I live in the swingiest part of a swing state - a small college city surrounded by rural districts. I feel you are overly optimustic. Yes, we are "blue" in town, but step one foot up or down the river and, as one friend noted, it's not just a sea of Trump signs, it's a never-ending sea of Trump SHRINES (and, I have heard, "patriot militi…
I live in the swingiest part of a swing state - a small college city surrounded by rural districts. I feel you are overly optimustic. Yes, we are "blue" in town, but step one foot up or down the river and, as one friend noted, it's not just a sea of Trump signs, it's a never-ending sea of Trump SHRINES (and, I have heard, "patriot militias"). Yesterday, on my way home from working at our county's Dem party HQ, a solitary affair because of COVID restrictions and the lack of ANY Biden signs or buttons or stickers, I followed a large truck festooned with a 4x6 (at least) American flag on a pole stuck into the left rear bumper and a giant TRUMP flag stuck into the right rear bumper. It was like being in a nightmare parade. Because our brilliant news geniuses report elections like sports events and vote totals as if dirt could vote (using geographical maps), when our state's votes are reported, we have the visuals of a huge patch of red with a few small dots of blue. If they would use CARTOGRAMS, maps that can depict the sizes of populations of each district or county, we would see big splashes of blue with pimples of red. But, because they never use cartograms, it's easy for rural Republican voters to get the impression that there are far more of them than of Democrats and that our state's hyper-gerrymandered voting districts make things more fair. I also feel the Biden campaign is going down the HRC path of kicking the enthusiasm out of young progressives for whom Green New Deal, M4A, and #BLM are top, motivating issues. Some (wrongly, I believe) think voting for a Green presidential candidate and progressives down ballot will send a message to Dems and neutralize Trump in a second term.(https://www.wiscontext.org/cartogram-wisconsins-2018-election-governor)
Cate, I share your concern about being overly optimistic and can identify with the sight of Trump shrines. I live in the exurbs of St Louis, a place that is equal parts suburban, small town, and rural; a place with a political identity crisis. This was formerly Dick Gephardt's district and continues to vote for more democratic issues such as Medicaid expansion and, overwhelmingly (90%), against Right to Work, yet votes to send Republican legislators to the Republican super majority in the capitol, to tear apart everything just voted for. AND it's Trump country. It's not just that here are more Trump signs, it's that the displays are big and obnoxious and insistent. Last weekend there was a parade of trucks, festooned as you described, parading around town and up and down the highway. I don't expect these people to accept the legitimacy of a Biden victory, should he prevail. Before the pandemic made it impossible, I had planned to vote early and then take the kids for an extended vacation to Canada while the election results shook out. I'm working for a Biden victory and for state Democrats down ballot, as well as donating to candidates around the country. But I'm worried and feeling the need to have plans in place to bug out.
I live in the swingiest part of a swing state - a small college city surrounded by rural districts. I feel you are overly optimustic. Yes, we are "blue" in town, but step one foot up or down the river and, as one friend noted, it's not just a sea of Trump signs, it's a never-ending sea of Trump SHRINES (and, I have heard, "patriot militias"). Yesterday, on my way home from working at our county's Dem party HQ, a solitary affair because of COVID restrictions and the lack of ANY Biden signs or buttons or stickers, I followed a large truck festooned with a 4x6 (at least) American flag on a pole stuck into the left rear bumper and a giant TRUMP flag stuck into the right rear bumper. It was like being in a nightmare parade. Because our brilliant news geniuses report elections like sports events and vote totals as if dirt could vote (using geographical maps), when our state's votes are reported, we have the visuals of a huge patch of red with a few small dots of blue. If they would use CARTOGRAMS, maps that can depict the sizes of populations of each district or county, we would see big splashes of blue with pimples of red. But, because they never use cartograms, it's easy for rural Republican voters to get the impression that there are far more of them than of Democrats and that our state's hyper-gerrymandered voting districts make things more fair. I also feel the Biden campaign is going down the HRC path of kicking the enthusiasm out of young progressives for whom Green New Deal, M4A, and #BLM are top, motivating issues. Some (wrongly, I believe) think voting for a Green presidential candidate and progressives down ballot will send a message to Dems and neutralize Trump in a second term.(https://www.wiscontext.org/cartogram-wisconsins-2018-election-governor)
Cate, I share your concern about being overly optimistic and can identify with the sight of Trump shrines. I live in the exurbs of St Louis, a place that is equal parts suburban, small town, and rural; a place with a political identity crisis. This was formerly Dick Gephardt's district and continues to vote for more democratic issues such as Medicaid expansion and, overwhelmingly (90%), against Right to Work, yet votes to send Republican legislators to the Republican super majority in the capitol, to tear apart everything just voted for. AND it's Trump country. It's not just that here are more Trump signs, it's that the displays are big and obnoxious and insistent. Last weekend there was a parade of trucks, festooned as you described, parading around town and up and down the highway. I don't expect these people to accept the legitimacy of a Biden victory, should he prevail. Before the pandemic made it impossible, I had planned to vote early and then take the kids for an extended vacation to Canada while the election results shook out. I'm working for a Biden victory and for state Democrats down ballot, as well as donating to candidates around the country. But I'm worried and feeling the need to have plans in place to bug out.