Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
Yes, I remember you discussing living in an area for awhile full of lower-middle-class white red state types. Coronado, right?
Kidding, kidding.
But I do know you lived in such a place. That's why I'm surprised your understanding of these people and their voting habits read like New York liberal talking points.
If you can't see how today's Democratic Party (and its politicans) are hostile to these people and their interests, I don't know what to tell you. Team Feelings likes to blame it on these voters "clinging to their racism", but that's not really it -- at least not for the vast majority of them.
The modern left has become so extreme and so identity-politicking that the lower-middle class white is basically left out of their platform. I mean, we even had duped_samartian here arguing with me that these people are actually privileged. That's how idiotic it's gotten.
Much like how your wife will fuck her asshole co-worker if you constantly neglect and degrade her, the white red-state voter will run to a guy like Trump if you constantly neglect and degrade them. It's not racism, it's not "wanting to preserve the Christian patriarchy", and it's not rocket science to figure out what happened.
Regarding "affordable" healthcare, I agree that would be great. Cost and billing reform is very much needed in US healthcare. But if you mean "socialized" healthcare, I don't think that's a very good idea for these small towns, unless you think having an 8-month wait to see a specialist within a 150-mile radius denotes progress.
They have a far better healthcare infrastructure in Ohio and PA than it sounds like you do in LA. They did previous to even Obamacare. Like I dated a single mom right after I got divorced who had PA state health care, and the entire network was just eventually morphed into Obamacare. Like I could go to this place now being on my own self pay network if I had emergency and lived in PA. I might have a wait for a week for a dentist here in Ohio, but I’m choosing the best guy. Dental is fucked on almost all insurances, private or more socialized. When I lived in Pittsburgh and had fantastic insurance, getting into most shit was harder for me than for a single mom.
This building here was around in 2007 when I was around. I went to it when I was with this chick. Same doctors who have private practices, just lower class people in waiting room.
https://primary-health.net/LocationDetail.aspx?id=8
That’s not some rundown hood building.
Here in Ohio, I get into shit way quicker than you do, and we are roughly on the same type of self pay insurance I would guess. There is no distinction like in PA where they have primary health care network. Back when I was sick and lived in PA, I would have loved to have them as an option as they were easier to get into.
My primary and any specialist takes it just like they take Blue Cross or any type insurance. It actually is one of the larger companies.
There are places where you’d have to drive 45 minutes in the country, but you would to grocery shop or do anything beyond buy gas and whatever snacks at some small gas station store. They don’t have specialists out there in the super rural areas. They have some 71 year old local family doctor practicing everything from pediatrics to seeing seniors.
The difference being the health networks will come pick you up and drive you to doctor, not the grocery store.
There are a few issues where if Republicans even got their way, they’d lose areas as red as Mississippi. All these anti-government rural people have food cards. When you’re in the country, it’s no different than the hood as far as percentage of people on food aid. They’re mostly on Medicaid. Most pay no taxes.
You’re correct that they feel let down, and you’re correct that they’ve felt neglected or talked down to, mostly because of decades long irritation from trying to explain to a bunch of anti-government loons worried about socialism that their entire lives are already socialism. They’re completely subsidized. It’s amazingly frustrating to hear people who you know don’t pay taxes, for groceries, for medical care, bitch about socialism. They don’t only not pay taxes, they get like $5k refunds at tax time and bitch about socialism. After decades of that, yeah you get condescending, and they have now moved in with someone who would let them die on the street corner and their only lifelines came from Dem periods.
They are racist, but no more than the suburbs. They’re racist in the sense that they bitch about socialism and government handout and have this amazing disconnect and cognitive dissonance that they are on the same programs. I’ve known anti-Obamacare people who are on Obamacare. They literally don’t know it.
Let the GOP ever get their way on entitlements and let these people wake up to paying for their own food, health care, abortion, and and actually paying taxes, and they’d tucking riot and lose their minds. They’d just all OD.
The one takeaway you get when you’re from a town like I am that has a lot of hood, and then spend time in the country, isn’t the differences, it’s the similarities.
Same weird shit that you shake your head at if you’re from a suburb and had normal suburban upbringing. Do it yourself auto-repair. Filling out fake unemployment shit during the pandemic. Everyone getting free food. Every girl having babies everywhere, and kids graduating high school without college as an option or their focus. Weird family secrets and higher rates of addiction and molestation and the same we don’t call cops attitude when it’s their family. They’ll post Facebook memes about supporting police, but rarely call them either.
If you ever spend any time in the hood for real, you just feel the generational dysfunction oozing out of the people. The country feels exactly the same. Let the Republicans ever get their way on some issues and let these people wake up, and it would be game over.