I come from Nebraska. I’m not there any more—I live in California, and have for almost twenty years.
About 31 years ago, there was a Senatorial election in Nebraska. The incumbent of the seat was Republican David Karnes, though he had been appointed by Republican Governor Kay Orr (who had her own problems) because Senator Edward Zorinsky, a Democrat (though he switched parties earlier), died. He was running against the long-time former Governor of Nebraska, Bob Kerrey.
As I remember it—and I was 16 at the time—the race was pretty even until David Karnes said, at the Nebraska State Fair, "What this nation needs is fewer farmers." Although it is still chalked up to just being a “faux pas”, it killed his chances. The State Fair, in those days, was in very late August and early September, and ended on Labor Day, so everyone had a chance to chew on this a while.
And they did. In Nebraska, you don’t insult farmers and expect to win a Senate seat.
Karnes lost, 41.66%, to Bob Kerrey’s 56.71%. It was a blow-out.
There’s a lesson here. I remember Karnes’s statement, thirty-one years later and in a different state.
And yet, I keep hearing versions of it here on the DailyKos (and elsewhere). Every time we attack the Electoral College, specifically because “Wyoming voters matter more than Californian voters!” (and we do), I hear echoes of it. Every time we attack Iowa because it’s the first Democratic primary of the season, I hear echoes of it. Every time I hear people attack corn, I hear echoes of it.
As long as we keep telling ourselves that “What this nation needs is fewer farmers”, we’re going to continue losing what are considered the red states, over and over and over again. States that were once blue, thirty years ago.