I got curious to find this article on Minnesota soybean farmers after Howard Dean mentioned it on MSNBC. Dean mentioned that one of the Minnesota soybean farmers stated his farm had lost $250,000 dollars in value thanks to Trump’s trade war with China. Here is the money quote;
Petefish is considered a young farmer and he hopes one day to pass his farm onto his children, much like he father is doing right now with him.
Right now, though, Petefish says the slim margins in farming make it hard to convince young people that farming is a profession worth their time. Every morning he wakes up and checks two things: The weather and the price of soybeans. Over the last two weeks, as soybeans tanked, he said his farm value has lost around $250,000.
It's often tough to accept.
I’ve been a little curious to see how all of Trump’s tariffs are playing among his strongest farm supporters. And as one other reader on Daily Kos pointed out, there is a lot of “whistling past the graveyard” from farmers who have voted for Trump. And I’m seeing some tombstones:
The political irony for people like Petefish and others in southern Minnesota is that they helped propel Trump to the White House, backing the businessman-turned-politician because, in part, they felt he understood their needs better than Hillary Clinton. Trump only lost Minnesota by 2% in 2016, coming close to becoming the first Republican to win it since Richard Nixon.
Farmers in the area are not ready to say they regret their vote for Trump but are closely watching how they will fare in the intensifying trade fight as they consider whether to break with the Republican Party in November.
I don’t give a shit if farmers who voted for Trump ever regret their actions. All I care about for now is if these same idiots will vote Republican this fall or simply stay home. I do not believe Trump voting farmers will change their votes this fall. In fact, most may never vote for a Democrat.
You and I both have seen this type of voter. They would rather chew off one of their arms than ever vote for a Democrat. It is part of their identity, and no one abandons their identity easily, if ever.
I have relatives that run a country store and meat processing business. They have always voted Republican. And even when the economy went bad under Republican presidents, they always voted for the Republican.
But I will be more than happy if farmers who voted for Trump vote third party or simply NOT vote. And given human stubborness, I believe it will take a lot of financial damage to farmers and farm communities to turn farmers off on Trump. No, I do not wish financial ruin on farmers.
But if you lose $250,000 dollars and you are still hemming and hawing on whether or not the politician responsible is really responsible...