Thank you both for your comments and perspectives. I did try to set the stage by warning about "generalizations," but hey,...http://www.plusaf.com/falklaws.htm#2nd

Falk's Second Law:
"Never trust generalizations."
(Beware of people who don't get that one......)

Begin with the premise that "farming is everybody's bread and butter" and add to that a distrust of cites, bankers, and the marketplace. When the prices of commodities are not profitable, farmers want subsidies and price supports. So, they vote for anyone who promises them free treats.

It cuts both ways.

I agree that rural areas are more Republican these days. (Many Democrats also have support in rural areas, of course, as noted above). But it is a matter of tradition, inertia, habit. From that, people make up reasons for the beliefs they begin with.

Just by comparison, in Detroit, pro-union Democrats are often NRA members. "You dance with the one who brought you to the party."

The self-sufficiency of the farmer is just the icon of a myth. The story is that they support themselves on their own land and sell their surplus in the village to buy finished goods and tools. That might have been true in frontier times, but even so, without those finished goods and tools, instead of a plows and harrows powered with tractors, they would be walking their plots, using sharp sticks to plant seeds.

The "massive power stations" are a perfect case in point. In 2003-2005 we lived so far out in the woods that our neighbors were turkeys and deer and our home got electricity from a local co-operative. Show me a farm that runs from its own windmills today.

In fact, speaking of icons... You know the movie, The Wizard of Oz. Think about how POOR that farm was: no paint on anything. The incubator broke down ... but the myth is that Uncle Henry (or his three helpers) could fix anything that broke. Obviously, they could not.

Farming is just another industry. In fact, division of labor - which originated in the cities - was taken to the farms: in the Middle Ages, plowboys and milk maids worked for hire from farm to farm. And of course, the smithy was historically an independent craftsman upon whom rural people depended. Moreover, even shoeing a horse took two crafts: the smith and the farrier.

Cranky, as a very smart person pointed out to me a while back, if you look under the covers, ALL of the "big MBA schools" basically teach from the same "playbook," so anywhere you look, you'll find their grads agreeing with each other that they're smarter than everyone else and that everything they do is "right."

Mental illness, perpetuated and passed on by tenured professors.

C'mon, Bob... as if the "folks in Detroit" had NOTHING to do with (i.e., NO shared responsibility) for the fuck-ups' impact on their city?

Yep... always someone else's fault...
Sorry.

Jim, I came to a similar deduction some time back, but from this direction:

Forgive me for massive generalization, but I think it's not inaccurate: Generally, folks in rural areas don't have tons of services and infrastructure to "supply their everyday needs," while urban/city-dwellers MUST rely on tons of "government services" and support infrastructure in order to merely survive... from massive power stations to garbage pickup.

So, where there are tons of people who rely on "government" for their comfort, they're going to vote for someone who promises to continue those deliveries, while other "kinds of people," more accustomed to fending for themselves and helping their neighbors because their neighbors help them WON'T vote for those kinds of "free teats."

Comment?

Personally I believe that he is both a lair and a puppet. While I am unsure of who pulls his strings and I do not believe that he is an idiot. I am certain that there is some evil plan behind the reckless way that Obama and the various parties keep pushing this country.

Harvard lawyers and Harvard MBA's, that seems to be a common theme and makes this OSU grad wonder if they even teach ethics at Harvard anymore.

If the Nation and the media had done their homework, they would have known from the beginning that both Hillary and Obama adored the methods of Marxist Saul Alinsky before Obama was elected. I even wrote O"Reilly, but he softballed the interview with Obama.Most still do not know that both husband and wife have either had their law licenses revoked or given them up to avoid prosecution.
Obama is a puppet to the likes of Valerie Jarrett and George Soros, and not nearly as smart as he is given credit for being. he is not the master mind, just the trained pet who does the bidding as he is told. His main skill was and still is community organizing aka: community dissention. Even a dog can learn to do tricks for a master. Saul Alinsky's methods were his training manual.
The fact that he ever had the trust of the nation is more a measure of the apathy and stupidity of the citizens than the brilliance of anything his handlers did.The facts were there if citizens cared to find them on their own.

Socialism and communist are just about the same thing. Obama has spent a lot of time with communist teachers and others that have had a communist influence on him. You need to check your facts! Zbigniew Brzezinski Said the only thing wrong with Russia is that they were not Marxist enough. Because in a pure Communist society everyone would have equal things and that is what Obama is pushing for in this country, which makes him a Communist not a socialist!!!

Hmmm, generally speaking, I thought you had to have something before you could lose it.

Thanks, stranger.

Point for second handers

He's not a communist, its call socialist; that's where the Gov is in charge of everything as in 1984-the book. Its commin and only a revolution can stop it, but it must happen soon.

He is surrounded and supported by second handers. None of them have a single principle that they could stand alone on. It's all reflections of each other's "do-goodery". Based on nothing but lies and empty promises that the sheep gobble up because it sounds nice and fair and cozy and safe....even though they're being herded by a pack of hungry wolves.

They were FORCED to END current plans (that people WANTED TO KEEP AND WERE PROMISED THEY COULD KEEP) by your buddy's new deal.