Old and Busted: Why Are All These Less-Well-Off Rural Folks Voting Against Their Interest?
New Hotness: Why Are All These More-Well-Off Suburban Folks Voting Against Their Interest?

Scan down to the item "What's the Matter With Connecticut?"

Where previously committed liberal advocate Thomas Frank had been puzzled that modest-income rural voters were doing crazy, self-destructive things like voting Republican, now committed liberal advocate Kate Zernicke is puzzled that middle-to-higher income suburban voters are doing crazy, self-destructive things like attending Tea Party rallies.

It's insane. Don't these people all know that voting Democrat is in everyone's interest, whether black or white, rich or poor, young or old, male or female?

Let's just stop with the variations of the question, the different demographic and regional parsings, and just sum it up: the media considers it an unsolvable mystery why anyone would do something crazy like vote Republican.

As I just wrote, maybe instead of speculating about us as if we were an alien species with which a common language had not yet been established, maybe they could just ask us and we'd clear up the bafflement for them. But they won't.

I understand this syndrome when it comes to political partisans and true believers. And many of the media are just that, of course. But they're something else besides: They're supposed to be professional fact-gatherers and fact-disseminators.

It's not as if these facts are kept secret from them. This is not a conspiracy to keep the truth from the liberals. We conservatives are not shy about our beliefs.

If they asked us why we didn't like Obama, we would tell them. Eagerly.

But they don't ask. They don't even listen when we tell them, unasked.

These are facts in plain sight. This is low-hanging fruit.

Easiest thing in the world if a liberal is bewildered by a conservative's position is to write him an email and ask him.

But they don't.

They've got their Narrative.

And they're sticking to it.

The Narrative answers all questions -- or, at least, all questions that matter.

Why are conservatives doing x? Because they're evil and stupid and crazy.

Why are conservatives saying y? Because they're evil and stupid and crazy.

God forbid you should pick up the phone, ask a question, write down someone's actual words, and then report that.

No, by all means -- keep telling me what I really think.

Because you're the ones to know, right?

posted by Ace at 11:04 PM

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