I'm sick of hearing that "white working class" voters don't support Obama. The argument is based on the votes in Pennsylvania, Opio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Eastern Virginia and North Carolina, and Northern Mississippi and Alabama. These are not just "white working class folks". These are hillbillies. (I know -- my mother's side is from northeastern Alabama.)

The fact is, things are different up in the Mountains. Change does not sell there. Change might sell in Michigan, Wisconsin and ... yes ... Kansas (the later two states voted for Obama -- and the polls show that Obama would win Michigan today and in the general election, HRC losing both). Change is and has always been a bad word in Appalachia. There are only two good things that ever happened to the Mountain county that involved change in Washington D.C. -- the Tennessee Valley Authority and Birch Bayh. (Note, I refuse to count Senator Robert "back home we call them 'white niggers'" Byrd as a good thing -- although he used to be.)

So, the real story is not unexpected ... racism is still alive and well in the Mountains. However, fortunately, most of the rest of the country has moved on -- and the Obama wins in Missouri, Wisconsin, and ... yes .. Kansas prove it.

Beathan

I meant "Western" Virginia and North Carolina -- not "Eastern". Fact is, I love the Virginia and Carolina coast ... and the piedmont is great, too. The Mountains are lovely ... but the locals there are ... not.

Beathan

What century are you living in? I lived in western North Carolina for years, and it's unrecognizable from your description. Nowadays it's full of retirees and people with vacation homes. Asheville is one of the biggest hippy meccas outside San Francisco. Even the longer-term locals are generally benign.

I think that there is a certain element of racism, but there are a lot of other factors happening here. And I'm glad to hear you frame it as a "change" problem.

Barack Obama's message (IMHO) is a bit on the sophisticated side for a lot of voters. He is more of a thinker and strategist than a stump speaker.

Several members of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission which basically will be in charge of nuts and bolts fixing of the economy) endorsed Barack Obama today as well as John Edwards.

But no one heard about it.It may be one of the most important endorsements of this primary, but it is completely meaningless to "the average working man". Because no one will get why this is important.The guys in charge of a big section of the ECONOMY just said Obama's plan is better.

I wonder how many people in Kentucky are paying attention to this?

I want to see an article where the SEC has endorsed him, Dont make a statement without providing proof for it. that is all i am asking for.

Here's a link to the article from Reuters. Obama was endorsed by 3 former SEC directors.

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extreme bigotry of a typical Obamacrat. Your contribution to the political process is sincerely cherished.

Same one you're in, however in my experiences in central North Carolina, racism, albeit subtle, is very much alive and well throughout the entire white community. I dealt mainly with native folk, but I guess if one only lives/works in the high growth areas, you would see a much different attitude.

I'm sick of hearing that "white working class" voters don't support Obama. The argument is based on the votes in Pennsylvania, Opio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Eastern Virginia and North Carolina, and Northern Mississippi and Alabama. These are not just "white working class folks". These are hillbillies. (I know -- my mother's side is from northeastern Alabama.)

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Hillbillies? Shall I fill you in on where the Hillbilles live? That is Tennessee,and they are darned proud of that name. Smart as the devil. While you are laughing at their accent they are picking your pocket good! Fine Colleges all over that state.

I think you have been listening to too much of that Cowboy twang the Country singers feed the Yankees so they become millionaires.

As for,"OPIO," anyone who does not know there are no mountains in Ohio,simply smooth rolling hills that are beautiful in the fall. People travel from all over to see the leaves in Southern Ohio.

North of I 70 the land is mostly flat.

MaryAnne --

I am a proud displaced Hillbilly myself ... and I did not use the word as a slur. That said, I don't much like Hillybilly politics as it manifests in West Virginia ...

Beathan

With regard to Mountains in Ohio -- there is a nice little bit in the southeast, yes? Of course, out west here we don't call them mountains.

My grandmother, who was from a little place near Scottboro Alabama, used to point at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains here in Washington and say, "back home, we'd call those 'mountains'" -- then she'd point at the Cascades and say, "we wouldn't have any idea what THOSE are."

I also like Gov. Strickland -- so much that I hope you don't get to keep him. He's on the top of my short-list for Obama veeps (even though he does not seem to have made Ad's list).

Beathan

I lived in Cookeville and Crossville Tennessee and went to UT Knoxville for several years.

Not everyone in the southeast, especially in a city is a "hillbilly". But I also worked with Appalachian Outreach, a program that helped provide financial, medical, and practical help to people who lived WAY out in the sticks. And I'll testify that calling some of those people hillbillies is quite the compliment, any number of them would be better described as time travelers. They live in a world that most people would consider a bit wierd for Little House on the Prarie, much less our modern society.

But I've also lived in quite a few other states, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Minnesota, California,Missouri, and Washington state.

And man. let's be fair..rednecks are everywhere. Fundamentalists are everywhere. And idiots are everywhere.

The major difference is whether the particular social culture of the area gives the individual permission and/or acceptance for having a closed mind.

In many places in America there is a negative social consequence for behaving in a racist or sexist or otherwise irrationally intolerant way.

In some places, the same behavior is rewarded and viewed as upholding the societies culture. Those places are generally viewed as "backwards" by the rest of society, because it's culture rewards those who reach backward into the past for their day to day views, as opposed to reaching forward for what is seen as a more modern understanding.

It really is all relative. I have my own preferences, obviously. I moved to one of the most liberal places I could find, and I love it here. But many people in places that are more rural have a lot less access to opportunities and motives to leave them. And when in Rome...

Thevail --

Very accurate and thoughtful reply. I agree ... despite the rhetoric of my post.

Thank you

Beathan