only backgroundI'm a wife, mother and grandmother. I'm opinionated. I contradict myself frequently. Most of all, I love my kids. I believe in them. I fight for them. They're weird and wonderful. If you want to know more, here's a bunch of other stuff from my old site.
So, it seems that my home state of West Virginia will be voting for Hillary. I’m not surprised. And it also seems that Obama supporters are explaining this voting trend as a result of West Virginians being inbred, uneducated, racist rednecks. Again, I’m not surprised. As a teen, I was shocked to learn that people in these United States (specifically, on Long Island in New York) didn’t even realize that West Virginia is not simply a section of Virginia but its very own state. And they call us uneducated!
I can’t speak for everyone in this state but as a lifelong resident, I do have an opinion about why this state is backing Hillary. It isn’t about race. It’s about politics. While West Virginia is a “blue state” we’re also more moderate than many other Blue states. The hard working men and women of this state have depended on the coal and steel industries, both of which have been hurt tremendously by environmental issues, which traditionally has been associated with the far left. This isn’t to say that Hillary is not far left, only that she is presenting herself as more moderate than Obama.
It will be interesting to see how my own northern panhandle’s numbers compare to the rest of this state. Many residents in this valley stood outside on a hot July day waiting to shake hands with presidential nominees Bill Clinton and Al Gore in 1992 and heard them promise that they would protect our steel industry and enforce fair trade laws.
They lied. They did nothing about illegal foreign steel dumping.
Now I wonder if this northern panhandle will remember that and hold Hillary responsible for her husband’s betrayal or if we’ll follow the rest of the state. As a side note, neither Hillary nor Bill have dropped by the northern panhandle this past week. Just sayin’.
I’m sure there are racists in this state, just as there are all over this country. There are uneducated people here, just as there are all over this country. Blaming race or lack of education for Hillary’s popularity here, though, sounds like the kind of excuse I’d expect from a whining eight year old, not opposing members of the same political party.
If the Democrats don’t stop calling each other names, they’ll have no one but themselves to blame when they lose the White House. Again.
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It’s kind of hard not to have mixed feelings about the whole Hillary & Bill think. While I think it would be great to see a woman president, being the former first lady seems to have been a real catch 22 for her. If she hadn’t been married to Bill, she probably wouldn’t have had a shot at running for president, but not that she’s got the shot Bill seems to be a bit of a monkey-on-her-back that won’t let go.
Great post and perspective. I agree with the jist of what you are saying. I am a FL resident (currently staying in PA though) who is a student at WVU. I think race does have a big factor when it comes down to the wire and marking the ballot. Maybe not for you…and maybe not for many other native White West Virginians. However the state has a 3 percent African-American population which means a very good portion of West Virginians probably have no regular close contact with Black people. Americans are emotional…and like to feel they can somehow connect with their president. Due to this factor alone, I think that causes many West Virginians to not even what to even think about voting for Sen. Obama. Having him as president seems about as plausible as having Mike Tyson for president.
I have to disagree with you. My older kids went to a high school with very few blacks. Nevertheless, all the kids hung out together, regardless of race. I know because they spent a lot of time here at my home. They were all just kids, not “white kids” and “black kids.”
My nephew and most of his friends are backing Obama. The only race issue I’ve heard mentioned is the racism of Reverend Wright. That turned off many of the people I know.
I’ve traveled a bit and I don’t see more racism in WV than I see anywhere else. I think people expect to find racism here, so naturally they find it.
Oh, and thanks for visiting my blog and commenting! Welcome!
Yes, Bill is certainly a double-edge sword. I’d have liked Hillary much more if she’d kicked his lying, womanizing butt to the curb after they left the white house.