in the 4th Congressional District (vs. Doc Hastings), Jon Haugen in the 3rd C.D. (vs. Jamie Herrera-Beutler), Pablo Gonzalez in the 15th Legislative District (state legislature), Matt Tomaskin in the 14th L.D. (Position 2), and Paul Spencer in the 14th (Position 1). In case you don't get the picture, we are a diverse group: a businesswoman, a retired US Navy pilot, an Hispanic college student, a Yakama Indian, and an old white guy, respectively. More importantly, we share values of sustainability, empathy, and honesty. As Matt puts it, “Fair and Equitable treatment for all”.
This diary is a request for your support. We have the endorsements of our local Democratic Party organizations and of various progressive committees; we are working on endorsements from labor, the Yakama Nation, and others. We have local individuals and committees helping with yard signs and GOTV activities, such as telephone contacts. We are attending the County Fairs and the candidates' forums. With the means that we currently have, we will reach the Democratic Party base and many independents, but we need to reach more independents. We intend to target these voters with issue ads in the local newspapers. At a rough estimate, we're looking at about $5,000 for a series of ¼ page ads that will focus on the issues that will help to convince the independents. We would like your help in this effort.
Specific donations sites and campaign web-sites are:
Pablo Gonzalez - www.electgonzalez.com
Mary Baechler – ActBlue and maryforcongress.org
Jon Haugen – ActBlue and votejonhaugen.com
Paul Spencer – ActBlue and wp.skamania.wa-democrats.net (2012 Endorsed Candidates tab)
Matthew Tomaskin – in progress