Left In Missouri

It looks like everyone who is running for an office in Missouri wants to really show how country they are.  Republicans and even some Democrats have this notion that you can’t win without the “rural” vote.  I know Bode, Luetkemeyer and Gaw are stressing their rural roots.  So is Hulshof.   However is this a winning strategy?  Over the years, both parties have pander to this population, usually with the Republicans gaining their support.

This year I believe is different.  Remember the book, “What’s the matter with Kansas” by Thomas Frank?  This book essentially asked the question “Why would rural people from Kansas vote against their own self interest?  The author believed that Republicans promised to bring a moral order to politics and protect them from gay marriages, abortion, and other social mores.  At the time, this superseded any concern of economic and energy polices.  This year the rural poor will see the soaring energy prices, their mounting medical bills as they age, and the lack of educational opportunities for their children.

The Republicans had 4 years to address those social concerns, but chose to keep them in play, probably to use it as a campaign tool time and time again.  Little do they know that using that tactic is beginning to have diminishing returns.

Candidates like Kay Barnes and Judy Baker are hitting the issues hard.  Instead of getting on a tractor or a horse to show how “rural” they are, they are addressing the issues that affect rural, urban, and suburban alike.  Issues like energy prices, soaring medical costs, and a good education crosses all these demographics.  To me the winning strategy is not to pander to one group over the other, but present the issues in a way that says we are all in it together.